As the human population increases and waterfront development continues, manatees are losing habitat.  The development also damages seagrasses, degrades water quality and reduces the availability of the warm waters that manatees rely upon to survive.  Waters below 68° can prove fatal to manatees.

2013 was the deadliest year on record for the endangered manatee.  With populations of less than 5,000 they have suffered due to boats strikes and algae blooms that not only left many manatees dead, but also destroyed their food supply resulting in even more deaths.

In order to protect the manatees, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will establish a year-round manatee refugee in Kings Bay, its tributaries and adjoining water bodies.  Kings Bay, located at the headwaters of Crystal River and consists of 30 known springs that used to be clear and beautiful.

The once crystal clear water with clean white sand bottoms is now in distress.  Excess nutrients from wastewater, septic tanks and stormwater runoff resulted in declines in water clarity and growth of nuisance aquatic plants.  One such aquatic plant, water hyacinth is now part of an experiment to help restore the Bay and save the manatees.

Water hyacinth once choked the waterways and extensive control measures began in the early 1900’s.  With the water hyacinth under control, filamentous blue-green algae arrived.  A controversial experiment is now under way in Kings Bay to reduce algae populations and remove nutrients by using the ever efficient filtering of the water hyacinth.

Water hyacinth will be placed in containment cages to prevent their spread.  It is believed that the shade from the floating aquatic plants and the nutrients they will remove from the water will make a substantial difference in water clarity in the area.

Kings Bay Restoration

The reef supports a wide diversity of life including many endangered species, some of which are unique to the Great Barrier Reef.  More than 1,500 fish species call the reef home, including the clownfish like Nemo from the Disney movie, Finding Nemo.  There are six species of sea turtles, 30 species of dolphins, porpoises, and whales; including the humpback whale.  There are species of sea grass, coral, birds, sea snakes, mollusk, sea horses and frogs   that all call the Great Barrier Reef home.

Tropical cyclones, which can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, can also produce high waves and storm surges which can damage the Great Barrier Reef.  However, most of the environmental threats to the reef are manmade.  Pollution, shipping accidents, oil spills, and climate change have all resulted in the loss of more than two-thirds of the reefs coral since 1985.

Pollution and declining water quality are a couple of key threats faced by the Great Barrier Reef.  In 2009 a pesticide monitoring program collected samples at eleven sites; at least two pesticides were detected at every site.  Diuron, atrazine, and metolachlor exceeded Australian and New Zealand water quality guidelines at eight sites.

Over 90% of this pollution comes from farm runoff which is caused by over grazing, excessive fertilizer and pesticide use.  The runoff problem is exacerbated by the loss of coastal wetlands which are necessary to act as filters for the toxins and to help trap the sediment.  The declines in water quality and pesticide pollution have made the reef less resilient to climate change.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was created in 1975 to help manage the reef in a sustainable manner.  Their goal is reduce non-point sources of pollution and it specifically targets nutrients, pesticides and sediment that make their way into the reef due to agricultural activities.  The Center for Biological Diversity is also hoping to protect the reef; they filed a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect clownfish under the Endangered Species Act.

While there is no evidence that the clownfish population is in decline, the concern is the deteriorating health of the coral reefs.  A critical element of the Endangered Species Act is protecting species’ natural habitats as opposed to merely protecting the population.  The loss of the clownfish’s habitat is a long-term threat to the species which has prompted environmentalists to begin seeking protection now.

The Great Barrier Reef is Australia’s best documented case of contamination of an ecosystem by pesticides.  The Australian government put in place a three-month moratorium on diuron.  The ban covered the season, which began in December, when soil run-off is at its greatest.  Spraying has resumed, but with restrictions; spraying is not allowed if about two inches of rain is expected within three days of application or if the land has a slope greater than 3%.  Some believe it is a good start to saving the Great Barrier Reef while others feel it is too little of an effort.