Introduction to Ecology Nicholas J' Oehm, Jr' and Dr' Susan K' Dailey Office of Education and Outrea

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Introduction to EcologyNicholas J. Oehm, Jr.
and Dr. Susan K. DaileyOffice of Education and
OutreachFlorida Coastal Everglades LTERFlorida
International UniversityMiami, FL
33199http//fcelter.fiu.edu/
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Ecology

• Studies interactions between living organisms and
  their environment
• Distribution--where are they found?
• Abundance--how many are there?
• Describes the natural world

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Environmentalism

• Guides policy making to preserve and conserve our
  natural resources

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Ecologists

• Study life at many levels
• Organism
• Population
• Community
• Ecosystem
• Biosphere

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Ecological Questions AboutOrganisms

• What factors affect the growth of mangroves?
• Ewe, S.M.L., C.E. Lovelock, I.C. Feller, O.E.
  Moeri, W. Lee, and M.C. Ball, (In Review). Growth
  and allocation responses of three mangrove
  species grown with different nutrients and
  salinities. Ecology
• Where are can you find the diatom Gophonema in
  the Everglades?
• Tobias, F. and E.E. Gaiser, (In Press). Taxonomy
  and distribution of taxa in the genus Gomphonema
  from the Florida Everglades, U.S.A.. Diatom
  Research

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Ecological Questions About Populations

• How does bony fish abundance affect the number
  and the location of sharks in Florida Bay?
• Torres, L.G., M.R. Heithaus, and B. Delius, 2006.
  Influence of teleost abundance on the
  distribution and abundance of sharks in Florida
  Bay, USA. Hydrobiologia, 569(1) 449-455.
• How do water and soil nutrients affect the growth
  of mangroves?
• Krauss, K.W., T.W. Doyle, R.R. Twilley, V.H.
  Rivera-Monroy, and J.K. Sullivan, 2006.
  Evaluating the relative contributions of
  hydroperiod and soil fertility on growth of south
  Florida mangroves. Hydrobiologia, 569(1)
  311-324.

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Ecological Questions About Communities

• How is the periphyton community different in
  short and long hydroperiod marshes?
• Gottlieb, A.D., J.H. Richards, and E.E. Gaiser,
  2006. Comparative study of periphyton community
  structure in long and short-hydroperiod
  Everglades marshes. Hydrobiologia, 569(1)
  195-207.
• What affects the population size and distribution
  of fish in temporary wetlands?
• Baber, M.J., D.L. Childers, K.J. Babbitt, and
  D.H. Anderson, 2002. Controls on fish
  distribution and abundance in temporary wetlands.
  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic
  Sciences, 59(9) 1441-1450

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Ecological Questions About Communities

• How do nutrients affect the composition seagrass
  and algae communities?
• Armitage, A.R., T.A. Frankovich, K.L. Heck, Jr.,
  and J.W. Fourqurean, 2005. Experimental nutrient
  enrichment causes complex changes in seagrass,
  microalgae, and macroalgae community structure in
  Florida Bay. Estuaries, 28(3) 422-434
• Could sponges control phytoplankton in Florida
  Bay?
• Peterson, B.J., F.J. Jochem, and J.W. Fourqurean,
  (In Review). Potential role of sponge communities
  controlling phytoplankton blooms in Florida Bay.
  Marine Ecology Progress Series.

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Ecological Questions About Ecosystems

• How do fire and water flow affect the Everglades?
• Lockwood, J.L., M.S. Ross, and J.P. Sah, 2003.
  Smoke on the water the interplay of fire and
  water flow on Everglades restoration. Frontiers
  in Ecology and the Environment, 1(9) 462-468.
• How does phosphorus affect the Everglades?
• Noe, G.B. and D.L. Childers, (In Press).
  Phosphorus budgets in Everglades wetland
  ecosystems The effects of hydrology and nutrient
  enrichment. Wetlands Ecology and Management

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Ecological Questions About theBiosphere

• How do mangroves affect the atmosphere?
• Barr, J.G., T.L. O'Halloran, J.D. Fuentes, T.A.
  Frankovich, J.C. Zieman, and D.L. Childers, (In
  Review). Investigating mangrove forest-atmosphere
  interactions. Frontiers in Ecology

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Why Study Ecology?

