October 16, 2023

Bloom, there it goes!

24 minutes

THANK YOU to all of our loyal listeners! Has this podcast made a difference in your life?

The survey is now closed, but we look forward to hearing from you again next fall! If you have comments or topics for next season, submit them at ⁠www.naturallyfloridapodcast.com⁠

If you live in Florida, chances are you have heard or read about “harmful algal blooms" commonly referred to as HABs. We have received many requests for an episode on this topic, so…here it is! What are algae? What is a HAB? Are all algae bad? Learn this and more in today’s episode.

Learn More:

Protecting Florida Together - https://protectingfloridatogether.gov/

Marine HABs - https://myfwc.com/redtide/

Freshwater HABs - https://floridadep.gov/AlgalBloom

U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms - https://hab.whoi.edu/

How You Can Help:

Limit your contribution to excess nutrients by fertilizing only when necessary, ensuring you blow grass clippings back on the landscape (not down a storm drain…that’s illegal), plant native plants to help with nutrient uptake, and check that your down spout is directed into your landscape and not down your driveway.

Report an algal bloom in a freshwater system - www.reportalgalbloom.com

Report fish kills at the Fish Kill Hotline 1-800-636-0511

Avoid contact with water that has algae blooms

Sources for this Episode:

Historical Occurrence of HABs - https://hab.whoi.edu/about/historical-occurrence-of-habs/

An Introduction to Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Florida - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOi156_jl9c

Harmful Algal Blooms - https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topics/harmful_algal_blooms

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a friend who might enjoy learning about Florida's natural areas and the wild things that live here!

If you're active on iNaturalist, consider joining our iNaturalist project, Naturally Florida's Listener Observations, here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/naturally-florida-s-listener-observations⁠⁠

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By Shannon Carnevale and Lara Milligan

4.9

8282 ratings