Digital Commons Network^™

Us Coast And Geodetic Survey Aerial Photos From 1927, 1928, 1932, 1935, 1952 And 1954 Covering South Florida, Peter Harlem

Sea Level Rise Collection

Summary of the Dr. Harold R. Wanless collection of film copies and scanning project.

Paris Talks: The Art Of Climate Communication, Phaedra Pezzullo

Sea Level Rise Collection

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Use Of Everglades Agricultural Area Canal Water As Base Medium For The Mass Production Of Algae For Biofuels, Nina N. De La Rosa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater use is a major concern in the mass production of algae for biofuels. This project examined the use of canal water obtained from the Everglades Agricultural Area as a base medium for the mass production of algae. This water is not suitable for human consumption, and it is currently used for crop irrigation. A variety of canals were found to be suitable for water collection. Comparison of two methods for algal production showed no significant difference in biomass accumulation. It was discovered that synthetic reticulated foam can be used for algal biomass collection and harvest, and there is potential …

Habitat Use Of The Key Largo Woodrat (Neotoma Floridana Smalli), Lauren J. Barth

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Key Largo woodrats are an endangered subspecies with an extremely limited habitat. This study sought to understand woodrat habitat preferences in order to guide management. Woodrats build stick nests from natural and artificial materials, so nest distribution and nest occupancy were used as indicators of preference. Distribution was determined by nest surveys, and remote cameras were used to assess occupancy. Forest structure, human disturbance, nest, and animal presence metrics were also collected. More nests were found along abandoned roads than along forest transects and more artificial nests were occupied than natural nests. These findings indicate that woodrats prefer areas with …

Hacking The Curriculum: Creating Collaborative Classrooms, Robert E. Gutsche Jr.

Sea Level Rise Collection

Description of collaboration between FIU faculty students and high school students.

Fall Update: See What We've Been Doing, Robert E. Gutsche Jr.

Sea Level Rise Collection

This post includes text related to the required October Interim Report for the Online News Association, which was submitted on October 28, 2014.

Eyes In The Sky: Alta Partners Begin To Capture Rising Seas, Robert E. Gutsche Jr.

Sea Level Rise Collection

FIU-ALTA Partnership Captures High-Resolution Images of SLR.

Media Alert: Students Build Water Sensors In Prep For King Tide Day, Robert E. Gutsche Jr.

Sea Level Rise Collection

Announcement of collaborative work between the MAST@FIU BBC and FIU's School of Journalism and Mass Communication for King Tide Day events on October 9, 2015.

Numerical Modeling Of The Effects Of Hydrologic Conditions And Sediment Transport On Geomorphic Patterns In Wetlands, Mehrnoosh Mahmoudi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focused on developing a numerical model of spatial and temporal changes in bed morphology of ridge and slough features in wetlands with respect to hydrology and sediment transport when a sudden change in hydrologic condition occurs. The specific objectives of this research were: (1) developing a two-dimensional hydrology model to simulate the spatial distribution of flow depth and velocity over time when a pulsed flow condition is applied, (2) developing a process-based numerical model of sediment transport coupled with flow depth and velocity in wetland ecosystems, and (3) use the developed model to explore how sediment transport may …

Post Katrina: Improvements Made To New Orleans Storm Protection Systems, Juliet Pinto

Sea Level Rise Collection

FIU’s Dr. Juliet Pinto Leads Tour of Water Systems in Post-Katrina New Orleans.

Development Of A Methodology That Couples Satellite Remote Sensing Measurements To Spatial-Temporal Distribution Of Soil Moisture In The Vadose Zone Of The Everglades National Park, Luis G. Perez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spatial-temporal distribution of soil moisture in the vadose zone is an important aspect of the hydrological cycle that plays a fundamental role in water resources management, including modeling of water flow and mass transport. The vadose zone is a critical transfer and storage compartment, which controls the partitioning of energy and mass linked to surface runoff, evapotranspiration and infiltration. This dissertation focuses on integrating hydraulic characterization methods with remote sensing technologies to estimate the soil moisture distribution by modeling the spatial coverage of soil moisture in the horizontal and vertical dimensions with high temporal resolution.

The methodology consists of using …

Freshwater Resource Supply Modeling For Developed And Undeveloped Watersheds, Kelly C. Gustafson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, the current state of freshwater resource management is insufficient and impeding the chance at a sustainable future. Human interference within the natural hydrologic cycle is becoming dangerously irreversible and the need to redefine resource managerial approaches is imminent.

