A Simulation of Historic Hydrology and Salinity in Everglades National Park: Coupling Paleoecologic Assemblage Data with Regression Models

Marshall, F. E.; Wingard, G. Lynn; Pitts, Patrick A.

doi:10.1007/s12237-008-9120-1

Cited by 45 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…While the ultimate cause of ecological disturbances in Florida Bay remains unresolved (Fourqurean & Robblee 1999), much of the focus in research and management has been on the altered hydrology in the upstream Everglades (Nuttle et al 2000, Marshall et al 2009) and subsequent changes in nutrient loading (Boyer et al 1999, Glibert et al 2004). Cyanobacterial blooms have been a persistent (Phlips et al 1999) and damaging disturbance to the Florida Bay benthic community (Butler et al 1995), and loss of benthic communities has been linked to estuarine decline world-wide (Lotze et al 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, this positive feedback for the cyanobacteria is a 'death spiral' for sponges (Butler et al 1995, this study), with resulting loss of ecosystem services provided by sponges (Bell 2008), and could eventually affect the entire benthic community (Chasar et al 2005). This represents a 'chicken or egg' management dilemma: more ecosystem filtration from suspension feeders is required to control algal blooms and improve water quality (Officer et al 1982, Cerco & Noel 2007, Wall et al 2008, but water quality must first be improved before successful restoration of sponges can be attempted (Johnston & Clark 2007).While the ultimate cause of ecological disturbances in Florida Bay remains unresolved (Fourqurean & Robblee 1999), much of the focus in research and management has been on the altered hydrology in the upstream Everglades (Nuttle et al 2000, Marshall et al 2009) and subsequent changes in nutrient loading (Boyer et al 1999, Glibert et al 2004). Cyanobacterial blooms have been a persistent (Phlips et al 1999) and damaging disturbance to the Florida Bay benthic community (Butler et al 1995), and loss of benthic communities has been linked to estuarine decline world-wide (Lotze et al 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Responses of loggerhead sponges Spechiospongia vesparium during harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a sub-tropical lagoon

Wall¹,

Rodgers²,

Gobler³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Shallow, coastal lagoons are vulnerable to eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, often due to the loss of benthic suspension feeders. Florida Bay, USA, is a sub-tropical lagoon that has suffered from a series of ecological disturbances, including cyanobacterial blooms, loss of seagrass habitat, and widespread sponge mortality. A field study was executed at sites across Florida Bay to investigate effects of cyanobacterial blooms of the genus Synechococcus on the suspensionfeeding loggerhead sponge Spheciospongia vesparium. In situ measurements of loggerhead sponge survival, water pumping rates, and particle retention were made over the course of a year under both bloom and non-bloom conditions and for naturally-occurring and transplanted sponges. The mortality of transplanted loggerhead sponges significantly increased following cyanobacterial blooms. Sponge water pumping rates, particle retention, and filtration rates were depressed in areas where cyanobacteria blooms were present. When loggerhead sponge community filtration rates were compared with cyanobacteria intrinsic growth rates, sites with low abundances of sponges had persistent, dense blooms and harbored positive net growth rates for cyanobacteria (0.78 to 1.45 d −1 ). In contrast, sites with high abundances of sponges had few or no blooms and net growth rates for cyanobacteria that were slow or negative (−0.17 to 0.24 d −1 ). This suggests that the loss of filtration from sponge mortality in Florida Bay has contributed to the persistence of algal blooms. Restoration of benthic suspension feeders such as sponges could be an important management tool to mitigate algal blooms in shallow coastal lagoons, although survival of transplanted populations will likely require concurrent improvement of water quality by other means since blooms inhibit sponge pumping, particle retention, and filtration.KEY WORDS: Florida Bay · Sponges · Spheciospongia vesparia · Loggerhead sponge · Cyanobacteria · Synechococcus · Harmful algal bloom Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 451: [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] 2012 2001), the loss of benthic suspension feeders from such a system likely represents a more significant loss of top-down control than for deeper, well-flushed ecosystems.Florida Bay, USA, is a shallow, sub-tropical lagoon between mainland Florida and the Florida Keys; it is the largest estuary in Florida, valuable for recreation and fisheries, and adjacent to the sensitive habitats of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Everglades National Park. Since the late 1980s, Florida Bay has been affected by a series of ecological disruptions, including sponge die-offs (Butler et al. 1995), blooms of the cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp. (Phlips et al. 1999), and seagrass mortality (Robblee et al. 1991). The root cause of these disturbances may be linked to human alterations of the freshwater flow in the Everglades, which is upstream of Florida Bay (Phlips e...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of loggerhead sponges Spechiospongia vesparium during harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a sub-tropical lagoon

Wall¹,

Rodgers²,

Gobler³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…The solution came through the development and application of a method that links multiple linear regression models that use observed hydrologic data (salinity, stage, flow) to a quantitative estimate of the paleosalinity indicated by molluscan assemblages in the cores (Marshall et al, 2009(Marshall et al, , 2014. The paleoecology component of this method is a modification of the modern analog technique (referred to as the cumulative weighted percent method-CWP), which applies data on living mollusk species to core assemblages to estimate an average salinity for each sample in a core (Wingard and Hudley, 2012).…”

