1 00:00:03,370 --> 00:00:06,840 >>NARRATOR: They are an ancient species of flowering plants 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,644 that grow submerged in all of the world's oceans 3 00:00:10,644 --> 00:00:14,014 from the latitudes of northern Alaska to the tip 4 00:00:14,014 --> 00:00:16,283 of South America. 5 00:00:16,283 --> 00:00:19,553 Sea grasses evolved during the age of the dinosaurs 6 00:00:19,553 --> 00:00:23,457 nearly 100 million years ago and are found toda 7 00:00:23,457 --> 00:00:27,728 in bays and estuaries around the globe. 8 00:00:27,728 --> 00:00:30,764 In shallow tropical and subtropical waters, 9 00:00:30,764 --> 00:00:34,835 these "prairies of the sea" link the offshore coral reefs 10 00:00:34,835 --> 00:00:38,071 with coastal mangrove forests. 11 00:00:38,071 --> 00:00:41,375 They provide food and shelter for many marine species 12 00:00:41,375 --> 00:00:46,446 that will one day inhabit the reefs. 13 00:00:46,446 --> 00:00:50,217 Sea grasses and mangroves stabilize coastal sediments 14 00:00:50,217 --> 00:00:54,821 and create buffers against storm surge and flooding. 15 00:00:54,821 --> 00:00:58,091 They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, 16 00:00:58,091 --> 00:01:01,461 filter contaminants from coastal waters, 17 00:01:01,461 --> 00:01:06,300 and add value to local economies. 18 00:01:06,300 --> 00:01:10,671 But sea grasses are in decline globall 19 00:01:10,671 --> 00:01:14,875 and mangroves are being lost to coastal development. 20 00:01:14,875 --> 00:01:17,077 >>These areas are degrading right now. 21 00:01:17,077 --> 00:01:19,580 It's not 50 years from now or 100 years from now, 22 00:01:19,580 --> 00:01:21,348 but it's occurring right now. 23 00:01:21,348 --> 00:01:23,517 >>The rate at which we're losing sea grass habitat 24 00:01:23,517 --> 00:01:26,587 globally could result in an ecosystem collapse 25 00:01:26,587 --> 00:01:29,156 from the bottom of the food chain all the way up. 26 00:01:29,156 --> 00:01:30,591 >>NARRATOR: Will restoring sea grass 27 00:01:30,591 --> 00:01:34,194 and mangrove communities help sustain the ecological 28 00:01:34,194 --> 00:01:38,966 and economic values of the ocean's bays and estuaries? 29 00:01:38,966 --> 00:01:42,669 And how will rising sea levels impact their survival 30 00:01:42,669 --> 00:01:43,770 in the future? 31 00:02:09,229 --> 00:02:11,865 >>Major funding for this program was provided 32 00:02:11,865 --> 00:02:14,067 by the Batchelor Foundation. 33 00:02:14,067 --> 00:02:16,670 Encouraging people to preserve and protect 34 00:02:16,670 --> 00:02:21,675 America's underwater resources. 35 00:02:37,290 --> 00:02:39,526 >>NARRATOR: Over the last few decades, 36 00:02:39,526 --> 00:02:43,096 worldwide human populations have increased dramaticall 37 00:02:43,096 --> 00:02:45,198 along coastlines. 38 00:02:45,198 --> 00:02:48,402 At the same time, sea grasses have declined at a rate 39 00:02:48,402 --> 00:02:52,873 of nearly 7% per year-- a rate higher than the loss 40 00:02:52,873 --> 00:02:56,476 of coral reefs or tropical rain forests. 41 00:02:56,476 --> 00:03:00,647 Storm water runoff from coastal communities and human activities 42 00:03:00,647 --> 00:03:05,252 along the shoreline contribute to the decline. 43 00:03:05,252 --> 00:03:10,257 Boat groundings and anchor damage add to the problem. 44 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,037 Unlike the more recognizable icons of the seas, 45 00:03:24,037 --> 00:03:26,139 the value of sea grasses and mangroves 46 00:03:26,139 --> 00:03:29,409 can be easily overlooked. 47 00:03:29,409 --> 00:03:31,778 >>If you just casually read newspapers in places 48 00:03:31,778 --> 00:03:33,246 that science stories are published, 49 00:03:33,246 --> 00:03:34,748 you often read about tropical forests, 50 00:03:34,748 --> 00:03:36,149 you often read about coral reefs, 51 00:03:36,149 --> 00:03:38,351 and occasionally you'll even read about mangroves, 52 00:03:38,351 --> 00:03:41,154 but you almost never read about sea grasses. 53 00:03:41,154 --> 00:03:44,391 Sea grasses are the Rodney Dangerfield 54 00:03:44,391 --> 00:03:46,426 of coastal marine ecosystems. 55 00:03:46,426 --> 00:03:47,694 They really get no respect. 56 00:03:49,496 --> 00:03:52,933 >>NARRATOR: But researchers have discovered that sea grasses 57 00:03:52,933 --> 00:03:56,136 and mangroves deserve a great deal of respect 58 00:03:56,136 --> 00:03:59,406 for their many values in the ocean. 