April Talk for Cedar Keys Audubon to Focus on
Shellfish Harvesting and Red Tide
In its final offering for the 2022-23 season, CK Audubon will present ‘Harmful Algal Bloom Management in Florida’s Shellfish Harvesting Areas” with Mark DeHaven of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture on Monday, April 24, 5pm, at the Cedar Key Community Center.
Mr. DeHaven is an Environmental Specialist 2 working out of the FWC Marine Lab in Cedar Key. Mark worked for the Department of Agriculture for 22 years but also worked as a field biologist in the area for 27 years. He is in the Shellfish Harvesting Area Classification Program doing the managing, water quality sampling and classification of shellfish harvesting waters in Dixie, Levy, and Citrus Counties.
Harmful algal blooms (HABs), such as the Florida Red Tide, present significant health concerns for both humans and wildlife. Fish and wildlife kills are often seen. Burning eyes and respiratory irritation often ruin beach days for humans throughout the state. These are some of the more well-known problems that HABs can create.
However, did you know that one of the most significant health concerns associated with HABs are illnesses called “shellfish poisoning”? Shellfish poisoning occurs when molluscan shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels) are harvested and eaten from waters in which a HAB is present. Since molluscan shellfish are filter feeders, it causes them to become contaminated with the toxin produced from the HAB.
This presentation will introduce the audience to the three species of harmful algae that occur in Florida and describe how the state monitors and manages the shellfish harvesting areas for HABs in order to keep the consumer safe from shellfish poisoning.
Shellfish Harvesting and Red Tide
In its final offering for the 2022-23 season, CK Audubon will present ‘Harmful Algal Bloom Management in Florida’s Shellfish Harvesting Areas” with Mark DeHaven of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture on Monday, April 24, 5pm, at the Cedar Key Community Center.
Mr. DeHaven is an Environmental Specialist 2 working out of the FWC Marine Lab in Cedar Key. Mark worked for the Department of Agriculture for 22 years but also worked as a field biologist in the area for 27 years. He is in the Shellfish Harvesting Area Classification Program doing the managing, water quality sampling and classification of shellfish harvesting waters in Dixie, Levy, and Citrus Counties.
Harmful algal blooms (HABs), such as the Florida Red Tide, present significant health concerns for both humans and wildlife. Fish and wildlife kills are often seen. Burning eyes and respiratory irritation often ruin beach days for humans throughout the state. These are some of the more well-known problems that HABs can create.
However, did you know that one of the most significant health concerns associated with HABs are illnesses called “shellfish poisoning”? Shellfish poisoning occurs when molluscan shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels) are harvested and eaten from waters in which a HAB is present. Since molluscan shellfish are filter feeders, it causes them to become contaminated with the toxin produced from the HAB.
This presentation will introduce the audience to the three species of harmful algae that occur in Florida and describe how the state monitors and manages the shellfish harvesting areas for HABs in order to keep the consumer safe from shellfish poisoning.
Cedar Keys Audubon is pleased to announce a presentation by Janell Brush, FWC research scientist, titled “Between Paradise and Peril: A Story of American Oystercatcher Persistence in the Cedar Keys” to be held Monday, January 23, 2023, 5pm at the Cedar Key Community Center.
The Cedar Keys are home to a small resident breeding population of American Oystercatchers. This population increases to over a thousand birds during the fall and winter with the arrival of winter migrants. The matrix of oyster reefs and small sand/shell islands provide ideal habitats for breeding and nonbreeding oystercatchers.
Food is plentiful in the Cedar Keys, but nesting habitats are limited to a few small offshore islands, making every nesting area critical for conservation and population gains. The winter population depends on optimal high-tide roosts that are offshore, higher in elevation, and free of woody vegetation that can harbor predators. A single high tide roost can provide essential habitat for over 5% of the entire population of American Oystercatchers. These critical high-tide roosts are few and are declining and degrading.
Janell will present over a decade of research into the importance and function of foraging, roosting, and breeding habitats for the American Oystercatcher and recent results that are an early conservation warning for the species.
Janell is originally from Nebraska. She received her B.S. from the University of Nebraska (1998) and an M.S. from the University of Florida (2006). She is an associate research scientist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission where she has managed avian research projects and grants for over 15 years. Janell leads the FWC research and monitoring efforts for shorebirds, seabirds, and eagles.
The Cedar Keys are home to a small resident breeding population of American Oystercatchers. This population increases to over a thousand birds during the fall and winter with the arrival of winter migrants. The matrix of oyster reefs and small sand/shell islands provide ideal habitats for breeding and nonbreeding oystercatchers.
Food is plentiful in the Cedar Keys, but nesting habitats are limited to a few small offshore islands, making every nesting area critical for conservation and population gains. The winter population depends on optimal high-tide roosts that are offshore, higher in elevation, and free of woody vegetation that can harbor predators. A single high tide roost can provide essential habitat for over 5% of the entire population of American Oystercatchers. These critical high-tide roosts are few and are declining and degrading.
Janell will present over a decade of research into the importance and function of foraging, roosting, and breeding habitats for the American Oystercatcher and recent results that are an early conservation warning for the species.
Janell is originally from Nebraska. She received her B.S. from the University of Nebraska (1998) and an M.S. from the University of Florida (2006). She is an associate research scientist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission where she has managed avian research projects and grants for over 15 years. Janell leads the FWC research and monitoring efforts for shorebirds, seabirds, and eagles.
