14 DAY TRIAL // A group of scientists and researchers from Florida have recently found out that their efforts of protecting the fate of sea turtles paid off and will still be recognized and awarded in the next two years.
Experts received $227,793 for the first year in which they tried to explain how the red tide is killing many such creatures in the waters of Gulf of Mexico. The financial support will still guide their steps, since the team has to collect $653,379 for the entire three-year eco-friendly project.
The death of these otherwise robust animals is correlated with the harmful presence of algal blooms, considered the main disrupting factor affecting the health and wellbeing of sea turtle population.
In order to fight emerging threats, experts have to know what they are really dealing with, to be able to draw out pertinent, effective preservation measures.
Once the problem is identified, the team of experts will present their findings to the coastal resource managers that will launch a rehabilitation campaign, indicating the most appropriate treatment for the recovery of the vulnerable species.
The entire research project is led by Sarah Milton, Ph.D. professor of biology at Florida Atlantic University, who is assisted by scientists and veterinarians from Harbor Branch Institute, Mote Marine Laboratory and Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.
This initiative is possible due to NOAA's financial support. The organization evaluated the gravity of the present context and decided to power a national competition of the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB). As this action took care of the financial aspects, now the team of experts is expected to come up with some conclusive answers.
Taking into account the seriousness of the threat that is putting the lives of sea turtles as well as the entire ecosystem at great risks, the organization hopes that its contribution will help decrease the number of animals killed in mysterious ways.
The only thing they are certain of is that several sea turtles are either ill, dying or already dead and their current condition is generated by a severe environmental degradation.
“Sea turtles are physically robust animals, often surviving boat strikes or shark attacks, but they have proven to be highly sensitive to pollution[...]In recent years, red tide events in the Gulf of Mexico have led to hundreds of sea turtle deaths.” Milton reports.
This project highlights NOAA's commitment in solving every puzzle “from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun.” The organization is sparing no efforts in preserving the fragile ecosystems and its weak, endangered inhabitants.