59 00:03:59,406 --> 00:04:02,509 >>Sea grasses keep erosion down, they lock sediments 60 00:04:02,509 --> 00:04:04,611 into the bottom, and they actually remove sediments 61 00:04:04,611 --> 00:04:06,012 from the water column. 62 00:04:06,012 --> 00:04:08,014 When that happens, it maintains a clear water column 63 00:04:08,014 --> 00:04:09,916 so a lot of light reaches the bottom. 64 00:04:09,916 --> 00:04:12,319 If sea grasses were to disappear, then all of a sudden 65 00:04:12,319 --> 00:04:14,788 they are no longer holding these sediments in place. 66 00:04:14,788 --> 00:04:16,623 Sediments get up in the water and the water 67 00:04:16,623 --> 00:04:19,025 becomes very, very turbid. 68 00:04:19,025 --> 00:04:22,362 >>That's really important when you're thinking about areas 69 00:04:22,362 --> 00:04:24,564 that are heavily populated, where folks like to recreate 70 00:04:24,564 --> 00:04:26,533 where sediments can be stirred up. 71 00:04:26,533 --> 00:04:29,002 They kind of root them down and keep them stable. 72 00:04:29,002 --> 00:04:31,071 And they provide some hurricane protection, 73 00:04:31,071 --> 00:04:32,973 much like mangroves do on a global scale. 74 00:04:32,973 --> 00:04:34,374 You've got sea grasses and mangroves 75 00:04:34,374 --> 00:04:36,977 that break wave action when storms come, 76 00:04:36,977 --> 00:04:40,947 and that also provide nature's way of stabilizing 77 00:04:40,947 --> 00:04:42,549 the shoreline. 78 00:04:42,549 --> 00:04:43,984 >>We live in an area of the world where we get 79 00:04:43,984 --> 00:04:46,853 these catastrophic storm events, hurricanes and tropical storms 80 00:04:46,853 --> 00:04:50,490 and, where they hit the coast they can definitely create 81 00:04:50,490 --> 00:04:51,958 erosion problems. 82 00:04:51,958 --> 00:04:54,928 And what we find is that areas that are protected or buffered 83 00:04:54,928 --> 00:04:58,131 by mangrove forested wetlands tend to do much better. 84 00:04:58,131 --> 00:05:00,867 And then we lose a lot of coastline in areas 85 00:05:00,867 --> 00:05:03,036 where we removed mangroves and replaced them 86 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:04,538 with things like seawalls. 87 00:05:06,907 --> 00:05:09,309 >>NARRATOR: Still, some of the most important values 88 00:05:09,309 --> 00:05:13,213 of these resources are less obvious. 89 00:05:13,213 --> 00:05:15,782 >>It's been shown that about a hectare of sea grass, 90 00:05:15,782 --> 00:05:17,517 which is equivalent to a soccer field, 91 00:05:17,517 --> 00:05:20,287 can use the same amount of nitrogen that would come 92 00:05:20,287 --> 00:05:24,791 from treated sewage from 800 people in one year. 93 00:05:24,791 --> 00:05:26,793 And then, if you're looking at the carbon numbers, 94 00:05:26,793 --> 00:05:30,964 sea grass can fix the same amount of carbon 95 00:05:30,964 --> 00:05:33,733 per meter squared in a year that you would produce 96 00:05:33,733 --> 00:05:37,037 by driving your car 7,500 miles. 97 00:05:37,037 --> 00:05:39,706 Just the amount of nitrogen they pick up is worth 98 00:05:39,706 --> 00:05:44,477 $19,000 a year for that one little spot of sea grass. 99 00:05:44,477 --> 00:05:46,513 And you start to look at everything else 100 00:05:46,513 --> 00:05:48,114 that is associated with them. 101 00:05:48,114 --> 00:05:52,919 You're not talking a monetary amount for fisheries 102 00:05:52,919 --> 00:05:55,856 because you've got the shrimp industry down here 103 00:05:55,856 --> 00:06:00,026 in South Florida, you've got all of the sports fishing, 104 00:06:00,026 --> 00:06:02,462 as well as most of the fish from either the mangroves 105 00:06:02,462 --> 00:06:05,332 or the coral reefs having some sort of connection 106 00:06:05,332 --> 00:06:08,535 with sea grass. 107 00:06:08,535 --> 00:06:10,804 >>Sea grasses and mangroves provide the nursery habitat, 108 00:06:10,804 --> 00:06:13,240 the foundation of our ecosystem, 109 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,577 and without having a healthy nursery habitat 110 00:06:17,577 --> 00:06:19,980 where fishery industries can survive 111 00:06:19,980 --> 00:06:21,615 and our tourism industry thrives 112 00:06:21,615 --> 00:06:23,817 because we've got this industry that depends on having 113 00:06:23,817 --> 00:06:26,286 nice clear water and habitat where fish can grow 114 00:06:26,286 --> 00:06:29,456 both for sustainability and sustenance for people to eat 115 00:06:29,456 --> 00:06:31,258 and also for our tourism industry where people 116 00:06:31,258 --> 00:06:33,393 like to recreate. 117 00:06:33,393 --> 00:06:35,929 From the basic part of that food chain up through 118 00:06:35,929 --> 00:06:39,466 human consumption you'd have, really, an ecosystem collapse. 