Research
Urbanization and Red Tide
“Linking Terrestrial Nutrients to Red Tide Incidences in the Tampa Bay: A Preliminary Investigation”
Principal investigator: Gurpal Toor
Other investigators: Amy Shober, Geoff Denny, Chris Martinez, Sabine Grunwald, Soil and Water Science Department
Faculty members of the new Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology have received a Research Innovation Fund grant of nearly $50,000 to investigate potential links between nutrient runoff and red tide, the toxic algae bloom, in Tampa Bay.
Abstract
The goal of the study is to provide information that will help develop solutions to manage Tampa Bay’s red tide problems, by exploring the relationship between nutrient distribution in the landscape and stream water quality parameters. The research team hopes to answer the question “What is the impact of rapid urbanization on soil and water quality in a coastal watershed already subject to red tide outbreaks?”
The investigating team will use remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) tools to develop relationships between nutrients stored in different areas of landscape, such as residential, commercial, agriculture, and forest areas, and nutrients flowing in selected segments of the Alafia River. The area targeted in this exploratory study is the North Prong Drainage Basin of the Alafia River watershed. Land use in the Alafia River watershed is predominantly urban (thirty-eight percent), followed by agricultural (thirty-three percent) and conservation land (seventeen percent).
Background
Red tide has become increasingly common throughout Florida’s coastal waters, including Tampa Bay. Several studies have linked population growth and the associated increase in nutrient runoff with an increase in the frequency and extent of algal blooms throughout the world.
As Florida’s population continues to rise, land is being converted from traditional agricultural and other rural uses to residential and commercial developments at an alarming rate. This land use conversion adversely affects the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils, reducing the ability of soil to act as a natural buffer able to remove nutrients from runoff waters.
At the same time, the increase in pavement and other impervious surfaces that comes with urbanization means that a great amount of runoff is created. And this runoff can rapidly transport nutrients from land to water bodies. The resulting increased nutrient transport may lead to red tide events that last longer and can occur more frequently, which may threaten recreational uses of coastal waters and severely affect Florida’s important tourism industry.
The Investigative Team
The principal investigator of the red tide project is Gurpal Toor, Assistant Professor of Soil and Water Science. Other faculty involved in the study include Amy Shober, also Assistant Professor of Soil and Water Science; Geoff Denny, Assistant Professor of Environmental Horticulture; Chris Martinez, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering; and Sabine Grunwald, Associate Professor of Soil and Water Science. All members of the team (except Grunwald) are affiliated with the Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology.
