OLDSMAR, Fla. — It’s serenity for many and recreational for some. Every year, thousands of people visit Upper Tampa Bay Parklocated right on the Pinellas/Hillsborough County line.
The park is surrounded by a body of water that bears its name. But parts of Tampa Bay have researchers looking for answers to a startling trend. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is two years in on a five-year study of Old Tampa Bay, which begins just south of the Gandy Bridge into the Oldsmar area.
“We are concerned about this segment because we’ve lost a lot of seagrass. In this bay segment...we are doing some extra studies to better understand what’s driving some of those losses. This study will analyze the water temperature and whether warmer temps are a contributing factor to the loss,” said Maya Burke with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.
Data from the organization shows that seagrass coverage in Old Tampa Bay peaked in 2016 but has continued to decline since.
Burke says the bay has seen losses of seagrass before, but this time it could be different.
“We may not see the same type of recovery if we have these additional stressors like temperature. So that’s why we’re doing this study to see how temperature may be different in this segment and may affect seagrass recovery,” Burke said.
10 Tampa Bay took a boat ride with the researchers of Old Tampa Bay as they dropped loggers into the water to read temperatures over a five-day period as part of the ongoing five-year study.
The location we went to first had no seagrass, although that was not the case just a few years ago.
It’s a disappointing reality for this part of Tampa Bay.
“The trend throughout all of the Florida estuary [is that] they’ve also experienced losses of seagrass — it is a trend bigger than Tampa Bay. But at the same time what we’ve seen in Tampa Bay, particularly in older Tampa Bay, what we’ve seen is losses at a greater rate than the other estuaries,” Burke said. “Seagrass is not just a protective area for fish but also for food for manatees and sea turtles.”
Justin Tramble of the Tampa Bay Waterkeeper says: “It’s important we protect water quality in Tampa Bay. The economy depends on Tampa Bay. Think about the economic impact of water quality. And just the culture of Tampa Bay. Its focus being on water. The livelihoods of many depend on water.”
After all the loggers were deployed, the team came back out five days later to collect. The team can compare deployments from August and September of 2022 to August and September of 2023.
The 2022 August deployment recorded temperatures ranging from 84-91 degrees, while 2023 August temperatures ranged from 81-99 degrees. The September 2022 deployment recorded temps ranging from 81-89 degrees, while September 2023 ranged from 82-95 degrees.
“It’s important we get the word out of the state of the bay and support the research going on so we can better protect our watershed here,” Tramble said.
There are other things to remember that also contribute to seagrass die-off —nitrogen pollution. And you can cut back your footprint by not fertilizing your grass in the summer months and carpooling to lessen car emissions.