In the 2010s, scientist Dina Liebowitz scooped up algae-coated tiles from the waters of the Ichetucknee River as visitors bobbed, splashed and floated along the surface in inner tubes.
When the revelers called out with questions, the ecologist condensed years of research into a three-second pitch: She was testing whether snails help keep springs clean.
For a long time, regulators have tried to fix algae problems in the region’s springs by focusing on nitrogen. Newly published results from the Ichetucknee experiments suggest successful restoration will need to consider snails, fish and other algae eaters, too…