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NFC: Fw: Press Release: Florida Bay Report



Reef Relief - http://www.reefrelief.org

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             Press Release: Florida Bay Report

An Evaluation of the Scientific Basis for "Restoring" Florida 
Bay by Increasing Freshwater Runoff from the Everglades.


                   by Larry E. Brand, Ph.D. 
     Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
                     University of Miami

                      October 17, 2000
                http://www.reefrelief.org

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Items:

1) Press Release: Florida Bay Report
2) View the entire report and supporting graphics online!
3) Join our grassroots efforts to save the coral reefs.

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1) Press Release: Florida Bay Report

   An Evaluation of the Scientific Basis for "Restoring" 
   Florida Bay by Increasing Freshwater Runoff from the 
   Everglades.

Within the past 20 years, major ecological changes have 
occurred in South Florida coastal waters. In Florida Bay, 
large algal blooms have developed and persisted, the water 
has become more turbid, large areas of seagasses and sponges 
have died, and major changes have occurred in fish populations. 
In the Florida Keys, algae have overgrown many coral reefs, 
coral diseases have increased, and many corals have died. 
Many of these changes are classical indicators of excess 
nutrients.

Our research has concluded that nutrients in runoff from the 
Everglades Agricultural Area are the major source of the 
nutrients generating the algal blooms, which in turn have 
killed sponges, increased turbidity, reduced the light 
available to seagrasses, and altered the entire food web 
of Florida Bay. Our research has shown that this nutrient 
and algae-rich water is transported into the Florida Keys 
coral reef tract, where water quality has declined. 

One of the stated goals of the Comprehensive Everglades 
Restoration Plan is to restore the flow of freshwater into 
Florida Bay as it was a century ago. If the water was the 
same today as then, ecological benefits could be expected. 
Unfortunately, the freshwater runoff from the Everglades is 
now rich in agricultural nitrogen. Just as phosphate from 
agricultural runoff has caused ecological changes in the 
Everglades, the nitrogen has caused major ecological changes 
in Florida Bay.

In fact, more freshwater began being pumped into Florida Bay 
during the 1980's and 1990's to drain more land for the 
expansion of agriculture and suburban developments along the 
edge of the Everglades. This increased input of freshwater 
which is now rich in nitrogen has been accompanied by a major 
ecological decline in the ecosystems of Florida Bay and the 
Florida Keys.

Another goal of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration 
Plan is to enlarge the passes between the Keys to increase 
water exchange between Florida Bay and the coral reefs. This 
will result in an increase in the flux of poor quality water 
to the coral reefs. The relative benefits of increased 
freshwater input and costs of increased nutrient inputs need 
to be compared. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan 
presently focuses on the restoration of water flow and 
ignores the impact of nitrogen inputs.

Larry E. Brand
Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
University of Miami
email: lbrand at rsmas_miami.edu

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2)  To view the complete report online, along with 
    supporting graphical data, please goto:

http://www.reefrelief.org/FloridaBay/report.html

or simply visit our main page and follow the 
appropriate headline link at:

http://www.reefrelief.org

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3)  Join our grassroots efforts to save the coral reefs!
                                                         
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