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For more than 30 years, the Audubon team at the Everglades Science Center has recorded water temperatures in Taylor Slough, part of Everglades National Park. On July 12, the team recorded a record-breaking 96.7 °F.
Hot water temperatures are more than uncomfortable – they can be dangerous. Extended hot water temperatures could cause a seagrass die off. Additionally, heat creates conditions for deadly algal blooms, which thrive in warm water containing high levels of nutrients from agricultural and stormwater runoff.
Moreover, the temperatures themselves can kill fish and other wildlife, while furthering the bleaching events threatening coral reefs.
– Cyndee Woolley, C2 Communications, The SWFL 100