Latest news with #ChrisAnastasiou
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sarasota Bay sees 19% increase in seagrass despite Hurricanes Helene, Milton
The Brief During an expedition to check on the health of seagrass beds in Sarasota Bay, scientists discovered positive signs. While there are patches of macroalgae in parts of Sarasota Bay, each place visited showed thriving signs of seagrass beds. While the results for Sarasota Bay are positive, scientists said there's more work to be done. BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. - Launching from Bradenton Beach, the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and Southwest Florida Water Management District went on a science expedition to check on the health of seagrass beds in Sarasota Bay. "Whenever you're dealing with a living organism, like seagrass, things change over time," said Dr. Chris Anastasiou, the chief water quality scientist and the lead of the Seagrass Mapping Program with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. READ: Experts weigh in on study naming 10 Florida beaches America's most dangerous ones After just one dive down beneath the surface, they found what they were looking for. "We were very encouraged, pleasantly surprised that things look good," said Anastasiou. Big picture view The 2024 seagrass mapping study by the Southwest Florida Water Management District showed gains over the last two years, but there was concern Hurricanes Helene and Milton could have brought damage. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube On Friday, scientists discovered seagrass intact. While there are patches of macroalgae in parts of Sarasota Bay, which could smother seagrass, each place Dr. David Tomasko and Anastasiou visited showed thriving signs of seagrass beds. "We've gained about 19% increase in seagrass, almost 2,000 acres. That should be able to support more than 70 million fish," said Tomasko, who is the director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Dig deeper Tomasko said there's no gimmick when it comes to the health of Sarasota Bay. He said the bay's health and also seagrass is dependent on improvements to the area's stormwater and wastewater treatment plants. "Big upgrades from Manatee County, Sarasota County. The City of Sarasota has got one of the best wastewater treatment plants in the country. We are reducing the nutrient loads from wastewater, stormwater. We are getting our act together and educating the public," said Tomasko. MORE: Inside an organization's effort to attract more oysters in Bay Area waters What's next While the results for Sarasota Bay are positive, Tomasko said there's more work to be done. "Find the nutrient loads that make the most sense, go after them, get the water quality back and the seagrass will come back," he said. What you can do You can also help the Sarasota Bay Estuary program keep eyes on macroalgae and seagrass coverage. The 2024 Eyes on Seagrass program will start in April. To learn more, visit The Source The information in this story was gathered through interviews and information from Dr. Chris Anastasiou and Dr. David Tomasko. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Tampa Bay estuary is gaining seagrass, but northern bay still struggling
When it comes to the seagrass beds that stretch across Florida's largest open-water estuary, there's some good news and bad news. The good news: For the first time in nearly a decade, Tampa Bay has seen an overall increase in the aquatic plant that curbs erosion, cuts pollution and is a general indicator of the bay's health. Since 2022, the bay has added roughly 1,400 acres of seagrass, or about a 5% gain. The bad news: The bay's northern section, Old Tampa Bay, is at a record-low amount of seagrass since tracking began in 1988. That part of the bay, beneath three major bridges and thwarted by poor circulation, has lost more than 320 acres of seagrass over the last two years. Those highs and lows are according to the latest biennial seagrass mapping results from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, presented publicly for the first time Wednesday at a meeting with state and local scientists in downtown St. Petersburg. 'The reason why we map seagrass is because it gives us the pulse of the estuary. And the pulse is better,' said Chris Anastasiou, the district's chief water quality scientist and head of the seagrass mapping program. 'I think we're seeing a positive response, except for Old Tampa Bay,' he said in an interview. Bay experts say that nutrient pollution, paired with additional stress from warm and slow-moving water, are reasons why Old Tampa Bay continues to struggle. Besides Old Tampa Bay, the other portions of the bay either saw an increase in seagrass beds or remained unchanged from the last survey, according to Anastasiou. There are now more than 31,500 acres of seagrass spanning the entire bay, a total increase of 36% over the past three decades and closer to the overall restoration goal of 40,000 total acres. The lower bay now has a record-high amount of the underwater plant, with just over 8,000 acres. Beginning their work in December 2023, seagrass experts spent months flying over the bay on clear winter days, taking pictures of the seafloor and studying the results. The data is essentially a snapshot of the bay from this time last year – it doesn't account for the unrelenting hits from Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In 2023, mapping results showed Tampa Bay had lost more than 4,100 acres of seagrass over two years. It was the first time the water district had logged declines in three consecutive studies. The consensus for why Tampa Bay saw positive gains this time around is, in part, a prolonged period of dry weather, where months of little rainfall threw the region into drought conditions. While drought is good for water quality – less polluted runoff is spilling into the bay – experts were quick to remind the group of scientists Wednesday that drought isn't a restoration strategy. Over the five-month period when the most recent results were collected, ending in April 2024, there were also tamer red tide conditions compared to past studies. That may have contributed to healthier waters. Plus, the previous round of results were accounting for the Piney Point wastewater disaster, when millions of gallons of pollution were dumped into the bay. The majority of the estuary's overall gains come from Hillsborough Bay, the waterbody just south of downtown Tampa. A species of long and flat seagrass, called shoal grass, is known to have booms and busts and can spread quickly, and most of the increases across Hillsborough Bay are shoal grass beds, according to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. In 2022, Hillsborough Bay had about 400 acres of seagrass. Now it's at more than 1,100 acres – a whopping 185% increase. 'It can be easy to fixate on the negative, especially when it comes to the environment. But Tampa Bay has been, and continues to be a remarkable story of success,' said Maya Burke, assistant director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. 'Our story may not be simple — with this year's results showing both record high seagrass coverage in Lower Tampa Bay and record lows in Old Tampa Bay — but we do know how to work together for a better Tampa Bay.' The Southwest Florida Water Management doesn't just track Tampa Bay's seagrass coverage. On Wednesday, it also unveiled recent survey results for St. Joseph Sound, Sarasota Bay, Lemon Bay and Charlotte Harbor. Perhaps the biggest success story of this research cycle was Sarasota Bay: That waterway has gained nearly 2,000 acres of seagrass over two years, or a 19% increase overall. Charlotte Harbor, on the other hand, lost nearly 900 acres. Scientists will take to the skies in December to begin the next two-year seagrass study.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lake Tarpon's water quality was a mess. A new report says it has gotten better.
