Climate Change: Effects on Salinity in Florida’s Estuaries and Responses of Oysters, Seagrass, and Other Animal and Plant Life

Ashley R. Smyth, H. Dail Laughinghouse, Laura K. Reynolds, Edward V. Camp, and Karl Havens

Release Date: 4/14/2024

DOI: 10.32473/edis-sg138-2024

Natural Resources

Abstract

Florida’s economically important estuaries could be heavily impacted by sea-level rise and altered river flow, both caused by climate change. The resulting higher salinity, or saltiness of the water, could harm plants and animals, alter fish, and bird habitat, and reduce the capacity of estuaries to provide such important services as seafood production and the protection of shorelines from erosion. This publication contains information for stakeholders, students, scientists, and environmental agencies interested in understanding how changes in salinity impact Florida’s estuaries.

About this Publication

This document is SGEF-218, one of a series of the Florida Sea Grant Program and the Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date June 2015. Revised March 2018 and April 2024. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication. © 2024 UF/IFAS. This publication is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

About the Authors

Ashley R. Smyth, assistant professor, Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center; H. Dail Laughinghouse, assistant professor, Agronomy Department, UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center; Laura K. Reynolds, assistant professor, Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences; Edward V. Camp, assistant professor, School of Fisheries, Forests, and Geomatic Sciences; and Karl Havens, former director (desceased), UF/IFAS Extension Florida Sea Grant; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.

How to Cite

Smyth, A., Laughinghouse, H. D., Reynolds, L., Camp, E., & Havens, K. (2024). Climate Change: Effects on Salinity in Florida’s Estuaries and Responses of Oysters, Seagrass, and Other Animal and Plant Life. EDIS, 2024(2). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-sg138-2024

Authors

Ashley Smyth

Contact

Specialist

University of Florida

associate professor, biogeochemistry, Ph.D., Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center

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H. Dail Laughinghouse IV

Contact

Specialist

University of Florida

associate professor, applied phycology, Agronomy Department, UF/IFAS Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center, Davie

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Laura Reynolds

Specialist

University of Florida

associate professor, coastal ecology, Ph.D., UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences

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Edward Camp

Specialist

University of Florida

associate professor, fisheries and aquaculture governance, UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Gainesville FL

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Karl Havens

external

University of Florida

former director (deceased), Florida Sea Grant College Program, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville

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Publication #SGEF-218