Based in south Florida, Ralph Byer is a Merrill Lynch wealth management executive who delivers client centered services. With a strong interest in the natural world, Ralph Byer enjoys learning about and exploring ocean geographies in his free time.

One of the most critical elements of coastal ecosystems is the seagrass meadow, which helps clean the water and halt erosion, while providing shelter to various marine animals. In Florida, manatees are an essential part this ecosystem, as seagrass is a primary part of their grazing diet. Through eating substantial amounts of seagrass, manatees help limit obstructions in intercostal waterways and keep mosquito populations at bay.

Unfortunately, decades of toxic runoff and other forms of pollution have contributed to an overgrowth of algae that not only hinders seagrass growth, but creates red tide blooms that emit nerve toxins capable of paralyzing and suffocating the sea mammal. Restoration projects that clear out algae and replant seagrass face a continuous degradation of water that makes these efforts extremely challenging to sustain.

With their natural habitat greatly diminished, in 2021 and 2022 alone some 2,000 manatees died in Florida waters. Given a total manatee population in the 6,000 range and the fact that female manatees only have a single calf every two to five years, the aquatic mammals are in an extremely precarious position. This makes the efforts of institutions such as St. Petersburg’s Marine Mammal Pathology Laboratory essential.