KEY WEST, FL, January 23, 2020— The College of the Florida Keys continues its 2020 VIP Series with “Florida’s Algae Crisis: Lessons Learned in the Florida Keys.” The presentation, led by Florida Atlantic University researcher and professor, Dr. Brian Lapointe, is on Wednesday, February 5 at 7 p.m. in the Tennessee Williams Theatre on the Key West Campus.
Dr. Lapointe will discuss how humans have greatly altered the global nitrogen cycle—more than doubling the amount of biologically available nitrogen on the planet. He will describe four decades of research on how increasing nitrogen pollution in Florida has been driving algae blooms, including blue-green algae in Lake Okeechobee and the downstream St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. The increasing land-based nitrogen is also supporting red tides in southwest Florida, as well as brown tides in the Indian River Lagoon. In the Florida Keys, increasing nitrogen inputs since the 1980s have contributed to algal blooms and metabolic stress in corals, which makes them more susceptible to coral bleaching, diseases, and ultimately die-off. Improved wastewater infrastructure in the Florida Keys will help mitigate local nitrogen inputs, but ongoing efforts to “send water south” from Lake Okeechobee is worsening the algae problem in Florida Bay and downstream waters of the Florida Keys.
Dr. Lapointe is internationally renowned for his research on water quality and harmful algal blooms in tropical and subtropical seagrass and coral reef ecosystems. He obtained a BA in Biology from Boston University, a MS in Environmental Science from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of South Florida. He has worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, and is currently a Research Professor in the Marine Ecosystem Health Program at Florida Atlantic University- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) in Ft. Pierce, FL. Since 1982, Dr. Lapointe has been a part-time resident of Big Pine Key while assessing nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms in coastal waters of the Florida Keys, South Florida, and globally.
In its seventh season, the College’s VIP Series invites the community to learn from the Visions, Ideas, and Perspectives of speakers of local, regional, and national prominence. The 2020 season, sponsored by Centennial Bank, includes presentations that focus on timely and relevant topics.
Tickets are $5 at the door. Admission is free for students at CFK and Monroe County schools. For more information, call CFK at 305-296-9081 or visit www.fkcc.edu.
[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]
No Comment