Volunteers spent Thursday removing tons of Lyngbya from Hunters Spring Park in Crystal River.
Lyngbya is a type of blue-green cyanobacteria that can clog spring vents and reduce flow. Researchers say it can be toxic to manatees, block sunlight for other plants and deplete oxygen from the water.
In all, 53 volunteers spent two hours raking up Lyngbya from the floor of the beach Thursday.
According to our partners at the Citrus County Chronicle, by the time they finished, they had gathered two and a half tons of Lyngbya.
More than 100 volunteers had cleaned up four tons of Lyngbya from the same area a week before.
Efforts to clean up Lyngbya have been underway in Citrus County’s waterways for the past couple of years.