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Current and unequal red tide compared to seasonal bloom.
SARASOTA – A persistent red tide epidemic that has lasted more than 13 months along the southwestern coast of Florida can no longer be described as unusual, said an environmental health scientist who studies the proliferation of water. harmful algae.
Tracy Fanara, a senior scientist at the Mote Marine Lab, said the deadly organism, Karenia brevis – spanning more than 150 km from the gulf coast in mid-August – is now sparse and "more than typical" of the seasonal proliferation of red tides, normally detected from August to December and ending in February or March.
This is good news for coastal residents who have anecdotally reported coughing spells, congestion, eye burns, and respiratory illness caused by toxins from the red spray tide.
Read more: Full coverage of the Red Tide in Southwest Florida
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported 193 manatee deaths as a result of a red tide or presumed intoxication by the red tide. Nearly 300 sea turtles and 74 dolphin strandings were also attributed to flowering.
In July, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an "unusual mortality event" related to the death of dolphins.
The state of the current flowering gives the animals a chance to fight, Fanara said.
"Hard means the animals can now get in and out of the red tide," she said. "On the beaches – not only the direction of the wind depends on the irritation of the airways, but there can also be winds blowing off but no effect on the beach due to red tide patches."
Beach enthusiasts who followed the Facebook groups dedicated to red tide reports seemed to confirm the intermittent effects results. They reported relatively clear water, poorly developed animal life and reduced respiratory irritation.
Conditions on 36 beaches on the Gulf Coast can be viewed online at visitbeaches.org.
According to the FWC's latest update on the Red Tide, November 10-16, red tide-related red blood cells have been reported in Pinellas counties in Collier and at middle levels in Monroe County. Red tide concentrations on the east coast and on Key West have dispersed, reported the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Fanara said she was one of Mote's scientists who will be contributing to the Red Tide Institute of Mote, which has just been created. The center is a collaboration between scientists from around the world working on the Red Tides to develop methods to detect early red tides, mitigate defined areas and mitigate the effects of floods. aerosol on the beaches.
The Red Tide Institute "provides us with new resources and facilities to test the resources," said Cynthia Heil, director of the institute. "We have never had this opportunity before."
Heil discovered at least 12 nutrient sources of the red tide during a 2007 to 2010 study.
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