Something strange has been happening in the marine grasses that shelter over 4000 kinds of species in the Indian River Lagoon, located on the east coast of Florida. Dolphins have developed crusts of fungus on their fins (60 died this past year). Turtles have sprouted tumors, and blooms of dinoflagellates—called red tides—have cropped up, turning the waterline silver with the bellies of fish.
Authorities and scientists suspect that nutrient overflows from onshore have caused the damage, but no one has the proof to identify the exact source. And while culprits like golf clubs and developers trade recriminations, over 400 coastal sites have become dead zones, areas depleted of oxygen, unable to sustain life. Some dead zones have reached the size of Massachusetts.
"As long as people can keep pointing fingers at each other, nothing gets done," says deep-sea oceanographer Edie Widder, founder of the Ocean Research and ...
