THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON: AN ESTUARY IN TRANSITION

Transcription

1 THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON: AN ESTUARY IN TRANSITION

2 Indian River Lagoon One of the longest barrierisland/ tidal-inlet systems in continental U.S. A unique, highly diverse, shallow-water estuary of national significance Economic impact is ~$3.7 billion per year to Florida Over the past eight decades, the watershed and dland ddrainage has been significantly altered

3 Previous Successes Reconnection of impounded wetlands to the IRL Termination of sewage discharges into the IRL Ban on gill nets Local efforts to improve water quality

4 If b f l h th If we ve been so successful, why the concern now?

5 Critical Issues Facing the IRL Excessive freshwater release Degradation of water quality Contaminant loading Loss of habitat Decline e of fisheries es Emerging diseases in marine mammals

6 The Superbloom (2011) An unprecedented bloom (up to 800 million cells per liter!!) of green alga Resultor sp. in the northern lagoon in April 2011 Since then, serious seagrass declines have occurred lagoon-wide

7 The Brown Tide (2012) Haulover Canal, July 10, 2012 Last summer another unprecedented algal bloom (up to 3 billion cells per liter!!), tentatively Aureoumbra lagunensis, in northern IRL and Mosquito Lagoon This species is the brown tide species that plagued coastal p p p g lagoons in Texas for almost 8 years in the 1990 s, seriously impacting seagrasses and other resources Photos: SJRWMD

8 Emerging Concerns CyanoHABs (cyanobacterial blooms) Mercury in the food web Microbial pollutants and impacts on humans and IRL animals Antibiotic resistance Endocrine disruptors

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10 INDIAN RIVER LAGOON SYMPOSIUM FEBRUARY 7 & 8, 2013

11 The Indian River Lagoon Observatory (IRLO)

12 What are the elements of the Indian River Lagoon Observatory? A network of advanced observing stations Long-term, multi-disciplinary, ecosystem-based approach Collaboration among organizations

13 IRL Monitoring Stations North Canal North Canal NG Atlantic Ocean Main Canal South Canal Vero Beach Main Canal South Canal VI SC OR LP TR Fort Pierce Inlet Fort Pierce

14 Salinity 40 Hurricane Wilma 24 Oct 2005 Heavy rains July 2007 Heavy rains Jun 2009 Salin nity, ppt TS Ernesto TS Fay 30 Aug Aug 2008 Unusually heavy rains Mar NG VI SC OR LP TR L T O thi i b h d hit b d Long Term: On average, this area is brushed or hit by a named storm every 2.5 years

15 Water Quality Monitoring High-frequency water quality monitoring along a perceived water quality and seagrass gradient Continuous measurements with datasonde multiprobes Temperature Dissolved oxygen Salinity Water it Quality ph Sampling Turbidity Chlorophyll Additional weekly measurements Water color Suspended solids Nutrients Light attenuation coefficients (K) YSI Model 6600V2

16 Next Steps Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatories (LOBOs) water quality units to enhance and expand current research and monitoring projects

17 Take Home Message The IRL is a dynamic estuary, with much variability in time and space Human impacts on the lagoon have accumulated over at least 80 years and are still poorly understood d The management of the IRL is challenging given the lagoon s dynamic variability and pressures from the surrounding watershed Our knowledge on how the lagoon functions is inadequate The management of the IRL requires sustained The management of the IRL requires sustained, focused scientific research and monitoring

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19 CyanoHABs: cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms Do exposures to cyanobacterial metabolites lead to ecosystem degradation and impact human/marine mammal health? Image: Littler, Littler, & Hanisak 2008

20 Mercury: Are elevated mercury levels in the IRL food web a cause for concern? HBOI epidemiological research shows that people who eat fish from the Indian River Lagoon have higher mercury concentrations in their tissue than those who eat non-local fish

21 Microbes: How do microbial pollutants impact human and aquatic animal health in the IRL?

22 Annual Marine Mammal Health Assessment: Marine mammals are sentinels for human health

23 Health Assessment results and concerns: 40% of IRL dolphins would be under a doctor s care if they were human Dolphins developing antibiotic resistance Increasing mercury and heavy metal concentrations in blubber Diseases characteristic of endocrine disruption