Florida Tech’s Lifelong Scholar Society is a community of curious minds who are passionate about sharing knowledge. Throughout the year, the society hosts a series of lectures. Topics range from historical writers and contemporary art to the Florida habitat, space exploration, and more. Join us and become part of a world of exciting people!
Upcoming Lectures
by Robert Sluka, Ph.D., Lead Scientist, Marine Conservation Program, A Rocha
Thursday, March 13, 2025 - 5:30 PM EST
Center for Aeronautics & Innovation
1050 W. NASA Boulevard
Melbourne, FL 32901
Program Description:
Consider the oddly beautiful seahorse once abundant in the northern Indian River Lagoon. Millenia of natural selection adapted this creature for specialized habitats and gave them unique biology overturning long-held assumptions as males protect and give birth to new generations. Prized for their perceived traditional medicinal value, they are overharvested. Their habitats sensitive to the amount of nutrients in the water and destroyed by destructive forms of fishing are no longer places of refuge. This is just one of millions of species living in the ocean threatened by our actions and at a greater potential to become a casualty of the sixth mass extinction event.
Yet there is hope - science-based and community-led conservation works! Using case studies at the global, national, and local level I will examine several species and habitats through the lens of hopeful conservation - including Homo sapiens. Science helps us to identify how, when, where, and why species and habitats flourish. Join me on this hopeful expedition to the potential underwater world in the year 2050 as we explore conservation action and discover how you can be a part of protecting the 71 % of our planet covered by seawater - including the seahorses of the northern Indian River Lagoon.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Robert D. Sluka leads A Rocha's Marine Conservation work in Florida, the USA and abroad. A Rocha is a global faith-based conservation organization founded in 1983 in Portugal and now working in over 20 countries worldwide (www.arocha.org). Motivated and guided by faith and science, A Rocha focuses on place-based conservation, restoring and protecting species and habitats and serving the human communities connected to them.
He is a curious explorer, applying hopeful, optimistic and holistic solutions to all that is ailing our oceans and the communities that rely on them. Dabbling in theology, he writes on the interface between Christian faith and marine conservation. He has worked cross-culturally, living for extended periods in Australia, India, Great Britain, and his native USA. Robert's research focuses on marine biodiversity conservation, plastic pollution, and fisheries, particularly marine protected areas. The ultimate goal is to glorify God through oceans and communities being transformed through holistic marine conservation.
by Dr. Anthony James Catanese, Ph.D.