Indian River Lagoon
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The Indian River Lagoon is a grouping of three lagoons: Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River, and the Indian River, on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. It was originally named Rio de Ais after the Ais Indian tribe, who lived along the east coast of Florida.
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[edit] Course
Its full length is 156 miles (251 km), extending from Ponce de León Inlet in Volusia County, Florida, to Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County, Florida,[1][2] and includes Cape Canaveral. Lake Okeechobee is connected to the lagoon by the Okeechobee Waterway and the St. Lucie River meeting in Sewall's Point.
Portions of the Lagoon, from north to south:
- Mosquito Lagoon, from Ponce de Leon Inlet to the north end of Merritt Island, connected to Indian River by Haulover Canal.
- Indian River, the main body of water, from the north border between Volusia and Brevard Counties along the western shore of Merritt Island, southward to St. Lucie Inlet.
- Banana River, an offshoot of the Indian River, northward making up the eastern shore of Merritt Island.
- Eau Gallie River
- St. Sebastian River
- Hobe Sound, the portion of the lagoon from St. Lucie Inlet to Jupiter Inlet.
[edit] Natural history
The Indian River Lagoon is North America’s most diverse estuary with more than 2,200 different species of animals and 2,100 species of plants.[citation needed] The Lagoon varies in width from .5 to 5 miles (0.80 to 8.0 km) and averages 3 feet (0.91 m) in depth. It serves as a spawning and nursery ground for many different species of oceanic and lagoon fish and shellfish. The lagoon also has one of the most diverse bird populations anywhere in America. Nearly 1/3 of the nation’s manatee population lives here or migrates through the Lagoon seasonally. In addition, its ocean beaches provide one of the densest sea turtle nesting areas found in the Western Hemisphere.
The diversity of the lagoon draws millions of boaters and fishermen annually, which brings tens of millions of dollars to Florida. Red Drum, Spotted seatrout, Common snook, and the formidable Tarpon are the main gamefish sought by anglers in the lagoon system.
[edit] Dolphins
Between 200 and 800 Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) normally live in the Indian River Lagoon. The dolphins resident in the lagoon system may belong to three or more different communities. There is little exchange of individuals between the lagoon and coastal populations. However, individuals from coastal populations are occasionally seen in the lagoon. One individual from the lagoon communities, Dolphin 56, was tagged in the lagoon in 1979 and was sighted in the lagoon more than 40 times through 1996. In 1997 Dolphin 56 left the Indian River Lagoon and was spotted many times along the east coast of the United States from Florida to New York until 1999.[3]
Female Bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon tend to live longer than males. The maximum age attained by both sexes is one to almost two decades less than that reached by dolphins resident in Sarasota Bay, the most thoroughly studied wild population of Bottlenose dolphins.[4]
[edit] Economy
In 2007, visitors spent an estimated 3.2 million person-days in recreation on the lagoon.[5]
In 2008, a study valued the lagoon at $2.1 billion.[6][clarification needed]
[edit] Ecology
In 2007, concerns were raised about the future of the lagoon system, especially in the southern half where frequent freshwater discharges seriously threaten water quality (decreasing the salinity needed by many fish species) and contribute to large algae blooms (water heavily saturated with plant fertilizers promote the algae blooms). The lagoon has also been the subject of research on light penetration for photosynthesis in submerged aquatic vegetation.[7] The seagrass covers over 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) and is a critical component to the overall health of the lagoon.[7][8]
In 2010 3,300,000 pounds (1,500,000 kg) of nitrogen and 475,000 pounds (215,000 kg) of phosphorus entered the lagoon.[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] Citations
- ^ Indian River Lagoon Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan
- ^ Indian River Lagoon.com Indian River Lagoon
- ^ *BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus) Indian River Lagoon Estuarine System Stock
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce - Tursiops truncatus - Habitat and Distribution
Field Study - Indian River Lagoon Dolphins - Dolphin 56 Sighting Ssummary - ^ Stolen and Barlow:645
Mote Marine Laboratory - Dolphin Research Program - ^ "Visitors spend big on the lagoon". Indian River Lagoon Update XVI (3): 1. Summer 2008.
- ^ [1] retrieved October 12, 2008[dead link]
- ^ a b Hanisak, M. Dennis (1997). "Continuous Monitoring of Underwater Light in Indian River Lagoon: Comparison of Cosine and Spherical Sensors.". In: EJ Maney, Jr and CH Ellis, Jr (Eds.) The Diving for Science…1997, Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, Seventeenth annual Scientific Diving Symposium. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/4641. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ Dawes, Clinton J.; M. Dennis Hanisak, and Judson W. Kenworthy (1995). "Seagrass biodiversity in the Indian River Lagoon". Bulletin of Marine Science 57 (1): 59–66. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/1995/00000057/00000001/art00008. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "Editorial:Dying dolphins". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. 22 May 2010. pp. 13A. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100522/OPINION/100521016/Our+views++Dying+dolphins+%28May+22%29.
[edit] References
- Stolen, Megan K. and Jay Barlow. (October 2003) "A Model Life Table for Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Indian River Lagoon System, Florida, U.S.A." Marine Mammal Science.19(4)630-649. Found at [2]
[edit] External references
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Coordinates: 28°03′19″N 80°34′34″W / 28.05528°N 80.57611°W
