Researchers track how Midnight Pass ecosystem is finding its new normal after reopening

Nearly two years after Midnight Pass reopened during the 2024 hurricane season, researchers are watching an ecosystem adjust to a waterway that had been closed for roughly four decades.Researchers at New College of Florida have been studying the area since the pass reopened, tracking everything from seagrass and fish populations to salinity, sediment and other environmental conditions.The work is part of a three-year study examining how the ecosystem responds to the major disturbance created by the reopening of the pass.WATCH NOW: Researchers track how Midnight Pass ecosystem is finding its new normal after reopening Researchers track how Midnight Pass ecosystem is finding its new normal after reopeningAssistant Professor of Biology Samuel Bedgood said the area looked dramatically different before the pass reopened.Before it reopened, when it was closed off, we saw about 100% seagrass cover in the areas that we studied, Bedgood said. So those were completely covered in very thick seagr