• EVERYTHING in the biosphere is connected
• Consider the effects of
• Global Warming
• Deforestation

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Global Warming

• Burning fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the
  atmosphere
• Carbon dioxide is good insulator and causes
  temperatures to increase
• Polar ice melts, sea level rises, coastal cities
  such as Miami and New York will flood

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Deforestation

• Fewer trees to take carbon dioxide out of the
  atmosphere, increasing temperatures
• Warmer temperatures increase evaporation and
  precipitation.
• No trees to hold soil in place, soil erodes
• Soil filters water before it reaches
  groundwater--less stable soil leads to decreasing
  groundwater quality

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Studying Ecology

• Describes patterns and relationships in the
  environment
• Requires large amounts of data
• Collected over long periods of time
• Very slow and difficult--can not control the
  environment
• Similar to predicting the weather

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LTERA Solution to Studying Ecological Processes
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What is LTER?

• Long Term Ecological Research
• Studies ecological processes over extended
  periods of time
• Established in 1980 by the National Science
  Foundation (NSF)
• Six initial sites in North America to represent
  each major biome
• Currently 26 sites

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Original LTER Sites

• NTL--North Temperate Lakes
• AND--H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
• CWT--Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory
• KNZ--Konza Prairie
• North Inlet (withdrawn in 1993)
• NWT--Niwot Ridge

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Activity

• Graphing and Map Skills
• Record the following LTER site coordinates on the
  handout entitled LTER Site Locations and
  Classifications
• Using the coordinates from LTER Site Locations
  and Classifications, plot and label each of the
  LTER Sites on the handout entitled Mapping LTER
  Site Locations
• Career Exploration
• Click on the links and visit the website for each
  of the following LTER Sites. List the different
  types of scientists involved in research at the
  site and describe the types of questions they
  might be able to investigate

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North Temperate Lakes LTER
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North Temperate Lakes NTL

• Freshwater Lakes
• Madison area and northern highlands of Wisconsin
• Location
• 46.00 lat
• -89.70 long
• http//lter.limnology.wisc.edu/

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North Temperate Lakes NTL
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North Temperate Lakes NTL
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Andrews LTER
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H.J. AndrewsAND

• Temperate coniferous forest
• Oregon Cascades
• Location
• 44.21 lat
• -122.62 long
• http//www.fsl.orst.edu/lter/

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H.J. AndrewsAND
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Coweeta LTER
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Coweeta Hydrological LaboratoryCWT

• Freshwater Stream
• Southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina
• Location
• 35.00 lat
• 83.50 long
• http//coweeta.ecology.uga.edu/

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Coweeta Hydrological LaboratoryCWT
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Konza LTER
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Konza PrairieKNZ

• Tallgrass Prairie
• Northeastern Kansas
• Location
• 39.10 lat
• -94.60 long
• http//www.konza.ksu.edu/

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Konza PrairieKNZ
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Niwot Ridge LTER
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Niwot RidgeNWT

• Alpine
• Colorado Front Range
• Location
• 39.99 lat
• -105.38 long
• http//culter.colorado.edu/NWT/

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Niwot RidgeNWT
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Arctic LTER
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ArcticARC

• Arctic Tundra
• North slope of Alaska
• Location
• 68.38 lat
• -149.43 long
• http//ecosystems.mbl.edu/ARC/

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ArcticARC
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ArcticARC
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Baltimore Ecosystem LTER
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Baltimore Ecosystem StudyBES

• Urban Residential
• Eastern Deciduous forest
• Bwynns Falls watershed, Baltimore County,
  Maryland
• Location
• 39.10 lat
• -76.30 long
• http//www.beslter.org/

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Baltimore Ecosystem StudyBES
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Baltimore Ecosystem StudyBES
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Bonanza Creek LTER
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Bonanza CreekBNZ

• Taiga
• Near Fairbanks, Alaska
• Location
• 64.80 lat
• -148.00 long
• http//www.lter.uaf.edu/default.cfm

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Bonanza CreekBNZ
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California Arizona Phoenix LTER
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Central Arizona-PhoenixCAP

