Florida

Urgent effort underway to save coral reefs from rising ocean temperatures off Florida Keys

Published

12 months ago

August 7, 2023

Urgent effort underway to save coral reefs from rising ocean temperatures off Florida Keys

The coral reefs off the shores of the Florida Keys should be vibrant and colorful this time of year. But after some of the highest recorded water surface temperatures, scientists say they’re seeing a very different picture.

Last month, a marine buoy in the nearby Upper Keys measured the surface water temperature at more than 100 degrees, which scientists believe is due, in part, to human-caused climate change. It’s a trend researchers predict could last well into the fall, with elevated water temperatures continuing to strain coral, which has been stripped of its color due to the rising temperatures.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Cheeca Rocks, off of Islamorada, has been one of the reefs that has held on.

“This has been a resilient reef,” said Ian Enochs, who has been doing research there for about 10 years, as head of the coral program at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

He wasn’t prepared for the state of Cheeca Rocks today: a virtual moonscape, a condition known as bleaching. Extremely warm water causes the coral to lose the algae it needs to survive, leaving them looking like ghosts.

“As a scientist, we are trying not to be emotional,” said Enochs. “For me just seeing the scale of death, it’s hard to kind of come to terms with that.”

The scale of the bleaching, he said, “is not subtle; it’s a hundred percent.”

A coral reef ghost town.

CBS News
Advertisement

Now, there’s a race to save the coral – by removing them from their habitat.

“We are trying to rescue as much of the genetic diversity and as much of the stock that we have. It’s paramount to the survival of this species in the Florida Keys,” said Phanor Montoya-Maya, program manager of the Coral Restoration Foundation, headquartered in Key Largo Florida.

Volunteers have been taking 20 different species of coral from the sea, and to their partners at the Keys Marine Lab, where they are placed into tanks that simulate more normal conditions.

The Coral Restoration Foundation is working to save coral reef species by removing them into protected tanks, with the hopes they can be returned to the sea when ocean waters are cooler.

CBS News
Advertisement

The goal is to keep them alive and return them once the waters have cooled.

“We have seen a species disappear, but an entire ecosystem? We haven’t seen that. And I don’t want to be part of the generation that sees that,” said Montoya-Maya.

Reefs cover less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, but are home to 25% of marine species, making them critical to food supply, shoreline protection and tourism.

For sea turtles, it’s a matter of survival.

“This animal was in our oceans when dinosaurs were on our land. So, what we see happening to them is eventually going to affect all of life,” said Bette Zirkelbach, general manager of The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Fla.

Zirkelbach said warming waters contribute to abnormalities and deformities in turtles, but could also affect the species long-term. For example, nests in warmer sands yield more female turtles.

“As far as hatchlings in the state of Florida, we’re only seeing female hatchlings,” she said.

A fragile ecosystem is at risk. According to NOAA’s Enochs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the most important thing people and governments can do. And because coral reefs grow very slowly, the large ones that are lost could take hundreds of years to fully grow back.

Despite the odds, Enochs isn’t willing to give up.

“We have too much at stake,” he said. “And so, we have no other option than to try to turn this around, and I think we can.”

Manuel Bojorquez

Manuel Bojorquez is a CBS News national correspondent based in Miami. He joined CBS News in 2012 as a Dallas-based correspondent and was promoted to national correspondent for the network’s Miami bureau in January 2017. Bojorquez reports across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.

Source link

Click to comment

Florida

Tropical Depression 4 Florida county-by-county impacts: Timeline, biggest weather threats

Published

7 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical Depression 4 Florida county-by-county impacts: Timeline, biggest weather threats

Tropical Depression Four 12PM update: Latest track, path

Tropical Depression Four entered the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, where it’s expected to strengthen further and become Tropical Storm Debby before later making landfall somewhere over Florida, according to the latest projections from the National Hurricane Center.

Exactly where the storm makes landfall has yet to be determined. However, regardless, Central Florida will begin to feel impacts from the system. The main weather threats are heavy rain, strong and gusty winds, and the possibility of tornado warnings.

Here’s a county-by-county breakdown of the timeline, impacts, and main weather threats for Central Florida counties.

Brevard County

Flagler County

Lake County

Marion County

Orange County

Osceola County

Seminole County

Sumter County

Volusia County

Source link

Florida

Texas vs. Florida Week11 Preview: Game Predictions

Published

14 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Texas vs. Florida Week11 Preview: Game Predictions

Heading into the final push of the CFB season, the Texas Longhorns will host a mainstay in the SEC conference, the Florida Gators. With few meetings between the two teams, and none in the last 80 years, this will be a brand new environment for both schools.

Texas is an early favorite over the Gators, but a lot could be different for the two teams in the next three months. Regardless, our staff aimed to predict the score between these two CFB giants.

Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) throws the ball during fall football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun] / Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida is a tough nut to crack. Should DJ Lagway take over as the starter and perform the way many expect him to, they could be dangerous. Nevertheless, the Longhorns are clearly the better team. It’s not easy, but the Horns move to 8-1.

Texas 31
Florida 21

Florida will roll into Austin right after a grueling neutral-field matchup against Georgia in Jacksonville, and I expect the Gators to be worn out after three straight tough SEC games. Florida possesses a young and inexperienced defense and question marks all over the passing game, including who will start for the Gators come Nov. 9. Texas’ weapons on the offense will just be too much for Florida, and QBs Graham Mertz’ inability to work downfield and DJ Lagway’s inexperience will cost Florida this game.

Texas 51
Florida 21

Isa Almeida, Staff Writer

Florida didn’t have the best season in 2023. Going into 2024, the program will aim to improve that record and come out on top of newcomers Texas.

Texas might be new to the SEC, but with the home crowd and a solid team heading into the conference, it might be hard for the Gators to pull through.

Texas: 32
Florida: 14

Emma Hutchinson, Staff Writer

It’s a good thing that Texas isn’t playing Florida at “The Swamp,” otherwise my prediction might look a little different. However, the Gators are going through a lot of turmoil ahead of this season, including questions of how head coach Bill Napier will fare in potentially his last season with the team and who might take up the starting quarterback position. Florida is a fresh team, and despite having multiple newcomers looking to shake things up for the better, it’ll still be Texas on top at the end of the day.

Texas: 40
Florida: 21

Quinn Ewers is going to eat up a very weak Florida secondary. This is the type of game that he needs to generate more hype.

Texas: 31
Florida: 10

Source link

Florida

Sea Turtle Released in Florida Keys Joins ‘Tour de Turtles’ Race

Published

21 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Sea Turtle Released in Florida Keys Joins ‘Tour de Turtles’ Race

A rehabilitated turtle was fitted with a satellite-tracking device and released from a Florida Keys beach on August 2, as part of the Tour de Turtles, an iniative which follows the long-distance migration of sea turtles over three months.

Footage released by the Florida Keys News Bureau shows workers from the Marathon-based Turtle Hospital releasing Roseleigh, a green sea turtle, into the ocean.

Roseleigh was named by her rescuers after being found floating off Islamorada in March 2024. She was treated by the Turtle Hospital for a severe case of fibropapillomatosis, a deadly tumor-causing disease that may be linked to pollution in the oceans and nearshore waters.

After a series of successful surgeries and treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics, fluids, vitamins and a healthy diet of greens and mixed seafood, Roseleigh is back in good health and is swimming strongly.

The event is organized annually by the Sea Turtle Conservancy to raise awareness about threats to the animals’ survival. Credit: Florida Keys News Bureau via Storyful