Chuck Jacoby Project Scientist IRLNEP
Characteristics Lagoon is: long (156 miles) shallow (< 10 feet) wind & tide driven not a river New Smyrna Beach Mosquito Lagoon Banana River Indian River West Palm Beach
Characteristics Lagoon has segments operate ~independently flush at different rates o 2 3 weeks at Vero o 3 6 months at Cocoa Lagoon is diverse ecology challenges Lagoon is sensitive
Challenges (IRLNEP CCMP 1996) (shared impairment) (shared metric)
Pressures Historical watersheds (pre-1920s) Following C-1 Canal construction Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District St. Johns River Basin Indian River Lagoon Basin Up to 60% of the total watershed connected by canals
Pressures 1920s 1940s 1970s 1990s Development Agriculture Natural Water Other
Nutrient impairment Total maximum daily load process calculate safe load = TMDL TMDL = Sum of allocations + MOS right side > left side reductions projects garner credits 3 5 year cycles adaptive approach to uncertainty Basin management action plan process, caveats, allocations & projects monitoring
Nutrient impairment
Seagrasses Key to ecology & management Ecological roles habitat (> 80% of valued fish use) food (endangered manatee & sea turtles) water quality (nutrients & sediment) Management role as TMDL metric nutrients phytoplankton water clarity light penetration seagrass happy system happy
Boy Scout Island Atlantic Ocean St. Lucie Estuary Inlet
Seagrasses Seagrass cover (hectares = 2.5 acres) Drought & Vero WWTP discharge Minidrought 04 hurricanes surge & flushing TS Fay flushing Drought & IRFWCD discharge
Algal blooms Two phytoplankton (microalgal) blooms 2010 2011 2012 Oct 3 Dec 24 Apr 1 July 3 Sep14 Oct 23 Dec 8 Mar 18 Superbloom in the north record magnitude & duration 2 bloom in CIRL long duration Followed in consecutive summers by brown tide
Algal blooms
Percentage gain (green), loss (red) & maintained loss (black) -100 0 200-100 0 200-100 0 200 5 88 9 11 13 14 2009 to 2010 5 88 9 11 13 14 2010 to 2011 5 88 9 11 13 14 2011 to 2012 17 19 89 21 22 23 25 28 30 32 34 74 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 75 55 17 19 89 21 22 23 25 28 30 32 34 74 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 75 55 17 19 89 21 22 23 25 28 30 32 34 74 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 75 55
What happened?
All models are wrong; some models are useful. (attributed to George Box) Ecosystems are not only more complex than we think, they are more complex than we can think. (Egler, Frank. 1977. The nature of vegetation: its management and mismanagement. Aton Forest Publishers, Norfolk, Connecticut) It s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. (Yogi Berra)
Increased nutrient delivery Eutrophication progression scheme Enhanced growth phytoplankton & macroalgae Increased shading & benthic respiration Adapted from C.M. Duarte (1995) Seagrass loss
Uptake & cycling
Cycling Bacteria counts Not bacterial contamination Site 3 Central Banana River 10 6 cells ml -1 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 8 9 10 11 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 2007 2009 2010 2011 Bacteria cycle nutrients rapidly
Grazing Zooplankton Site 3 Central Banana River Protozoans Arthropods Rotifers Other 10 3 organisms ml -1 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 6 7 8 9 11 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 8 9 10 11 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 2007 2009 2010 2011 Protozoans & grazing increase Salinity decrease?
What will we do?
IRL Protection Initiative Focus on the IRL internal links among District s functions external links to concerned stakeholders Translate new insights into management IRL Algal Blooms Investigation efforts from others & future efforts
IRL Algal Blooms Investigation Understand the lagoon s nutrient inventory & cycling processes that regulate blooms Evaluate & recommend strategies ameliorate blooms o o o magnitude duration frequency facilitate seagrass growth & expansion
1 scientific resources District s organizational structure Blue team: physical factors, water quality & phytoplankton abundance ES Estuaries Section; WRI Palm Bay; Engineering Green team: seagrass, macroalgae & epiphytes Orange team: phytoplankton species composition, zooplankton grazers, invertebrate grazers & fish ES Estuaries Section IRL Scientific Consortium Bethune-Cookman U FAU/Harbor Branch Florida Tech Nova Southeastern U U of Florida Smithsonian Institution Fish & Wildlife Conservn Comm Seagrass Ecosystems Analysts ES Estuaries Section; WRI Palm Bay Sand team: sediment biogeochemistry, including effects of infauna ES Estuaries Section
Cooperative resourcing District & IRLNEP (EPA) State: FFWCC FDEP* Other Federal: USFWS (CP) NOAA (CHRP) USGS Research grants via IRL Consortium (Sea Grant, EPA, NSF, etc.) * indirectly by supporting core monitoring
Products Identification of stresses blooms Recommendations stress from us revised nutrient loading limits more focus on legacy loads new TMDL/BMAP strategies & policies Actions recovery from stresses
Products Strategies to control bloom initiation enhance grazers enhance filter feeders Strategies to facilitate seagrass growth seagrass transplanting surgically targeted removal of drift algae Strategies to enhance trophic structure diverse multi-leveled
What can I do? Understand the issues Participate in IRL Protection Initiative Join stakeholders & research providers identify knowledge gaps & how to fill them explore funding options
Questions?