In March 2016, a deadly sequence of events results in a record fish kill in Indian River Lagoon

Indian River Lagoon experienced a fish kill due to strong spring storms, excess nutrients, and brown algae bloomDuring the project to create the first Indian River Lagoon (IRL) ecosystem health Report Card with the Marine Resource Council (MRC), a massive fish kill exploded in some of the central and northern IRL lagoons in March 2016. Jane Hawkey and Heath Kelsey created a one-page flyer that focused on the brown algae bloom that appears to have caused the death of large numbers of fish and other marine species. While there is more to be learned, a particular sequence of events appears to have led up to the deadly event and is represented in the three conceptual diagrams – one of which is shown here. The flyer was made available to the interested public at the recent MRC LagoonFest 2016 event held in Palm Bay, FL. The State of the Indian River Lagoon report card is projected to be distributed in 2017.