119 00:06:39,466 --> 00:06:41,668 >>It certainly is a crisis. 120 00:06:41,668 --> 00:06:43,570 Sea grasses are very valuable for the ecosystem services 121 00:06:43,570 --> 00:06:45,839 they provide, besides being just hotspots of biodiversit 122 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:48,541 and beautiful places to visit. 123 00:06:48,541 --> 00:06:50,810 >>I'm fascinated by sea grass habitats. 124 00:06:50,810 --> 00:06:53,013 On the surface you look at a sea grass habitat 125 00:06:53,013 --> 00:06:55,115 and you see a bunch of green grass, 126 00:06:55,115 --> 00:06:57,083 essentially, that doesn't look too different from your lawn, 127 00:06:57,083 --> 00:06:58,351 for example. 128 00:06:58,351 --> 00:07:00,020 But sea grasses, or the habitats, 129 00:07:00,020 --> 00:07:01,721 are incredibly complex. 130 00:07:01,721 --> 00:07:04,391 There are so many different organisms that live there, 131 00:07:04,391 --> 00:07:07,027 there are so many different bio-geochemical cycles 132 00:07:07,027 --> 00:07:09,729 and processes that are going on in there. 133 00:07:09,729 --> 00:07:13,266 If you put your face up close to a sea grass habitat, 134 00:07:13,266 --> 00:07:15,168 you'll be amazed at the number of different things 135 00:07:15,168 --> 00:07:17,203 that you'll see on the small scale. 136 00:07:24,878 --> 00:07:28,048 >>NARRATOR: In the sub-tropical waters of southeast Florida, 137 00:07:28,048 --> 00:07:32,118 neighboring metropolitan Miami, Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve 138 00:07:32,118 --> 00:07:37,357 manages nearly 70,000 acres of submerged land. 139 00:07:37,357 --> 00:07:42,529 Nearly three-quarters of that is covered by sea grass. 140 00:07:42,529 --> 00:07:46,166 Mangrove forested islands and shorelines grow adjacent 141 00:07:46,166 --> 00:07:48,568 to these sea grass communities. 142 00:07:48,568 --> 00:07:51,838 The most common variety, red mangroves, 143 00:07:51,838 --> 00:07:54,174 are found growing at the water's edge. 144 00:07:54,174 --> 00:07:58,812 Behind them, black mangroves, and farther upland, 145 00:07:58,812 --> 00:08:00,981 white mangroves. 146 00:08:02,849 --> 00:08:06,219 Historically, Biscayne Bay received freshwater 147 00:08:06,219 --> 00:08:09,589 from the Everglades, but in modern times 148 00:08:09,589 --> 00:08:13,760 the hydrology has been altered by drainage canals, 149 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,763 channelized rivers, and changes in the flow 150 00:08:16,763 --> 00:08:21,468 of ground water into the bay. 151 00:08:21,468 --> 00:08:24,104 The diversity of species has also changed, 152 00:08:24,104 --> 00:08:27,007 but it still remains an estuar 153 00:08:27,007 --> 00:08:30,877 where freshwater and saltwater meet. 154 00:08:30,877 --> 00:08:33,246 >>One of the things we do is form partnerships 155 00:08:33,246 --> 00:08:36,816 with local resource agencies, universities, 156 00:08:36,816 --> 00:08:39,252 researchers who are looking at what the resources are 157 00:08:39,252 --> 00:08:41,788 in Biscayne Bay so that we can get a better understanding 158 00:08:41,788 --> 00:08:44,024 of what's there now, but also, 159 00:08:44,024 --> 00:08:48,028 how have things changed and how are they changing? 160 00:08:57,837 --> 00:08:59,939 >>NARRATOR: Marine biologists are monitoring 161 00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:03,777 salinity, sediments and organisms that live on 162 00:09:03,777 --> 00:09:07,580 sea grasses found in Biscayne Bay with a long term goal 163 00:09:07,580 --> 00:09:11,418 of determining what effect a new freshwater canal 164 00:09:11,418 --> 00:09:15,422 flowing into the bay will have on the ecosystem. 165 00:09:18,124 --> 00:09:19,859 >>This project is directly related 166 00:09:19,859 --> 00:09:22,796 to the Everglades Restoration Project, 167 00:09:22,796 --> 00:09:24,397 and what's going to be happening is, 168 00:09:24,397 --> 00:09:28,501 the freshwater regime of south Florida is going to be changing. 169 00:09:28,501 --> 00:09:32,705 And everybody that's involved wants to try to get an idea 170 00:09:32,705 --> 00:09:36,676 of what and how these changes are going to be affecting 171 00:09:36,676 --> 00:09:39,012 what's already here. 172 00:09:39,012 --> 00:09:42,348 Overall, if you have salinities changing 173 00:09:42,348 --> 00:09:45,485 on a much larger scale, then you start getting into 174 00:09:45,485 --> 00:09:51,157 chemistry a lot more: how warmer waters are going 175 00:09:51,157 --> 00:09:55,028 to be acidifying with higher levels of CO2. 