Lake Tarpon, the largest freshwater lake in the Tampa Bay area and home to some of the best bass fishing in the state, has long been plagued by outbreaks of invasive species and poor water quality. For decades, water managers have treated the lake with expensive herbicides and mechanical harvesting of hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant that crowds out native species and clogs boat propellers. It was often a losing battle. The aquatic weed even contributed to a fatal personal watercraft accident in 2000 when a man on a WaveRunner swerved to avoid a patch of hydrilla, throwing his passenger into the water where he drowned. One year later, the district published an update to its surface water plan, citing an alarming decline in water quality. When Southwest Florida Water Management District staff on Thursday unveiled the first surface water plan in more than two decades, water managers appeared much more optimistic. About half a dozen residents joined project managers at the Brooker Creek Preserve Center in Tarpon Springs, where Lake Tarpon water managers announced a 'hold the line' strategy — a turning point in the lake's health. Chris Anastasiou, the water management district's chief water quality scientist for the surface water program, said about 90% of the lake's submerged plants are healthy, which has created a thriving ecosystem and bass fishery. It took years of hard work to get here, and water managers can't drop their guard now, he added. 'Holding the line does not mean do nothing. It actually takes a lot of work to hold the line,' Anastasiou said. A draft lake management plan, published in August, credits Lake Tarpon's revival to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's recent efforts to treat hydrilla outbreaks early. Water managers keep invasive species at bay by spraying herbicide and collecting the aquatic weed with a marine tractor that scoops it from the surface. But in the 1990s, hydrilla growth had become out of control. A low point occurred in 1992, when lake managers treated 500 acres of hydrilla. In 1993, one resident told the then-St. Petersburg Times she had never seen an outbreak as bad in her 20 years working at a marina on the lake. Since 2010, fewer than 100 acres have been treated each year, according to the water management district. Lake Tarpon managers track the presence of hydrilla by measuring chlorophyll-a, a pigment used in photosynthesis. In 2001, they set a goal of 14 micrograms per liter, which managers based on data collected in Lake Tarpon between 1990 and 1992 — a very healthy period just before the lake's water quality nosedived. Water managers acknowledged in the plan that chlorophyll-a levels have remained 'well above' that goal over the last 25 years, though the report states Lake Tarpon is 'a very healthy system.' Anastasiou said he doesn't know why chlorophyll levels have remained so high despite the absence of hydrilla for many years. It's something that future research will need to address. Residents in attendance Thursday evening asked scientists about the effects of native species, drawdowns and hurricanes on the lake. Human impact was a main concern. Liz Lindsay, who has lived in Pinellas County for more than 30 years, said she was concerned with development encroaching on Lake Tarpon. She recently moved to north county after St. Petersburg became too crowded, she said. 'How are you able to keep up with the amount of development?' she asked. 'It seems like just everybody wants to move to Florida now. Are they really paying attention to the negative impacts of all this development?' In 1999, developed areas made up 38% of the lake's watershed. By 2020, urban land had grown to about 45%, according to the draft plan. Urban lakes often struggle with high nutrient loads that can feed algae blooms, but managers said that doesn't appear to be an issue for Lake Tarpon. Since 2003, levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, which are common in lawn fertilizer, have remained within managers' goals. Still, water managers asked homeowners to avoid excessive fertilizer use, especially in neighborhoods in the southwest and northeast portions of the lake where drastic elevation slopes quickly channel runoff into the lake. Anastasiou said development doesn't always spell doom for Florida's water bodies. He pointed to Sarasota Bay, which the state removed from the impaired water bodies list last year after county officials prioritized stormwater improvements and habitat restoration. 'You can have both. It's hard. It takes a lot of money,' he said. While celebratory in tone, the new lake plan echoed managers' caution. 'Careful attention is needed to ensure that the progress made over the past two decades is not lost due to land use change, sea level rise, climate change and other impacts,' the plan states. The draft plan will presented to the water management district's governing board in March before being sent for final review.
