Topic, "Sewage Contamination of Florida's Coral Reefs"

Chad has been trying to get this presenter to speak for more than a year, but her research keeps her rather busy. Finally, at 7PM on Wednesday 2 June, at Taste, in College Park, we'll have a fascinating discussion for you from Kathryn Sutherland, a biological oceanography doctor and assistant professor at Rollins College.

Coral reefs worldwide are in severe decline. In Florida and elsewhere in the Caribbean, the once common reef-building elkhorn coral is showing high rates of decline due to a combination of environmental stressors. In the Florida Keys, where 87% of the elkhorn population has already died, the majority of the loss has been attributed to white pox disease. This disease exclusively affects elkhorn coral and is caused by a human strain of the common fecal enteric bacterium, Serratia marcescens. This coral pathogen was recently found in both reef and sewage sources in the Florida Keys, establishing a causal link between sewage contamination of coral reefs and the demise of an iconic coral species now listed as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act.

Directions

Taste
717 W. Smith Street
Orlando, United States
32804

Taste is near the corner of Princeton Street (really Smith Street after the fork) and Edgewater Drive, so about 2 minutes from I-4 to parking. One can park on the street or in the parking lot behind Taste.

From Downtown and south, drive north ("east") on I-4 through downtown. At the exit for Princeton Street, exit and turn left/west.
From Altamonte Springs and north, drive south ("west") on I-4 toward downtown Orlando. At the exit for Princeton Street, exit and turn right/west.

From I-4, drive a few blocks to Edgewater Drive. At the intersection, you should see a orange building ahead of you, labeled "Taste". Park on the street or behind Taste.