A guide to exploring the recreational opportunities of the Apalachicola River and Basin.

ORCP's Aquatic Preserve Program maintains continuous water quality monitoring stations around the state where data are collected in 15-minute intervals for eight parameters (water temperature, specific conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen percent, dissolved oxygen mg/L, depth, pH and turbidity). These sites are established as long-term monitoring locations and more than 50% of the stations have over 10 years of data. 

Seagrass and macroalgal percent cover by species began in 2022, Braun-Blanquet method used prior to 2022, presence, density of bay scallops and sea urchins, epiphyte density on seagrass blades, bottom sediment type. Temperature (C), Salinity (ppt), Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L), and pH (SU) included since 2016. Depth (m), secchi (m) and canopy height (cm) are additional parameters recorded in the Nature Coast AP seagrass data.

Coral bleaching is the corals’ loss of their symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), which give them their color. Bleaching is a natural event that occurs to some extent annually in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). Records show that coral bleaching has been occurring for many years in the Florida Keys and also indicate that the frequency and severity of these events has steadily increased since the 1980s. Large-scale mass coral bleaching events are driven by unusually warm sea temperatures and calm seas. The effects of these mass events are potentially devastating to ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

Florida Administrative Code containing rule for the establishment and protection of Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve.