Returning to Longboat Key, Florida, for the first time since last summer's devastating red tide, I have found that the regional bird populations have been affected. While the land birds remain as common as usual, those that feed on fish and marine invertebrates seem to be far less abundant.
Though we have only been on the island for 24 hours, most ospreys, pelicans, waders, cormorants, mergansers, gulls and terns appear to have moved to areas where prey is more readily available. Far fewer fish are jumping on the Bay and schools observed from the seawall are less widespread and composed primarily of smaller fish.
Perhaps our initial observations are deceiving but there is little doubt that the 2018 red tide had a dramatic impact on the local marine ecosystems, both on the Gulf of Mexico and in Sarasota Bay. A full recovery will eventually occur but the fish and bird populations will likely remain low for an extended period of time.
Though we have only been on the island for 24 hours, most ospreys, pelicans, waders, cormorants, mergansers, gulls and terns appear to have moved to areas where prey is more readily available. Far fewer fish are jumping on the Bay and schools observed from the seawall are less widespread and composed primarily of smaller fish.
Perhaps our initial observations are deceiving but there is little doubt that the 2018 red tide had a dramatic impact on the local marine ecosystems, both on the Gulf of Mexico and in Sarasota Bay. A full recovery will eventually occur but the fish and bird populations will likely remain low for an extended period of time.
