Agencies convene on Florida’s ailing Indian River Lagoon system

Indian River Lagoon (Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, via Wikimedia Commons)

Multiple agencies are combining efforts to address problems plaguing the Indian River Lagoon system in Florida, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

Much of the lagoon system’s aquatic life has suffered in recent years, including the death of 47,000 acres of sea grass, hundreds of pelicans, and dozens of manatees and dolphins. Algal blooms are likely to blame, though researchers understand there are complex factors at work. Some researchers have theorized that a chain reaction involving pollution and severe freezes in 2010 may have caused the blooms.

Scientists from NOAA, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and other organizations are studying the algal blooms. A group from Florida Atlantic University plans to install water-monitoring systems in the lagoon.

Image: Indian River Lagoon (Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, via Wikimedia Commons)