176 00:09:55,028 --> 00:10:00,300 That's going to be affecting how the sediments actually work 177 00:10:00,300 --> 00:10:01,534 or don't work. 178 00:10:01,534 --> 00:10:03,870 It starts to get pretty ugly pretty quick. 179 00:10:03,870 --> 00:10:07,607 We don't know exactly what's going to happen. 180 00:10:07,607 --> 00:10:10,643 >>NARRATOR: Photo archival data of the sea grass beds 181 00:10:10,643 --> 00:10:13,947 is recorded with a specially designed boat 182 00:10:13,947 --> 00:10:22,388 and shallow water positioning system known as SWAPS. 183 00:10:22,388 --> 00:10:25,792 >>We've got a glass bottom boat so that you can see the stuff 184 00:10:25,792 --> 00:10:27,293 that's out there. 185 00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:29,229 We've got a digital camera attached to the glass bottom. 186 00:10:29,229 --> 00:10:31,097 We can move that around as we need to. 187 00:10:31,097 --> 00:10:33,133 That runs directly through a computer, 188 00:10:33,133 --> 00:10:34,767 goes straight to a hard drive. 189 00:10:34,767 --> 00:10:39,839 We've got GPS, so it codes every photo with exactly where it is. 190 00:10:39,839 --> 00:10:42,742 Even if we're doing a straight line or just trying to sit 191 00:10:42,742 --> 00:10:47,180 in one spot, each one of these is tagged so precisel 192 00:10:47,180 --> 00:10:50,283 that we can follow it around, because sea grass doesn't grow 193 00:10:50,283 --> 00:10:54,154 all the time as just one big meadow like your yard. 194 00:10:54,154 --> 00:10:56,856 There's going to be little patches of it. 195 00:10:56,856 --> 00:11:02,695 This gives us a nice snapshot of the community as it is 196 00:11:02,695 --> 00:11:06,966 right up against the mangroves, and how that changes as it moves 197 00:11:06,966 --> 00:11:09,269 into a little bit deeper water. 198 00:11:09,269 --> 00:11:11,938 We're going out, and year after year, 199 00:11:11,938 --> 00:11:16,342 taking photo quadrants, basically, and so that wa 200 00:11:16,342 --> 00:11:20,013 in the future we can always come back if we need to check 201 00:11:20,013 --> 00:11:23,816 for any specific organisms or any specific changes 202 00:11:23,816 --> 00:11:27,887 that we may have missed on our preliminary analysis. 203 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:35,828 >>NARRATOR: Sea grass and mangrove communities 204 00:11:35,828 --> 00:11:38,731 in Biscayne Bay nurture juvenile fish 205 00:11:38,731 --> 00:11:44,904 and marine creatures that feed and find shelter here. 206 00:11:44,904 --> 00:11:47,941 Some will make their way offshore to the coral reefs. 207 00:11:47,941 --> 00:11:51,911 Others will live out their entire life cycles in the bay. 208 00:11:55,915 --> 00:12:00,086 More than a hundred bottlenose dolphins reside in the bay, 209 00:12:00,086 --> 00:12:04,524 stalking fish around the sea grass beds. 210 00:12:04,524 --> 00:12:08,027 Sea grasses are a primary food source for manatees, 211 00:12:08,027 --> 00:12:11,331 but as opportunistic feeders, they will consume 212 00:12:11,331 --> 00:12:13,866 low hanging mangrove leaves. 213 00:12:16,536 --> 00:12:21,074 Sea grasses in tropical and subtropical bays and estuaries 214 00:12:21,074 --> 00:12:24,844 around the world have a relationship with mangroves, 215 00:12:24,844 --> 00:12:28,715 like prairies do to forests on land. 216 00:12:28,715 --> 00:12:32,118 >>A good example of this is along the mangrove fringe 217 00:12:32,118 --> 00:12:33,953 down in the southern part of the aquatic preserve 218 00:12:33,953 --> 00:12:35,755 near Chicken Key and the Deering Estate. 219 00:12:35,755 --> 00:12:39,859 You've got an expansive mangrove forest right adjacent 220 00:12:39,859 --> 00:12:43,596 to the shoreline and then out from that for a few miles 221 00:12:43,596 --> 00:12:47,600 you've got dense sea grass beds. 222 00:12:53,106 --> 00:12:55,575 >>NARRATOR: The prop roots of mangrove trees suppl 223 00:12:55,575 --> 00:12:59,345 food and shelter to some of the same marine organisms 224 00:12:59,345 --> 00:13:03,049 and fish that are found in sea grass beds. 225 00:13:03,049 --> 00:13:08,521 Because many near-shore and offshore species rel 226 00:13:08,521 --> 00:13:12,392 on mangroves as a nursery, when mangrove habitat is lost, 227 00:13:12,392 --> 00:13:15,395 fisheries soon decline. 228 00:13:18,998 --> 00:13:23,336 Human impacts on these ecosystems are a clear challenge 229 00:13:23,336 --> 00:13:25,071 for resource managers. 