Barrier Islands

Red tide scientists from Sarasota Roskamp Institute will be on Saibel Island next week seeking volunteers to help researchers understand how the toxins enter a body, how long they stay, and how they are eliminated. Predicting red tide's presence and intensity, much less how to ease the symptoms of exposure other than leave the area it’s in, remains a challenging pursuit.

Hundreds of volunteers needed for study on scope of red tide's effects

Tom Bayles

Sarasota’s Roskamp Institute will be at SCCF to draft 400 volunteers for a study on why some of those exposed to red tide end up in respiratory distress

Environment

Environmental group's lawsuit seeks to place endangered species status on the horseshoe crab

Tom Bayles

An environmental group has sued the National Marine Fisheries Service over the agency's lack of a decision on whether the horseshoe crabs need federal protection.

Bats at sunset are a good thing if mosquitos aren;t your thing

Environment

Sanibel group helps island bat colonies recover from hurricanes

Tom Bayles

Bats keep the mosquito population down. But they also are an important sentinel species as their health and population trends provide an early warning system for broader environmental threats, including humans.

Climate change and warming sea is making flooding worse, and in many cases reshaping coastal Florida's barrier islands

Environment

University of Florida coastal experts to discuss using nature to lessen storm damage

Tom Bayles

Landscape and architecture experts from the University of Florida will be on Sanibel Island next month to discuss how to lessen tropical storm damage on barrier islands by using what nature offers and climate change, stronger storms, and the loss of mangroves and sand dunes can make flooding worse — and how residents can turn things around to lessen the impacts.

SWFL to Lose Barrier Islands to Rising Seas Before Next Century

Andrea Perdomo

Big Hickory Island is one of many barrier islands that protect Southwest Florida's shores when storms batter the peninsula.Florida Gulf Coast University…