• Urban desert
• Metropolitan Phoenix
• Location
• 33.43 lat
• -111.93 long
• http//caplter.asu.edu/

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Central Arizona-PhoenixCAP
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California Coastal Ecosystem LTER
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California Current EcosystemCCE

• Coastal Upwelling
• Southern California
• Location
• 32.87 lat
• -120.28 long
• http//cce.lternet.edu/

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California Current EcosystemCCE
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Cedar Creek LTER
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Cedar CreekCDR

• Boundary between Prairie (Grasslands) and Forest
• Near Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Location
• 45.40 lat
• -93.20 long
• http//www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/

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Cedar CreekCDR
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Florida Coastal Everglades LTER
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Florida Coastal EvergladesFCE

• Freshwater Marsh, Estuarine Mangrove, Seagrass
• Everglades National Park Southern Florida and
  Florida Bay
• Location
• 25.47 lat
• -80.85 long
• http//fcelter.fiu.edu

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Florida Coastal EvergladesFCE
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Georgia Coastal Ecosystem LTER
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Georgia Coastal EcosystemGCE

• Barrier Island-Marsh
• Coastal zone of central Georgia
• Location
• 31.43 lat
• -81.37 long
• http//gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/lter/

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Georgia Coastal EcosystemGCE
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Harvard Forest LTER
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Harvard ForestHFR

• Forest-Wetland
• North-central Massachusetts
• Location
• 42.50 lat
• -72.20 long
• http//harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/

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Harvard ForestHFR
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Hubbard Brook LTER
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Hubbard BrookHBR

• Deciduous Forest-Aquatic
• White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
• Location
• 43.94 lat
• -71.75 long
• http//hbr.lternet.edu/

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Hubbard BrookHBR
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Jordana Basin LTER
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Jornada BasinJRN

• Arid grasslands
• Desert
• Jordana Experimental Range, southern New Mexico
• Location
• 32.62 lat
• -106.74 long
• http//jornada-www.nmsu.edu/index.php?withJStrue

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Jornada BasinJRN
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Kellogg Biological Station LTER
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Kellogg Biological StationKBS

• Agricultural
• Cornbelt of Southwest Michigan
• Location
• 42.4 lat
• -85.4 long
• http//lter.kbs.msu.edu/

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Kellogg Biological StationKBS
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Luquillo LTER
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LuquilloLUQ

• Tropical Forest
• Eastern side of Puerto Rico
• Location
• 18.3 lat
• -65.80 long
• http//luq.lternet.edu/

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LuquilloLUQ
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McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER
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McMurdo Dry ValleysMCM

• Polar Desert
• Dry Valleys of Antarctica
• Location
• -77.00 lat
• 162.52 long
• http//www.mcmlter.org/

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McMurdo Dry ValleysMCM
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Moorea Coral Reef LTER
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Moorea Coral ReefMCR

• Coral Reef
• French Polynesia
• Location
• -17.50 lat
• -149.83 long
• http//mcr.lternet.edu/

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Moorea Coral ReefMCR
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Palmer Station LTER
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Palmer StationPAL

• Pelagic Marine
• Antarctic peninsula
• Location
• -64.70 lat
• -64.00 long
• http//pal.lternet.edu/

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Palmer StationPAL
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Plum Island Ecosystem LTER
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Plum IslandPIE

• Marsh-Estuarine
• Ipswich basin, Massachusetts
• Location
• 42.76 lat
• -70.89 long
• http//ecosystems.mbl.edu/PIE/

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Plum IslandPIE
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Santa Barbara Coastal LTER
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Santa Barbara CoastalSBC

• Oceanic, Reef, Sandy Beach, Wetland, Upland
• Margin between land and sea
• Location
• 34.42 lat
• -119.95 long
• http//sbc.lternet.edu/

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Santa Barbara CoastalSBC
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Sevilleta LTER
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SevilletaSEV

• Ecotone between Desert, Grassland, Shrubland,
  Mountain
• Central New Mexico between several ecosystems
• Location
• 34.35 lat
• -106.88 long
• http//sev.lternet.edu/

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SevilletaSEV
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Shortgrass Stepe LTER
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Shortgrass SteppeSGS

