Octopus in the parking garage is climate changes canary in the coal mine

[think]

Couple of pictures at link:

Octopus in the parking garage is climate change’s canary in the coal mine

By Alex Harris - NOVEMBER 18, 2016 2:48 PM


The canary in the coal mine once served as a natural warning system in a bygone industrial era. Now, for Florida at least, maybe it ought to be the octopus in the parking garage.

Photos of an octopus splayed out in a flooded Miami Beach parking garage have been floating around the internet all week, prompting some skeptics to call “bogus” on both the discovery of the eight-legged creature out of its element and the force blamed for its appearance — climate change.

Both appear to be all too real. University of Miami associate biology professor Kathleen Sullivan Sealey examined the photos and identified the octopus as likely one of two species common in South Florida waters. And she said Miami Beach residents ought to get used to seeing strange new creatures making sporadic appearances as rising sea levels push ocean waters deeper and more frequently onto land, along with some of the creatures that live in them.

~snip~

When the drainage pipes in these buildings were designed, they were safely above the high-water marks, she said, but rising seas mean the pipes are now partially submerged during extreme high tides. And with water comes sea life, starting with fish. A drainage pipe combines two of an octopus’ favorite things, Sealey said — a meal and a cramped, dark space to crawl into. The ocean dweller was likely curled up inside the drain when the king tide forced it out and onto the garage floor, she said...


Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article115688508.html

[HassleCat]

1. I want one!

My drain is a little too high above the ocean. But that could change, I guess.

[longship]

2. Want one? Then plant a tree.

And get a tree octopus.