The tide of national attention turned to Southwest Florida in late July when a 26-foot long Whale shark washed up on a Sanibel beach. It was later determined that Red Tide was to blame, and the animal’s gigantic body was buried above the high tide line on the beach within a day of it’s washing up.
But that whale shark was far from the only animal killed by red tide in recent weeks. A few hundred tons of dead marine life has been removed just from Sanibel -- and this red tide has stretched more than a hundred miles along the southwest coast of Florida. This includes many large fish, like goliath grouper, large marine animals, like sea turtles, manatees, dolphins, and countless smaller fish.
While reports are showing fish kills are slowing down, we’ve begun to hear reports of things like maggots in the sand along the beaches, and that got us thinking about the broader impacts of so many dead animal carcasses, form large to microscopic. So, we’ve invited Dr. Heather Walsh-Haney back on the show. She’s coordinator for Forensic studies, Associate Professor, and Justice Studies Department Chair here at FGCU, and she has a deep background in forensic anthropology.