• Shortgrass Prairie
• Central plains of Colorado
• Location
• 40.80 lat
• -104.80 long
• http//sgs.cnr.colostate.edu/

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Shortgrass SteppeSGS
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Virginia Coastal Reserve LTER
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Virginal Coastal ReserveVCR

• Coastal Salt Marsh
• Near Oyster, Virginia
• Location
• 37.28 lat
• -75.91 long
• http//www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/

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Virginal Coastal ReserveVCR
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Studying Ecology in South Florida

• Florida Coastal Everglades
• Long Term Ecological Research

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Florida Coastal EvergladesLong Term Ecological
ResearchProgram

• Universities
• Florida International University
• College of William and Mary
• Louisiana State University
• Rutgers
• Texas A M
• University of Miami
• University of North Carolina, Wilmington
• University of South Florida
• University of Virginia

• Government agencies
• Everglades National Park
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Park Service
• South Florida Water Management District
• US Geological Survey
• Other
• National Audobon Society
• Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

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Why the Everglades?
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What is the Everglades?

• Wetland
• Everglades
• Big Cypress Swamp
• Coastal mangroves

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Activity

• Mapping Activity
• Map the distribution of each type of marsh found
  throughout the Everglades
• Locate and plot each of the FCE-LTER study sites
• Record the elevation of each FCE-LTER study site
  and draw contour lines describing

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What is a Wetland?

• Wetland--US Fish Wildlife Service
• Saturated or covered by water some time during
  the growing season
• Predominantly undrained, hydric soil
• Characterized by hydrophytic (flood tolerant)
  plants

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The EvergladesSawgrass Marshes

• Dominated by sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense)
• Flooded up to a meter during rainy season and
  burned during dry season
• Deeper slough and tree islands (hammocks)

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The EvergladesBig Cypress Swamp

• West of sawgrass marshes
• Dominated by cypress and interspersed by pine
  flatwoods and wet prairie
• Receives about 25 cm rainfall/year does not get
  overland flow like the Everglades

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The EvergladesCoastal Mangroves

• Impenetrable stands of trees
• Located where freshwater sawgrass marsh meets
  saline brackish waters of Florida Bay and
  southwest Florida
• Stabilizes shorelines
• Fish nursery, bird rookery, home of endangered
  species including the American Crocodile and
  Manatee

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Where are the Everglades?

• Originally extended from Lake Okeechobee south to
  Florida Bay
• Approximately 75 has been modified for
• Everglades Agricultural Area in north
• Water Conservation Areas
• Urban development in east

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Importance of Wetlands

• According to Mitsch Gooselink (1993), wetlands
• Fish and wildlife protection
• Function as the kidneys of the landscape by
  cleansing polluted waters
• Prevent floods
• Protect shorelines
• Recharge aquifers

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Importance of Wetlands

• Mitsch Gooselink (1993) also refers to wetlands
  as biological supermarkets
• Extensive food chains and rich biodiversity
• Habitat for flora and fauna

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Importance of Wetlands
Lessons from Louisiana WETLANDS MINIMIZE STORM
EFFECTS
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Global Importance of Wetlands

• As our consumption of fossil fuels increase,
  atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have
  also been increasing
• Higher atmospheric carbon dioxide is likely
  causing the increase in temperatures
• Wetlands are a sink that absorb carbon dioxide
  and could potentially help to stabilize global
  temperatures

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Why Does MIAMI need the Everglades?
WATER
WILDERNESS
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Who needs water and what do they use it for in
Southern Florida?
Fishermen
Fish, Shrimp, Crabs, Lobsters
Residents Visitors
Drinking, Washing, Golf Courses, Water Parks
Farmers and Ranchers
Crops and Animals
Wildlife of Everglades
Drink, Move In, Live In
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Who Needs the Everglades?

• WE ALL DO!

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Acknowledgements

• Mitsch Gooselink. 1993. Wetlands. 2nd
  Edition. Van Norstrand Reinhold. New York.
• Photographs courtesy of The United States Long
  Term Ecological Research Network.
  http//savanna.lternet.edu/gallery/
• http//www.lternet.edu/
• This work was supported by a grant from the
  National Science Foundation, RET Program.
• Mike Rugge- FCE LTER Program Manager