September 2013 IRL Science Update Mosquito Lagoon (ML) – Brown tide continues in southern Mosquito Lagoon. Late August concentrations from the lab at Stony Brook University showed up to 128,424 cells ml-1. This is similar to the concentration seen in southern ML in May. Seagrass in ML appears to be holding on through the bloom, with little to no change in transects length. Salinity remains high in the mid to upper 30’s (ppt). Chlorophyll levels peaked in June and have been steadily declining since then, although water clarity remains poor. North IRL (NIRL) – Brown tide continues in NIRL. Early August concentrations from the FWC lab show A. lagunensis near Titusville up to 80,756 cells m-1 with Pyrodinium also present. Late August concentrations from the Stony Brook University lab showed up to 57,755 cells ml-1 near Haulover Canal (note: use caution when comparing concentrations from different labs – methodologies are not the same). Late August concentrations from SBU showed 142,744 cells ml-1 in the northern most tip near Turnbull and Big Flounder Creeks. There has been little to no change in seagrass transects length but some density declines have been seen near Haulover Canal. Salinity in NIRL remains high, in the mid to upper 30’s (ppt). Chlorophyll levels peaked in May followed by a decline in June and have been increasing since June but have not reached May levels. Central IRL (Cocoa through Grant) – Extensive, patchy blooms of Takayama tasmanica are occurring throughout this region, as well as some patchy blooms of Pyrodinium. There have been many associated fish kills reported by FWC. Chlorophyll in Melbourne has increased this month to some of the highest seen in at least 5 years. Field chlorophyll measurements conducted at a station near Melbourne on 9/9/13 (using the Turner Aquafluor field instrument, waiting on SJR lab results to confirm) were 77.39 μg/L (surface grab sample) 144.7 μg/L (vertically integrated sample). The bloom was dominated by Takayama tasmanica (44,435,000 cells/L; Ed Phlips). Salinity has been in the mid 20’s (ppt). Seagrass in this area continues to struggle with very little recovery seen since the Superbloom of 2011. Banana River (BR) – Patchy Pyrodinium blooms continues through this region. There have been many associated fish kills reported by FWC. Most recent concentrations from FWC show Pyro up to 165,300 cells/L. Seagrass in southern BR continues to struggle but central BR has seen increases in transects length and density. Northern BR still has not seen seagrass recovery since the 2011 Superbloom. Chlorophyll in southern BR has been increasing since June. South/Central (Sebastian through Vero) – Not much in the way of blooms for this area. Seagrass is starting to show some signs of recovery, but very slowly. Monitoring staff have recently noticed the pioneer seagrass species, H. decipiens, coming in at several seagrass transect sites. Water has been very brown but this is due to color associated with the recent rain, and is not bloom related. Salinity in the Sebastian area remains in the mid 30’s (ppt). Vero has been in the mid 20’s to low 30’s (ppt).
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 14:44:39 +0000
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