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Each month, the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute team curates Florida's environmental news with expert insight from scientists and researchers around the state. We hope you enjoy this month's sampling.

If you know someone interested in subscribing, they can do so at: http://bit.ly/EarthtoFL

Featured News

Florida is no stranger to a variety of algae blooms. You’ve probably heard of them. Eye-burning red tide. Guacamole textured blue-green cyanobacteria blooms. And the latest — a massive bloom of a seaweed, or macroalgae, called sargassum.  

Blooms of magnitude of any of these algae can lead to environmental, economic and public health problems. But what causes these organisms to bloom by the masses? How much are humans to blame? How do we monitor and forecast these blooms? 

We’ve broken these questions down by each algae type, thanks to the help of Florida Sea Grant faculty and staff. Read our post to learn more.  

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Composting your food scraps is one way to cut down on landfill waste and help the planet. But, does the practice intimidate you? Good news! Imperfect composting is OK and you don't need any fancy equipment to get started.

TESI coordinator & educator Sadie Mills chronicles her trial and errors during her composting journey. Learn the practical tips she's learned along the way in this month's Action of the Month.

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Habitats & Biodiversity

Research shows that climate change is resulting in mass migrations of plant and animal species across the globe. These migrations will create new ecosystems and impact public health, global food supply and human well being.

A recent perspective piece in Nature Climate Change by University of Florida researcher Brett Scheffers and Gretta Pecl advocate for increasing cross-border monitoring and management of species around the world. By doing so, the researchers hope to provide a baseline for the future conservation of all species. Learn more in this post by TESI postdoctoral researcher Jen Bauer. 

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Sharks elicit outsized fear, even though the risk of a shark bite is infinitesimally small. Scientists are careful to emphasize how rare shark bites are: You are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning than be bitten by a shark.

Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, wrote a few things about sharks that are often overlooked in this piece for The Conversation. 

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Florida is home to nearly 700 vertebrate and more than 30,000 invertebrate animal species. At the same time, 21.3 million people take up residence and more than 100 million tourists visit the state each year, making human-animal interaction inevitable.  

Sometimes, these interactions make headlines. Here are seven Florida animals who have made the news this month. 

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Climate Responsibility & Natural Hazards

On August 2, Gov. DeSantis announced the appointment of Dr. Julia Nesheiwat as Florida’s first Chief Resilience Officer. The CRO is tasked with preparing Florida for the environmental, physical and economic impacts of sea level rise. Learn more about Nesheiwat's qualifications and future plans in this press release. 

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For the past 20 years, scientists and engineers have been working on a multi-billion-dollar restoration effort designed to reclaim the Everglades’ past glory.

But, scientists fear that although some progress has been made toward restoration’s original goals, growing evidence of unanticipated effects from climate change and sea level rise is forcing experts to reassess what is possible. William Nuttle, a scientist at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, explains in this post via The Conversation. 

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Land is already under growing human pressure and climate change is adding to these pressures. At the same time, keeping global warming to well below 2ºC can be achieved only by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors including land and food, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in its latest report on August 8. 

“Governments challenged the IPCC to take the first ever comprehensive look at the whole land-climate system. We did this through many contributions from experts and governments worldwide. This is the first time in IPCC report history that a majority of authors – 53% – are from developing countries,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC.

Read more in the IPCC press release. 

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Healthy Waterways

On August 2, Gov. DeSantis announced the appointments of 11 expert researchers and leading scientists to the recently re-organized Red Tide Task Force. 

The Red Tide Task Force will complement the Blue Green Algae Task Force and will be supported by FWC’s Center for Red Tide Research, which received $4.8 million in the budget. Learn more about the scientists appointed in this press release. 

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Related news: 

Earth Systems & the Economy

The oxygen-starved dead zone in the Northern Gulf of Mexico did not reach its record-setting prediction this year, but scientists are still concerned that the measurement may not paint the full picture of the problem. As the climate changes, what's the outlook for this area as it encroaches on economically important fish species?

 

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Learning Opportunities

Visit our learning opportunities calendar for a sampling of free and inexpensive environmental learning opportunities around Florida.

Every Friday, we also publish a weekly sampling of these opportunities on our Facebook page.
Learning Opportunities Around Florida
Do you have a learning opportunity for us to include in our newsletter? Email earthsystems@floridamuseum.ufl.edu to let us know!

TESI News

TESI Events

Science on Tap: Is Florida Trying to Kill Me?

About the Institute

Started in 2018, the mission of the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute is to advance communication and public understanding of current research discoveries about Earth’s natural systems — air, water, land and life — in Florida, and beyond. 
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