Section: Linkages Between Wetlands and The Estuaries-estimating Pre-imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The MLRs predict (1) salinity in Florida Bay as a function of stage in the wetlands at specific locations; (2) salinity in Florida Bay as a function of salinity at specific locations; (3) flow in the wetlands as a function of stage at specific locations; and (4) stage in the wetlands as a function of stage at specific locations (Marshall et al, 2009(Marshall et al, , 2014. The key to the method is the relationship between salinity in Florida Bay and stage in the wetlands; this MLR was linked to the South Florida Water Management District's Natural Systems Model (NSM; SFWMD (South Florida Water Management District) and Interagency Modeling Center., 2005), which simulates daily stage and flow in 4-mi 2 grids using observed climate data and assumes an unaltered landscape.…”

Section: Linkages Between Wetlands and The Estuaries-estimating Pre-imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By linking the NSM to the salinity-tostage MLRs, estimates of NSM-based salinity were produced for Florida Bay (NSM/MLR; Marshall, 2005;Marshall et al, 2011); however, these NSM/MLR salinity estimates were higher than estimates produced by paleoecologic analysis (RECOVER, 2012a,b; Table 1). The solution was to use the paleo-based salinity estimates (CWP values) from the circa 1900 CE (prior to significant alteration of south Florida) section of each core to produce a simulated time series by adjusting the NSM/MLR (Marshall et al, 2009(Marshall et al, , 2014. For example, the paleo-based salinity estimate for the Whipray Basin core is −2.3 salinity units (psu) less than the NSM/MLR model ( Table 1) so each value in the NSM/MLR time series for Whipray Basin is adjusted by −2.3 psu (Marshall and Wingard, 2012).…”

Section: Linkages Between Wetlands and The Estuaries-estimating Pre-imentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Role of Paleoecology in Restoration and Resource Management—The Past As a Guide to Future Decision-Making: Review and Example from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, U.S.A

2017

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Resource managers around the world are challenged to develop feasible plans for sustainable conservation and/or restoration of the lands, waters, and wildlife they administer-a challenge made greater by anticipated climate change and associated effects over the next century. Increasingly, paleoecologic and geologic archives are being used to extend the period of record of observed data and provide information on centennial to millennial scale responses to long-term drivers of ecosystem change. The development of paleoecology from an emerging field investigating past environments to a highly relevant applied science is reviewed and general examples of the application of paleoecologic research to resource management questions in diverse habitats and regions are provided. Specific examples of the application of paleoecologic research to the restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem of south Florida (U.S.A) are presented. Conducting valuable scientific research that would benefit resource management decisions, however, is not enough. Scientists and resource managers need to be engaged in collaborative discussions from the beginning of the research process to ensure that management questions are being addressed and that the science reaches the people who will benefit from the information. Paleoecology and related disciplines provide an understanding of how ecosystems and individual species function and change over time in response to both natural and anthropogenic drivers. Information on pre-anthropogenic baseline conditions is provided by paleoecologic research, but it is the detection of long-term trends and cycles that allow resource managers to set realistic goals and targets by moving away from the fixed-point baseline concept to one of dynamic landscapes that anticipates and incorporates an expectation of change into decision-making.

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Doing ecohydrology backward: Inferring wetland flow and hydroperiod from landscape patterns

Acharya

Kaplan

Jawitz

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

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Human alterations to hydrology have globally impacted wetland ecosystems. Preventing or reversing these impacts is a principal focus of restoration efforts. However, restoration effectiveness is often hampered by limited information on historical landscape properties and hydrologic regime. To help address this gap, we developed a novel statistical approach for inferring flows and inundation frequency (i.e., hydroperiod, HP) in wetlands where changes in spatial vegetation and geomorphic patterns have occurred due to hydrologic alteration. We developed an analytical expression for HP as a transformation of the landscape‐scale stage‐discharge relationship. We applied this model to the Everglades “ridge‐slough” (RS) landscape, a patterned, lotic peatland in southern Florida that has been drastically degraded by compartmentalization, drainage, and flow diversions. The new method reliably estimated flow and HP for a range of RS landscape patterns. Crucially, ridge‐patch anisotropy and elevation above sloughs were strong drivers of flow‐HP relationships. Increasing ridge heights markedly increased flow required to achieve sufficient HP to support peat accretion. Indeed, ridge heights inferred from historical accounts would require boundary flows 3–4 times greater than today, which agrees with restoration flow estimates from more complex, spatially distributed models. While observed loss of patch anisotropy allows HP targets to be met with lower flows, such landscapes likely fail to support other ecological functions. This work helps inform restoration flows required to restore stable ridge‐slough patterning and positive peat accretion in this degraded ecosystem, and, more broadly, provides tools for exploring interactions between landscape and hydrology in lotic wetlands and floodplains.

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A Simulation of Historic Hydrology and Salinity in Everglades National Park: Coupling Paleoecologic Assemblage Data with Regression Models

Cited by 45 publications

References 28 publications

Responses of loggerhead sponges Spechiospongia vesparium during harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a sub-tropical lagoon

Responses of loggerhead sponges Spechiospongia vesparium during harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a sub-tropical lagoon

The Role of Paleoecology in Restoration and Resource Management—The Past As a Guide to Future Decision-Making: Review and Example from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, U.S.A

Doing ecohydrology backward: Inferring wetland flow and hydroperiod from landscape patterns

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