230 00:13:30,343 --> 00:13:34,080 In the 1960s, developers acquired a section of shoreline 231 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,050 in the northern tributary of the ba 232 00:13:37,050 --> 00:13:42,588 and cleared the mangrove forest to dredge and build a marina. 233 00:13:42,588 --> 00:13:45,591 Years later, the site was acquired to form a part 234 00:13:45,591 --> 00:13:48,528 of the Oleta River State Park. 235 00:13:48,528 --> 00:13:51,564 Today, it's being restored to its natural condition 236 00:13:51,564 --> 00:13:54,567 as a mangrove wetland. 237 00:13:54,567 --> 00:13:57,003 >>This is a red mangrove propagule that has just started 238 00:13:57,003 --> 00:13:59,572 to put out some roots and some leaves. 239 00:13:59,572 --> 00:14:03,643 As you can see, they are about six to sometimes nine inches 240 00:14:03,643 --> 00:14:09,082 in length and they come off the tree as a very cigar shaped-- 241 00:14:09,082 --> 00:14:10,817 some people say it's pencil shaped-- 242 00:14:10,817 --> 00:14:14,921 very long sort of propagule seed, 243 00:14:14,921 --> 00:14:19,192 and they float in the system until they find 244 00:14:19,192 --> 00:14:24,063 some substrate, and the one end is a little bit heavier 245 00:14:24,063 --> 00:14:26,332 than the other end and it tends to take root 246 00:14:26,332 --> 00:14:29,068 and get in an upright position. 247 00:14:29,068 --> 00:14:31,304 And again, you have to remember, the water is going up and down 248 00:14:31,304 --> 00:14:33,139 as this is all happening. 249 00:14:33,139 --> 00:14:37,610 Then once it starts to establish some root into the substrate, 250 00:14:37,610 --> 00:14:40,580 it will start to grow and the mangroves grow 251 00:14:40,580 --> 00:14:42,382 about two feet a year. 252 00:14:42,382 --> 00:14:44,584 They differ from one location to another, 253 00:14:44,584 --> 00:14:46,853 but that's a pretty good average. 254 00:14:46,853 --> 00:14:49,322 The red mangroves will grow up to 150 feet 255 00:14:49,322 --> 00:14:53,159 if they didn't have impacts as far as storm impacts. 256 00:14:53,159 --> 00:14:57,196 And in this area we see them from 80 to 100 feet tall. 257 00:14:57,196 --> 00:15:00,032 Unfortunately, we have our frequency of hurricanes here 258 00:15:00,032 --> 00:15:03,636 is great and as a result our mangroves are not as tall 259 00:15:03,636 --> 00:15:05,471 as some of the ones in southeast Asia, 260 00:15:05,471 --> 00:15:09,041 where they have a lower frequency of storm events. 261 00:15:09,041 --> 00:15:11,210 These channel ways feeding into the site were designed 262 00:15:11,210 --> 00:15:14,414 minus three feet. 263 00:15:14,414 --> 00:15:16,449 It's really been exciting in our restoration plans. 264 00:15:16,449 --> 00:15:18,684 We not only just have a plain of mangroves, 265 00:15:18,684 --> 00:15:21,120 but we also have these tidal creeks and channels 266 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:22,922 and tidal pools. 267 00:15:22,922 --> 00:15:26,526 It's amazing to see the life, the abundance of life 268 00:15:26,526 --> 00:15:29,629 that comes in and succeeds through time. 269 00:15:29,629 --> 00:15:33,166 We've seen fisheries that have come into areas, 270 00:15:33,166 --> 00:15:36,736 and just the species' richness, or the number of different types 271 00:15:36,736 --> 00:15:39,238 of fish or crabs or shrimp, have just gone right off 272 00:15:39,238 --> 00:15:41,374 the graph as far as the number of individuals 273 00:15:41,374 --> 00:15:44,043 and the diversity-- the different types that come 274 00:15:44,043 --> 00:15:46,412 into an area once it gets established. 275 00:15:47,747 --> 00:15:50,450 My biggest thrill about all of this is pretty much 276 00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:53,586 at a stage that we're at now with this project here, 277 00:15:53,586 --> 00:15:56,289 where we're pretty much concluding the construction, 278 00:15:56,289 --> 00:16:00,493 we're starting to plant the site with volunteers, 279 00:16:00,493 --> 00:16:02,361 and that's another big part of this effort, 280 00:16:02,361 --> 00:16:07,033 is to get the community in to obtain a sense of ownership, 281 00:16:07,033 --> 00:16:08,968 stewardship with the project. 282 00:16:08,968 --> 00:16:11,637 And families come out and can plant these mangroves, 283 00:16:11,637 --> 00:16:14,907 and come back and see the abundance of life 284 00:16:14,907 --> 00:16:16,075 and what they've done, 285 00:16:16,075 --> 00:16:21,681 and feel a part of the overall restoration. 