Updates

From page 10 firm the survival of a few hundred seedlings behind the lone mature red mangrove in the horseshoe cove The oyster reef at both locations have not been surveyed after the storm Coastal Watch reported that it plans on continuing the restoration efforts on these islands in the fall months

Cor morant Key

C h a r l o t t e H a r b o r A q u a t i c P r e s e r v e s t a f f a n d

Milbrandt visited Cormorant Key in December for a six-month progress check Coastal Watch reported that it was impressive the newly formed reef appeared to be unaffected by the strong winds and waves from Ian During the site check, they found over 400 oysters from just six 0 25m2 quadrats, and many spat (baby oysters) were utilizing the reef

Coastal Watch thanked all the volunteers who helped in May to build back the damaged reef

Development bills

quality is suffering, and our wetlands a r e d i s a p p e a r i n g , ” S C C F Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis said “These bills could eradicate the ability of local govern-

Sea turtles

sea turtles are apparent, the longterm impacts of exposure are not as well understood,” she said

Over the past four years, SCCF researchers have collected nearly 400 blood and hundreds of tissue samples from nesting loggerhead sea turtles and their offspring to examine sublethal health impacts of red tide, including maternal health, reproductive success, embryonic tissues to hatchling pathology, and the transfer of red tide toxins between mother and offspring

One female turtle, Pepper, had

From page 10 ments to make the decisions that are right for their citizens and their economies Without proper planning, Florida’s unique natural resources could be irreversibly damaged ”

From page 10 blood collected twice as part of the p r o j e c t i n 2 0 2 0 B o t h s a m p l e s revealed extremely low concentrations of red tide toxins

“The primary route of exposure to red tide toxins for sea turtles is the ingestion of toxic prey,” Sloan said “Although Pepper nested during the severe red tide event in 2018, her foraging grounds are not in the Gulf of Mexico, and her prey is likely not contaminated ”

The SCCF reported that Pepper was last seen on Bonita Beach in July, after which she returned to her

The SCCF noted that it will follow the bills and fiercely advocating for citizen’s rights, intelligent d e v e l o p m e n t t h a t p r o t e c t s w a t e r quality, and home rule foraging grounds in the Caribbean, where she remains now

The sea turtle team is analyzing the rest of the data from the study and hopes to have results published l a t e r t h i s s p r i n g C o l l a b o r a t o r s include the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Florida Wildlife Research I n s t i t u t e , U n i v e r s i t y o f F l o r i d a , Fishhead Labs, and the University of Miami

To report a suspected stranding, call the SCCF Sea Turtle Hotline at 978-728-3663 e e k o f