BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — On a sunny day in Bonita Springs, an ABC Action News crew went out with a team of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) researchers to a place whose name is a bit misleading.
At least for now.
"It's called the 'Bar of Despair,' laughed Dr. Melissa May, "Which was named by one of the faculty members because he thought that the oysters were dying, but they actually seem to be pretty healthy."
Dr. May is a Marine Biology professor at FGCU's Water School.
For the last three years, she and her students have been tracking oysters at several sites in Southwest Florida to see if they're alive, thriving, or stressed.
"I actually measure their stress enzymes," she said.
So far, they've found that pollution from Hurricane Ian is stressing the normally resilient oyster population.
And another factor?
On this particular day, the water in Fish Trap Bay was measured at the following temperature:
"So it's about 34 degrees Celsius," said Dr. May.
That converts to a temperature of 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dr. May said the water should be in the 80s.
"We came out two weeks ago, which would have been, I think, like the fifth day that it was in the mid-90s, and their stress levels were five times higher than anything I've ever recorded. And they're similar to what I've seen in the lab of oysters that are near-death," she said.
And if you're wondering why we should be worried about water temperature and the stress levels of shellfish—Dr. May said both can signal the breakdown of the local ecosystem.
"This provides, kind of similar to coral reefs, habitat? So lots of things live on the oyster reef, things like fish, crabs, snails," said Dr. May.
It could also spell trouble for those higher up the food chain.
"It has big implications for water quality. So, oysters filter lots and lots and lots of water. They're part of the reason that our bay is healthy. They filter out sediment; they filter out pollutants. And the more they're stressed, the less they filter," said Dr. May.
Dr. May says the bigger fix for rising global water temperatures is a bit more complex. But locally, she added that we can all do our part to keep water temperatures better regulated.
"So, I think just being very mindful what we're doing in the water and what we're putting in the water," she said.