286 00:16:21,681 --> 00:16:23,916 >>NARRATOR: But balancing resource management 287 00:16:23,916 --> 00:16:26,786 and restoration with recreational use 288 00:16:26,786 --> 00:16:30,356 is a steady challenge, particularly for specialists 289 00:16:30,356 --> 00:16:34,260 in Biscayne National Park, located at the southern end 290 00:16:34,260 --> 00:16:37,797 of the bay. 291 00:16:37,797 --> 00:16:41,400 It's a shallow water environment with submerged resources 292 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,103 like sea grasses and coral reefs-- 293 00:16:44,103 --> 00:16:49,509 a popular recreational area, but one that's frequently impacted 294 00:16:49,509 --> 00:16:53,279 by boat groundings and propeller scarring. 295 00:16:56,349 --> 00:16:58,985 >>We're trying to put the sediment back in the holes, 296 00:16:58,985 --> 00:17:00,753 or the scars themselves. 297 00:17:00,753 --> 00:17:04,624 Sea grasses cannot grow well in the water column itself, 298 00:17:04,624 --> 00:17:07,593 they need sediment to grow in, so until we replace that, 299 00:17:07,593 --> 00:17:10,229 those injuries take years and years and years to recover, 300 00:17:10,229 --> 00:17:13,900 if at all. 301 00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:16,369 We're putting in sediment that's very fine 302 00:17:16,369 --> 00:17:20,806 and it can cause a very large turbidity bloom in the water, 303 00:17:20,806 --> 00:17:22,875 which is not a good thing. 304 00:17:22,875 --> 00:17:27,013 We're actually required through state water quality standards 305 00:17:27,013 --> 00:17:29,715 to control that turbidity very carefully. 306 00:17:29,715 --> 00:17:32,718 So we will put up the yellow construction boom 307 00:17:32,718 --> 00:17:34,353 around the site that we're going 308 00:17:34,353 --> 00:17:35,855 to be working at and make sure 309 00:17:35,855 --> 00:17:39,458 that there is really very little option for leaking. 310 00:17:39,458 --> 00:17:41,961 Then we'll bring the sediment in on barges. 311 00:17:41,961 --> 00:17:44,997 Sometimes we use containerized sediment, 312 00:17:44,997 --> 00:17:47,233 for example, in a burlap bag. 313 00:17:47,233 --> 00:17:49,468 Sometimes we put the sediment that's loose. 314 00:17:49,468 --> 00:17:51,938 We use a crane-- some kind of crane-- 315 00:17:51,938 --> 00:17:54,040 to actually put it in the hole. 316 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:58,077 We have divers in the water feeling out the surface 317 00:17:58,077 --> 00:17:59,879 with their feet to figure out where we need to put more, 318 00:17:59,879 --> 00:18:02,515 you know, so we can kind of place the sediment 319 00:18:02,515 --> 00:18:04,350 exactly where it needs to be. 320 00:18:04,350 --> 00:18:06,319 And the other thing the divers are doing is 321 00:18:06,319 --> 00:18:09,021 collecting water samples for turbidity water monitoring. 322 00:18:11,824 --> 00:18:14,160 >>NARRATOR: In the final phase of this restoration, 323 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,831 healthy sea grasses will be transplanted to the site, 324 00:18:18,831 --> 00:18:20,399 a method having great success 325 00:18:20,399 --> 00:18:22,201 in the Channel Islands National Park 326 00:18:22,201 --> 00:18:24,971 off the coast of southern California. 327 00:18:24,971 --> 00:18:26,973 >>All right, I'm in. 328 00:18:33,646 --> 00:18:36,616 >>NARRATOR: The rich sea grass habitats of the Channel Islands 329 00:18:36,616 --> 00:18:40,052 sustain an abundance of marine life, 330 00:18:40,052 --> 00:18:44,323 offering food for some and shelter for others. 331 00:18:44,323 --> 00:18:50,262 Some of its species are found nowhere else in the world. 332 00:18:54,867 --> 00:18:59,038 Here, resource managers are harvesting healthy sea grasses 333 00:18:59,038 --> 00:19:02,041 to transplant in damaged areas. 334 00:19:09,181 --> 00:19:13,285 This five-year old restoration project has expanded 335 00:19:13,285 --> 00:19:16,455 the sea grass beds up to a mile away, 336 00:19:16,455 --> 00:19:19,458 adding new habitat for a diversity of species. 337 00:19:28,534 --> 00:19:32,371 But, it takes an informed public to share the responsibilit 338 00:19:32,371 --> 00:19:36,609 for sustaining these ecosystems, and resource managers 339 00:19:36,609 --> 00:19:39,979 want to engage people as well as local governments 340 00:19:39,979 --> 00:19:43,315 in promoting the best ways to enjoy the bays 341 00:19:43,315 --> 00:19:47,987 and estuaries while protecting the resources. 342 00:19:47,987 --> 00:19:50,656 >>On behalf of Miami-Dade county and this community, 343 00:19:50,656 --> 00:19:55,728 do hereby proclaim March 2010 as Sea Grass Awareness Month. 