The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation is pleased to announce on behalf of Joe Duke and Jennifer Johnson Duke their commitment of $109,422 to fund a major Indian River Lagoon (IRL) research project entitled “Synoptic Assessment of Indian River Lagoon Light Availability for Seagrass Restoration Using Satellite Passive Remote Sensing with Ground-Truthing.”
To be led by Dr. Mike Twardowski, Research Professor at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at FAU, the project will use multi-spectral passive remote sensing imagery from new high-resolution Sentinel and Landsat imagers to map vertical light attenuation throughout the IRL.
Annually, local agencies map where current seagrass beds are in the IRL with a camera from a plane. These seagrass beds have decreased in areal coverage by over 50 percent in just the last few years due to rapid water quality degradation, resulting in a very serious problem for the health of the lagoon.
Through this project, mapping light penetration depths throughout the entire IRL can be used to assess water quality changes as well as the areas viable for seagrass restoration. Currently very little data exists on the areal coverage of these suitable regions; nowhere near the synoptic temporal-spatial coverage that is needed to address current and future problems.
This project fills this significant gap. Suitable habitats for seagrasses identified in the future will depend on future water quality in the IRL, including the impacts of mitigation measures taken by local agencies. Identifying these areas in the IRL is a core goal of the St. Johns River Water Management District, the South Florida Water Management District and the local Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Joe Duke is the former Chair of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation Board and currently serves Emeritus, ex-officio. His wife, Jennifer Johnson Duke, is the daughter of Harbor Branch Founder J. Seward Johnson, Sr. and also previously served on the board of the Harbor Branch Foundation when it was known as Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and prior to the Institute’s acquisition by FAU.
In addition to their long standing support of Harbor Branch, each are strong supporters of environmental causes including the Everglades Foundation and Florida Audubon among others.
“Jennifer and I are extremely pleased to support Dr. Twardowski and his team as they work to provide additional research and data on the health of Indian River Lagoon seagrass,” said Joe Duke. “Seagrass is vital to the lagoon’s ecosystem. When harmful algal blooms block sunlight from the seagrass, everything is affected. We know that an algal superbloom in 2011 accounted for a die off of more than half of all the Indian River Lagoon’s seagrass and less oxygen and seagrass contributed to various fish kills in more recent times. We know this research will help us understand where seagrass replanting will be successful.”
Total project costs are $135,422. Funding from Mr. and Mrs. Duke is being matched by $10,000 from the St. Johns River Water Management District, $8,000 from the South Florida Water Management District and $8,000 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Dr. Twardowski will be assisted in this project by Jeff Beal, Biological Scientist IV, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Dr. Amanda Kahn, Senior Scientist, South Florida Water Management District, Dr. Charles Jacoby, Lead Scientist, St. Johns River Water Management District and Dr. Tim Moore, Senior Scientist, University of New Hampshire.
For more information, please contact Katha Kissman, President & CEO, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, at kkissman@hboifoundation.org or 772-466-9876, ext 2.
