Keys History & Discovery Center Presents…Pink Canaries in a Coal Mine: Roseate Spoonbills in Florida Bay, a lecture on Wednesday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. The lecture is at the Keys History & Discovery Center at MM 82 on the property of the Islander Resort in Islamorada. Cost for non-members is only $10, thanks in part to grant funding from Florida Humanities Council. Reservations are strongly encouraged.

Join Jerry Lorenz, PhD., Audubon’s Everglades Science Center, as he pulls together Audubon’s more than 80-year record on spoonbill nesting patterns in Florida Bay with his personal experience in studying the fish on which spoonbills feed, thereby constructing a story of how the human population explosion in southern Florida has had a multilevel effect on spoonbills.

Dr. Lorenz demonstrates how the destruction of wetlands for urban and agricultural use have not only endangered spoonbills, but myriad other creatures and entire ecosystems.  Ecosystems that drive our tourist-based economy. Most recently, the work has focused on their response to increasing water levels in Florida Bay caused by sea level rise. Like the canary in a coal mine, Roseate Spoonbills are letting us know that there is something drastically wrong with our environment and that continued runaway development will not only ruin our remaining wildness areas but our lifestyles as well.

Light appetizers and a cash bar will be available. Reservations are strongly recommended and can be made at 305-922-2237 or info@keysdiscovery.com.