The Keys Marine Laboratory in Layton is dealing with high-tide flooding while welcoming cooler ocean temperatures that are allowing coral restoration efforts to resume.
Dr. Cindy Lewis of the Keys Marine Laboratory joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the lab.
“I was over at the lab late last night, about 11 o’clock, just as it was peaking high tide there, and I was wading up to my knees in water in some places,” Lewis said.
Despite the flooding, laboratory operations continued without interruption because staff had prepared for the high water.
“We were prepared for it,” Lewis said. “Everything that needed to be was high and dry. Our seawater systems are all running fine.”
Staff were working to pump out and dry flooded areas Wednesday morning, but Lewis said conditions had improved significantly by then.
“The waters are down this morning,” she said. “It’s completely walkable and everything else. You’d never know that the waters were there, except for the high-water lines that we had out in our parking lot.”
The laboratory was preparing for the possibility of another round of flooding Wednesday night.
“I’m going to go see how things are drying out at the lab and see if I can help my crew kind of make that happen so we’re ready for tonight’s flooding, because I think we’ll see more flooding tonight and we’ll just be prepared,” Lewis said.
While flooding remains a concern, cooler ocean temperatures are bringing encouraging news for coral reefs in the Florida Keys.
Lewis said water temperatures have dropped enough that corals are no longer experiencing heat stress, allowing restoration partners to resume planting corals on the reef.
“We are no longer under a heat stress as far as the corals are concerned on the reef,” Lewis said. “Our restoration partners have been able to resume their outplanting activities.”
The cooler weather gives corals an opportunity to recover from bleaching associated with earlier periods of unusually warm water.
“The corals now have an opportunity through the cooler weather for the winter to recover from all the bleaching,” Lewis said. “They can recover if given enough time.”
Lewis said the water temperatures are a welcome change after months of concern about the effects of heat on the reefs.
“The water temperatures are wonderful, and we’re no longer under a heat stress, which is the first time since I think May,” she said.
The Keys Marine Laboratory, operated by the Florida Institute of Oceanography, serves as a marine field station for researchers and students studying the Florida Keys’ tropical marine ecosystem. The facility is part of a consortium involving 34 universities, institutions and state agencies.
The laboratory recently hosted about 20 undergraduate students from Florida Southern University for a marine biology and ecology course. The group explored several marine habitats, including seagrass beds, mangroves, patch reefs and the coral reef environment.
Students snorkeled from shore and went out on a research boat to experience the different ecosystems surrounding the laboratory.
Lewis praised the professor’s enthusiasm and the students’ excitement about the hands-on experience.
“He brings so much energy to the experience with these kids, and you can just see them bouncing around as they’re getting ready to go out on the boat or getting ready to go snorkeling,” she said.
One student summed up the experience in a social media comment shared with the professor.
“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” the student wrote.
Lewis said the laboratory has developed a legacy of introducing students to marine science and helping inspire future researchers.
“We’ve had several students that have come back to us years later as a grad student, or even later, you know, grad students progressing on to be professors and coming back to us and bringing their classes,” she said.
“There’s a bit of a legacy there, if you will, where kids get this experience, it ignites their passion and sets them on their journey for their career, and they can pass it on,” Lewis said.
Although activity at the laboratory typically slows toward the end of the year, several groups are scheduled to visit before Christmas. A University of Miami marine field studies class is expected to spend a week at the facility in December. The class is returning for its second year.
Smaller research groups are also expected to use the laboratory during the coming months.
“We get calls kind of every other day from, ‘Hey, do you have room where we can come down at this time?’ or whatever, so we’ll sort of fill in some slots and do that,” Lewis said.
The quieter period also gives staff an opportunity to work on projects around the facility that can be difficult to complete when research teams are out on the water.
The laboratory continues fundraising efforts to support major renovations and new construction. In the meantime, staff are performing maintenance and repairs to keep existing buildings operational.
“We’re still working on raising funds and working to position ourselves so that we can do some of those renovations and the rebuilds, the new builds,” Lewis said.
She said the laboratory is working to maintain its current buildings for another five to eight years while plans for more extensive improvements move forward.
“It’s a continuing battle, if you will,” Lewis said. “But I think we’re winning. I think we’re winning the battle.”
The laboratory’s continued work supports research, education and restoration efforts throughout the Florida Keys, helping scientists and students better understand the region’s marine ecosystems.
For now, Lewis said staff are focused on drying out the facility, helping their crew and preparing for another possible round of high-tide flooding.
A coastal flood warning had been extended until 5 a.m. Thursday, according to the radio report, while a small craft advisory remained in effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday, with a possible extension.
For more information on Keys Marine Lab, click here: https://www.fio.usf.edu/keys-marine-lab/