BRADENTON, FL (Oct. 2, 2025)—Breanna DeGroot, a laboratory technician and support specialist in State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota’s natural science department, co-authored a study about a first-of-its-kind biologging tracking tag for pelagic rays, developed by researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (FAU HBOI).

The study, titled “Sticking with it: a multi-sensor tag to reveal the foraging ecology and fine-scale behavior of elusive durophagous stingrays,” was published in the Animal Biotelemetry journal. The project was a collaboration of FAU HBOI, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

DeGroot assisted with the study’s fieldwork and data preparation at FAU HBOI’s Fisheries Ecology and Conservation Lab in Fort Pierce, Florida. The team’s primary objectives were to develop a tag that could be applied in seconds, observe the animal’s natural behaviors and collect multidimensional data, said DeGroot. The technology enabled the researchers to see rays moving, feeding and interacting with other species in their habitats.

“This study resulted in the longest documented attachment times for external tags on pelagic rays—lasting up to 60 hours,” DeGroot said. “This was the first time a biologging system has been successfully used on a stingray that feeds on hard-shelled prey, such as clams and snails.” The group is working on publishing additional data collected on feeding behavior and bioacoustics from feeding events. 

DeGroot joined SCF in November 2024 and supports biology, chemistry, microbiology and physics labs at the Venice and Lakewood Ranch campuses. She previously worked in ecological research and ocean acidification at Mote Marine Laboratory and in fisheries ecology and conservation at FAU. She holds a master’s degree in biology, a bachelor’s degree in marine biology and certifications in scientific scuba diving, statistics, boating and others. 

Learn more about SCF’s natural science department and biotechnology program at SCF.edu.

Photo caption: SCF natural science laboratory technician and support specialist holds a stingray during a research study.