344 00:19:55,728 --> 00:19:56,996 >>Very good. 345 00:19:56,996 --> 00:20:02,068 (applause) 346 00:20:02,068 --> 00:20:06,305 >>NARRATOR: But will human intervention be enough? 347 00:20:06,305 --> 00:20:10,042 And in time to make a difference? 348 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:11,677 >>One of the things that is at the forefront 349 00:20:11,677 --> 00:20:14,346 of everyone's mind is, we're managing these areas, 350 00:20:14,346 --> 00:20:16,182 but what does that mean in 25 years, or 50, 351 00:20:16,182 --> 00:20:17,249 or 100 years? 352 00:20:17,249 --> 00:20:20,052 We'll be... this will be underwater, 353 00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:21,721 this island that we're sitting on right now. 354 00:20:21,721 --> 00:20:26,726 So it's a quandary. 355 00:20:28,427 --> 00:20:31,197 >>NARRATOR: In southwest Florida's Ten Thousand Islands, 356 00:20:31,197 --> 00:20:34,333 bottlenose dolphins corral their pre 357 00:20:34,333 --> 00:20:38,938 in one of the most productive mangrove estuaries in the world. 358 00:20:38,938 --> 00:20:42,575 From the air, the islands look much the same as they have 359 00:20:42,575 --> 00:20:47,012 for thousands of years, but today they are ground zero 360 00:20:47,012 --> 00:20:48,948 for researchers trying to solve 361 00:20:48,948 --> 00:20:52,618 one of the great scientific problems of the future: 362 00:20:52,618 --> 00:20:56,388 predicting sea level rise. 363 00:20:56,388 --> 00:20:59,892 At Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 364 00:20:59,892 --> 00:21:03,829 scientists are trying to determine how changing seas 365 00:21:03,829 --> 00:21:07,767 will affect the Ten Thousand Islands' mangrove forests 366 00:21:07,767 --> 00:21:10,669 and low lying coastline. 367 00:21:10,669 --> 00:21:14,206 >>We know without a doubt that sea level rise is increasing 368 00:21:14,206 --> 00:21:16,976 and it's actually an accelerated increase. 369 00:21:16,976 --> 00:21:20,012 That puts communities in southwest Florida at risk, 370 00:21:20,012 --> 00:21:21,614 not just here in southwest Florida, 371 00:21:21,614 --> 00:21:24,517 but I would say particularly so here because people live 372 00:21:24,517 --> 00:21:26,986 on Marco Island and Naples and the surrounding areas 373 00:21:26,986 --> 00:21:30,322 are living in communities in these built landscapes 374 00:21:30,322 --> 00:21:32,858 in a very low lying elevation. 375 00:21:32,858 --> 00:21:35,728 >>A lot of the mangroves we have around Rookery Ba 376 00:21:35,728 --> 00:21:38,197 are actually growing on living oyster reef, 377 00:21:38,197 --> 00:21:41,233 and if the water quality conditions are good, 378 00:21:41,233 --> 00:21:44,570 and in most cases in Rookery Bay that is the case, 379 00:21:44,570 --> 00:21:47,406 as the reef slowly expands, then we can also see 380 00:21:47,406 --> 00:21:51,310 an expansion of mangroves that occurs at the same time. 381 00:22:00,186 --> 00:22:03,889 Oysters have a tendency to grow up at a certain rate 382 00:22:03,889 --> 00:22:06,826 off of the sea floor, and if those oyster reefs 383 00:22:06,826 --> 00:22:10,029 are growing faster than sea level is going up, 384 00:22:10,029 --> 00:22:11,730 the oyster reefs become emergent. 385 00:22:11,730 --> 00:22:13,866 They come out of the water and then they become areas 386 00:22:13,866 --> 00:22:15,501 for recruitment for mangroves. 387 00:22:15,501 --> 00:22:17,236 So what was an oyster reef 388 00:22:17,236 --> 00:22:20,105 becomes a mangrove-forested island, 389 00:22:20,105 --> 00:22:22,274 and those mangrove-forested islands 390 00:22:22,274 --> 00:22:24,844 have snaking-like shapes, 391 00:22:24,844 --> 00:22:27,980 dendritic kinds of patterns, and it's those islands 392 00:22:27,980 --> 00:22:30,216 that give the Ten Thousand Islands their name. 393 00:22:30,216 --> 00:22:32,284 Now that sea level rise has accelerated, 394 00:22:32,284 --> 00:22:35,454 that rate of sea level rise is faster than oysters can grow, 395 00:22:35,454 --> 00:22:39,558 so that balance will shift and has already shifted 396 00:22:39,558 --> 00:22:42,862 and it's quite possible, I would venture to say likely, 397 00:22:42,862 --> 00:22:45,664 that the Ten Thousand Islands will disappear given 398 00:22:45,664 --> 00:22:47,433 the current rate of sea level rise, 399 00:22:47,433 --> 00:22:50,069 which will completely change the configuration of the coast 400 00:22:50,069 --> 00:22:53,439 and completely change the estuarine ecology of the coast, 401 00:22:53,439 --> 00:22:55,941 because those Ten Thousand Islands also serve 402 00:22:55,941 --> 00:22:58,711 as entrapments for fresh water that create 403 00:22:58,711 --> 00:23:00,913 the brackish water that serves as the nurseries, 404 00:23:00,913 --> 00:23:03,315 serves as the place for sea grass development, 405 00:23:03,315 --> 00:23:05,584 serves as a place for other oyster reef development. 406 00:23:05,584 --> 00:23:08,020 That's all likely to change. 407 00:23:08,020 --> 00:23:10,756 >>NARRATOR: Researchers are studying sediment samples 408 00:23:10,756 --> 00:23:14,627 from the Ten Thousand Islands to determine changes over time 409 00:23:14,627 --> 00:23:19,865 in the mangrove communities as a consequence of sea level rise. 410 00:23:19,865 --> 00:23:23,602 These sediments indicate a shoreward retreat 411 00:23:23,602 --> 00:23:28,107 of southwest Florida's mangrove coastline. 412 00:23:28,107 --> 00:23:31,844 They're also finding evidence of saltwater intrusion 413 00:23:31,844 --> 00:23:35,414 in the freshwater marshes of the Ten Thousand Islands 414 00:23:35,414 --> 00:23:37,816 National Wildlife Refuge. 415 00:23:37,816 --> 00:23:41,654 Arrays of circular sub-tidal ponds have been photographed 416 00:23:41,654 --> 00:23:43,188 from the air. 417 00:23:43,188 --> 00:23:45,858 Patches of mangroves are taking root 418 00:23:45,858 --> 00:23:49,094 where only freshwater plants once grew, 419 00:23:49,094 --> 00:23:52,865 another sign of sea level rise. 420 00:23:52,865 --> 00:23:56,435 >>Since humans have become industrialized, 421 00:23:56,435 --> 00:23:59,905 since humans have been recording history in history books, 422 00:23:59,905 --> 00:24:03,375 we've been around during times of modest sea level rise rates. 423 00:24:03,375 --> 00:24:07,179 And we have barrier islands and bays, and Ten Thousand Islands, 424 00:24:07,179 --> 00:24:10,282 and Biscayne Bays and Florida Bays. 425 00:24:10,282 --> 00:24:14,186 Those are all there because a modest rate of sea level rise 426 00:24:14,186 --> 00:24:17,323 has allowed those features to develop. 427 00:24:17,323 --> 00:24:19,925 Now, again we see that in the sediments 428 00:24:19,925 --> 00:24:21,860 over the last 5,000 years. 429 00:24:21,860 --> 00:24:25,698 Now flash forward to industrialized world 430 00:24:25,698 --> 00:24:29,134 and climate change and enrichment of CO2 431 00:24:29,134 --> 00:24:30,803 in the atmosphere, there's clearly a record 432 00:24:30,803 --> 00:24:33,839 in those sediments that sea level is accelerating. 433 00:24:39,178 --> 00:24:40,746 >>NARRATOR: Scientists project the retreat 434 00:24:40,746 --> 00:24:45,084 of southwest Florida's coastline if sea level should rise 435 00:24:45,084 --> 00:24:48,520 from its current level one meter at a time 436 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,157 up to an additional nine meters. 437 00:24:52,157 --> 00:24:54,460 >>Projections for much faster rises in sea level 438 00:24:54,460 --> 00:24:57,696 over the next 100 or 200 years would suggest to us 439 00:24:57,696 --> 00:25:01,533 that the area we're standing in now will soon be under water. 440 00:25:01,533 --> 00:25:03,736 So one may ask the question, why bother protecting 441 00:25:03,736 --> 00:25:07,139 the sea grasses here if the coast is going 442 00:25:07,139 --> 00:25:08,540 to migrate away from here? 443 00:25:08,540 --> 00:25:11,810 One reason is because there will always be a coast 444 00:25:11,810 --> 00:25:15,581 and sea grasses will continue to respond and move shoreward 445 00:25:15,581 --> 00:25:19,318 as sea level goes up, as long as humans don't armor the coast 446 00:25:19,318 --> 00:25:22,921 to such a point that a wall is built around human cities 447 00:25:22,921 --> 00:25:25,090 and they continue to go up as sea level comes up. 448 00:25:27,259 --> 00:25:30,329 >>NARRATOR: But how fast will these changes occur? 449 00:25:30,329 --> 00:25:33,766 And will sea grasses and mangroves continue to yield 450 00:25:33,766 --> 00:25:36,969 their many ecological and economic values 451 00:25:36,969 --> 00:25:40,272 with the changing seas? 452 00:25:40,272 --> 00:25:43,942 For today's researchers, these questions are part 453 00:25:43,942 --> 00:25:47,513 of an experiment in progress, 454 00:25:47,513 --> 00:25:51,383 with the answers waiting somewhere in the future. 455 00:26:24,850 --> 00:26:27,286 >>Major funding for this program was provided 456 00:26:27,286 --> 00:26:29,354 by the Batchelor Foundation. 457 00:26:29,354 --> 00:26:32,057 Encouraging people to preserve and protect 458 00:26:32,057 --> 00:26:36,057 America's underwater resources.