Stay in the know about wildlife, water quality, and ecosystems on Sanibel and Captiva Islands and in Southwest Florida
SCCF Offshore Testing Finds Red Tide Bloom
Research scientists from SCCF’s Marine Lab took water samples on a short cruise Oct. 15 to the lower Caloosahatchee River, San Carlos Bay and into the Gulf of Mexico. They found Karenia brevis, the organism that blooms into red tide, present at all sites sampled. The maximum concentration they found was 880,000 cells/liter two miles offshore of Tarpon Bay Road Beach on Sanibel.
Levels higher than 100,000 can result in fish kills and respiratory irritation in humans.
Since September 2018, the Marine Lab has been systematically sampling the Caloosahatchee and Gulf of Mexico for nutrients, phytoplankton, and water quality. A total of nine trips are “in the can” with one more to go under our National Science Foundation (NSF) RAPID grant to study harmful algal blooms (HABs).
To learn more about Red Tide, please check out these resources:
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Red Tide Data Resources for Florida, Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA)
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Red Tide Facts from the Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin
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Historic Timeline of Red Tide, from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune