Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is taking a “short vacation” this week, rafting in Idaho’s famous Salmon River.
While she’ll get some relief from Miami’s 105-degree “feel-like” temperature, she’ll also have Biscayne Bay and corals in mind.
Those were the topics of Friday evening’s 90-minute Extreme Heat & Biscayne Bay discussion series, in which four experts addressed the current situation, some possible solutions, and how the public can help protect the critical ecosystem.
“Obviously, this is something where we have to work together,” she said. “We’ve already doubled the rate of last summer for extreme heat advisories.”
The panel of experts included:
• Laura Eldredge, Restoration & Enhancement Section Manager at Miami-Dade County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM);
• Dalton Hesley, Senior Research Associate of the Coral Restoration Lab at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School and the Program Director of UM’s Rescue A Reef program;
• Dr. Brian Walker, Research Program Director at Nova Southeastern’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography; and
• Allison Holevoet with Florida Sea Grant and Florida’s Coral Reef Resilience Program (FCRRP) Coordinator, a statewide public-private partnership.
A look at the topics:
Status: There are threats of bleaching, like in 2023, when the coral reefs in the lower Keys and Key Largo simply withered and died. Surface and bottom depths, globally, have a bleaching starting point of 30.8 degrees Celsius (87.44 Fahrenheit), while Florida is at 30.5 (or 86.9 Fahrenheit).
“Our team was underwater today,” said Hesley, noting that what they saw was consistent with each of a handful of the past summers. “Coral bleaching is on the brink. We are seeing them paling, but no recent mortality is good news. A slight breather like now means life or death, to the point of encouragement.”
Dalton Hesley holding a piece of coral in his hand.
(X / Dalton Hesley)
His coral restoration lab team (underwater coral farmers if you will), houses corals in nurseries, in better environmental conditions.
“We try and understand why some grow faster,” he said. “They’re going to do very well. It’s critical we are having this conversation right now.”
Dr. Walker said that although Biscayne Bay has been on Alert Level 2 for bleaching temperature stress, there’s been no mortality.
“An interesting aspect of our region, although it’s hot out there, it might be a refuge from extreme heat farther south,” he said.
Holevoet said that although the FCRRP umbrella is “above it all, we’re not here to push anyone out or duplicate (others’ works).
“One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned … is that (communication and collaboration) is critical, not just during the event, but before the event and the recovery process.”
Effects: Water temperature and water quality, triggered from land-based pollution, are the biggest factors.
“To Fix the Reefs, Fix the Bay,” is the title of a graphic Dr. Walker showed, saying fertilizer restrictions, at least, have worked.
Dr. Walker also said that by using a method of disease intervention, “We are able to calculate the amount of disease they get over time. As temperatures move up, there’s a lot more disease.”
Dr. Brian Walker.
(LinkedIn / Dr. Brian Walker)
Eldredge said her teams monitor the habitat, but invasive seagrass is another issue.
“The temps are a little bit promising,” she said. “At least in the bay waters, we’ve seen some decrease.”
For example, in 2023, the average bottom water temperature in the bay was 90.20 in July and 90.16 in August. This year those numbers have decreased to 89.12 in July and 86.68 so far this month, pretty much coinciding with the surface temperature decrease.
Hesley said the research at the local level is important.
“The world is watching Florida,” he said, noting that the teams of prominent scientists from Florida and the Caribbean are well respected. “We’re proud of the efforts we’ve seen,” he said, remaining optimistic. “A huge regional challenge can lead to a global stage.”
Response: “We’ve been busy, all hands on deck,” Hesley said.
He said that after the harsh 2023 summer, “We’re rethinking how we grow our coral.”
One way is to lower the coral “trees” in the water, keeping them away from the stressors.
“They’re not going to grow as fast, but it’s a fail-safe way to protect them,” he said.
Also, physically removing corals to be safe on land “where we can control the water temperature and light” is another method.
“We need societal action,” Hesley added, noting that the public is welcome to reserve a spot on the boat research trips and learn how coral gardens can effectively be grown. “We’re doing a lot of exciting things … last year, we were able to replant corals across the Caribbean; we work with corals from other regions like Honduras, which are exposed to warmer weather, so they’re tougher (heat tolerant).”
Also, Hesley said, “We’re thinking eye in the sky-like projects, like a canopy. Is there a way to shade these corals, like floating umbrellas? Everyone is putting their heads together, to prepare us for what’s really ahead.”
Dr. Walker showed how two solutions by ocean alchemists also could help.
Using antibiotics had been the plan “but, unfortunately, that’s not well-received in the environment, so now we are testing non-antibiotics (a paste) in the Virgin Islands,” he said.
They have found that after putting the paste to the lesions, about 80% had stopped decaying. One was a blend of natural ingredients and the other combined with chlorine.
“We found that after three months, using two treatments, both had significantly showed less legion progression, and the corals that didn’t receive treatment died,” Dr. Walker said. “It’s encouraging to see.”
Now, the research will convene on 42 coral colonies off of Fort Lauderdale.
“We are really hoping this work (is successful) and we can proceed with non-antibiotics,” Dr. Walker said.
Public invited: Holevoet said that her team has created a Florida Thermal Stress Preparedness and Response Plan, a sort of one-stop shop with points of contact for emergency notifications and even for funding opportunities.
“This is a crisis, (we) want to be prepared and want to have actions at the ready,” she said.
What can people do to help?
• E-mail: baywatch@miamidade.gov
• Call (305) 372-6955 or 311 and report anything you might see
• Join the Adopt a Buoy program (interactive site)
• Attend public restoration efforts (next one Friday, Aug. 28)
“The expeditions are really fun,” Hesley said. “There’s so much you can do on land (too) where we see the needle move. It inspires you to do anything.”