Algae Bloom in Florida Leads to Record Manatee Deaths

Clearly presenting the death of manatees as an important issue, author Michael Wines opens with a sentence using diction such as “endangered”, “unexplained string of deaths”, “died”, and “toxic”. He backs up his statement concluding the sentence with “states officials and wildlife experts say”. Right from the beginning, Wines presents the death of manatees a serious and urgent issue. Wines continues his article with the number of deaths in comparison to the whole population of the manatees off of Florida’s coast, illustrating the small population and the significant amount of deaths. Wines then moves on to talk about the toxic algae that affects not only a “wide range of aquatic animals” but also humans. He discusses a nerve poison called bervetoxin which is found in the algae and has caused the death of many animals. Wines makes his article credible by including quotations from Dr. Martine DeWit and other wildlife experts.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/science/earth/algae-bloom-in-florida-kills-record-number-of-manatees.html?ref=todayspaper