ecology

ECS 111 P SPRING 2019

EVERGLADES AND ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES

DR. SEALEY

WHAT’S COMING UP? 8 7 FEB Community Ecology READ: ESFACW Chapter 2, Module 2.3

The Florida Everglades

9 12 FEB The Future of Restoration and CERP

READ: ESFACW Chapter 2, Module 2.3 The Florida Everglades

10 14 FEB What is Evolution? Where does Biodiversity come from?

READ: ESFACW Chapter 3, Module 3.1 A tropical Murder Mystery

11 19 FEB Land use change, agriculture and biological diversity

READ: ESFACW Chapter 3, Module 3.2 Palm Oil Plantations

12 21 FEB Protected areas and biodiversity READ: ESFACW Chapter 3, Module 3.3 A Forest without Elephants

13 26 FEB Human Populations – A review of demographics

READ: ESFACW Chapter 4 and review Appendix 1

14 28 FEB The Kerala Model EXAM 1

READ: ESFACW Chapter 4,Module 4.1 the Kerala Model

BIGGEST MEETING ON EVERGLADES RESTORATION HELD EVERY TWO YEARS HERE IN FLORIDA

APRIL 22-25, 2019 Coral Springs, Florida

You can go FOR FREE as a student volunteer

ESSAYS • So far, some excellent essays have been turned in. Please read my

comment and posted notes in the essays.

• You can submit TWO essay revisions to improve your grade, BUT these can not be submitted after APRIL 9th!

• GIVE YOUR ESSAY A TITLE, OR FORMAT AS A LETTER

• INCLUDE YOUR LAST NAME AND THE ESSAY NUMBER IN YOUR FILE NAME

• WRITE FROM AN OUTLINE – focus on the structure of each paragraph

• Structure and organization are integral components of an effective persuasive essay. No matter how intelligent the ideas, a paper lacking a strong introduction, well-organized body paragraphs and an insightful conclusion is not an effective paper.

SOME COMMON PITFALLS - PRONOUNS

• Avoid using pronouns like “You” and “It”, define your pornouns when used

“Each person should follow their dreams,”

represents a failure to correctly balance the singular (each person) and the plural (their dreams).

Correcting the statement can be done in two ways:

Each person should follow his or her dream

(to balance the singular)

All people should follow their dreams

(to balance the plural)

WHAT IS THE EVERGLADES?

The largest subtropical wetland in the Americas, also called

THE BIG SWAMP

AND

the largest wetland and

coastal restoration project in

the US

WHERE IS THE EVERGLADES?

1- Ecosystems of Florida: Florida ecosystems are dominated by WATER, and populated by unique PLANTS and ANIMALS 2- The Everglades Ecosystem originally occupied about one third of the Florida Peninsula. 3- The Everglades is a massive wetland with shallow rivers and highly variable flows of freshwater from north to south

THE SWAMP WAS DRAINED FOR MORE PEOPLE TO MOVE TO FLORIDA:

1 – Wetland flooding was not conducive to development, and an engineered system of canals was designed to control water flow

2- Freshwater was diverted to the ocean instead of flowing through wetlands.

The Everglades National Park is only a small part of the southern- most end of the Everglades Ecosystem.

The Everglades is bounded by major urban and agricultural areas to the east (Miami and Homestead)

THREATS TO THE EVERGLADES include

1. LOSS OF HABITAT – encroachment of agriculture and development

2. HYDROLOGICAL CHANGES and diversion of water

3. OVERHARVESTING – overfishing, plume hunters in the past, removal of orchids

4. POLLUTION – eutrophication, problems caused by water diversion

LOSS OF HABITAT – encroachment of agriculture and development

Floods were controlled by an engineered system of dikes, levies, canals and control gates

Then lots of people moved to Florida..

MIAMI DADE COUNTY POPULATION in 2019 = 2.8 million

Changes in the ecosystem allowed invasive species to take over

Cattails invade Everglades marshes

Brazilian Pepper at the edge of Everglades wetlands

CERP – it’s all around you!

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project

• See description here http://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/cerp.htm

The CERP was authorized by Congress in 2000 as a plan to "restore, preserve, and protect the south Florida ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood protection."

At a cost of more than $10.5 billion and with a 35+ year time-line, this is the largest hydrologic restoration project ever undertaken in the United States.

CERP OBJECTIVES:

1. CREATE PARTNERSHIPS 2. RESTORE WATER FLOW TO NATURAL HYDROLOGICAL CYCLES 3. RESTRICT FURTHER ENCROACHMENT 4. GRADUALLY REMOVED EVERGLADES AGRICULTURAL AREA (south of Lake Okachobee)

THREE IMPORTANT POINTS •Everglades restoration is a Hard Restoration project – there were changes in the previous century, the modification is a trade-off based on “modern values”. That means we are not removing canals and levees, we are modifying the system to balance human and ecosystem needs

•There are continuous negotiations and stakeholder struggles, nothing is ever final.

•Implementation is across decades by the government. The benefits are not immediately seen by the public, and these benefits are not evenly distributed over time and space

CHANGING SEAS – FLORIDA’S RED TIDE CRISIS

CERP ACTIONS IMPACT EVERYONE IN FLORIDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DVk HW2W0yE

ESSAY #8 – RISING SEAS AND RISING COSTS: IS THE CERP WORTH THE MONEY?

•Take a position for or against CERP – The cost has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, and now CERP is faced with issues of managing polluted waters in Lake Okeechobee, red tides, and salt water intrusion.

Components of the Everglades = natural communities defined by distinctive vegetation

CYPRESS WOODLANDS

Freshwater sloughs

Tree Hammocks

Mangroves

FLORIDA BAY is the southernmost extent of the Everglades National Park, and an important coastal lagoon.

Critical wildlife and iconic species of the Everglades

American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis

American Crocodile, Crocodylus acutus

LOTS OF SNAKES – some poisonous, and one important invasive species (Burmese python)

EGRETS, HERONS AND STORKS were once hunted for plumes used in women’s hats in the early 20th century

150 years ago – there were over 33 million wading birds lived in the Everglades

TODAY THERE ARE LESS THAN 5 MILLION WADING BIRDS LEFT…

The Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) is one of more than 20 subspecies of cougar (Puma concolor).

Until 1993, the cougar was classified in the genus Felis along with the domestic cat, the ocelot, and 27 other species.

In 1993 the cougar was reassigned to the genus Puma .

ECOSYSTEMS PROVIDE VALUABLE SERVICES FOR PEOPLE

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DESCRIBING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

CARBON BUDGETS and COASTAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

WHAT IS A CARBON BUDGET?

DOCUMENTING CARBON STORAGE

IMPACTS OF STORMS AND COASTAL DEVELOPMENT ON CARBON BUDGETS

GREEN AND BLUE ECONOMIES

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36Hurricane Donna – Big Sable Creek

Fringing mangroves

Catastrophic mortality of trees

Mud flats

LIDAR tools to map coastal vegetation

HOW ARE CARBON CYCLES DISRUPTED BY HURRICANES?

In a healthy forest community, more Carbon is taken in and stored than is lost to the system = NET ABSORBTION OF CARBON DIOXIDE!

Soils contain more carbon than the atmosphere and all plant biomass combined.

More forests mean more carbon storage

WHAT IS A CARBON BUDGET?

DONEY, Scott. 2010, Schematic diagram of humans’ impacts on the oceans through direct and indirect fluxes from land to sea.

Mangroves and Aquatic plants make up the Blue Carbon storage