This research involves the development of a coupled natural-human freshwater resource supply model using a System Dynamics approach. The model was applied to two case studies, Somalia, Africa and the Phoenix Active Management Area in Arizona, USA. It is suggested that System Dynamic modeling would be an invaluable tool for achieving sustainable freshwater resource management in individual watersheds. Through a series …

Adaptation Preferences And Responses To Sea Level Rise And Land Loss Risk In Southern Louisiana: A Survey-Based Analysis, Sandra Maina

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, southern Louisiana faces extreme land loss that could reach an alarming rate of about one football sized swath of land every hour. The combined effect of land subsidence and predicted sea level rise threaten the culture and livelihood of the residents living in this region. As the most vulnerable coastal population in Louisiana, the communities of south Terrebonne Parish are called to adapt by accommodating, protecting, or retreating from the impacts of climate change. For effective preparation planning, the state of Louisiana needs to 1) understand the adaptation preferences and responses of these residents and 2) involve these vulnerable …

Effect Of Water Management On Interannual Variation In Bulk Soil Properties From The Eastern Coastal Everglades, R. M. Chambers, R. L. Hatch, T. M. Russell

FCE LTER Journal Articles

We examined interannual variation in soil properties from wetlands occurring in adjacent drainage basins from the southeastern Everglades. Triplicate 10-cm soil cores were collected, homogenized, and analyzed during the wet season 2006–2010 from five freshwater sawgrass wetland marshes and three estuarine mangrove forests. Soil bulk density from the Taylor Slough basin ranged from 0.15 gm-cm⁻³ to 0.5 gm-cm⁻³, was higher than from the Panhandle basin every year, and generally increased throughout the study period. Organic matter as a percent loss on ignition ranged from 7 % to 12 % from freshwater marshes and from 13 % to …

Characterization Of Rhizobial Diversity And Relationship Of Rhizobial Partner And Legume Performance In Four South Florida Pine Rockland Soils, Vanessa Sánchez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pine rocklands are endangered ecosystems unique to south Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba. As a result of their karstic calcium carbonate­rich soil, these systems are limited in phosphorus and nitrogen, making symbiotic associations critical to plant growth. Four leguminous species (Cajanus cajan, Chamaecrista fasciculata, Tephrosia angustissima, and Abrus precatorious) were used to determine the relationship between rhizobial partners and plant performance, and the symbiosis related gene nifH was amplified to characterize the diversity of rhizobial symbionts. Plants were grown in soils from four different south Florida pine rocklands, and a salinity treatment was added to determine …

Pb, Sr, And Nd Isotopic Characteristics Of A Variety Of Lithologies From The Guerrero Composite Terrane, West-Central Mexico: Constraints On Their Origin, Adriana Potra, Rosemary Hickey-Vargas, Andrew W. Macfarlane, Vincent J.M. Salters

Department of Earth and Environment

Lead, Sr, and Nd isotope analyses of Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks from the southern part of Guerrero terrane in Mexico provide a better understanding of their origin. Metamorphic rocks collected south of Arteaga (Zihuatanejo terrane) have similar Pb isotope values to basement rocks from Nevado de Toluca, indicating a possible connection of the basement in these areas. Lead isotope ratios of rocks from the Mesozoic Guerrero and Paleozoic Mixteca terranes are similar to those of north Peruvian Mesozoic Olmos and Paleozoic Marañón complexes, but more radiogenic than Grenville-age basement of southeast Mexico (Guichicovi complex) and north Colombia (Garzón massif and …

Seasonal Evapotranspiration Patterns In Mangrove Forests, Jordan G. Barr, Marcia S. Delonge, Jose D. Fuentes

FCE LTER Journal Articles

Diurnal and seasonal controls on water vapor fluxes were investigated in a subtropical mangrove forest in Everglades National Park, Florida. Energy partitioning between sensible and latent heat fluxes was highly variable during the 2004–2005 study period. During the dry season, the mangrove forest behaved akin to a semiarid ecosystem as most of the available energy was partitioned into sensible heat, which gave Bowen ratio values exceeding 1.0 and minimum latent heat fluxes of 5 MJ d1. In contrast, during the wet season the mangrove forest acted as a well-watered, broadleaved deciduous forest, with Bowen ratio values of 0.25 and latent …

Perceived Risk Of Predation Affects Reproductive Life - History Traits In Gambusia Holbrooki, But Not In Heterandria Formosa, Shomen Mukherjee, Michael R. Heithaus, Joel C. Trexler, Jayanti Ray-Mukherjee, Jeremy Vaudo

Open Access Publishing Fund

Key to predicting impacts of predation is understanding the mechanisms through which predators impact prey populations. While consumptive effects are well-known, non-consumptive predator effects (risk effects) are increasingly being recognized as important. Studies of risk effects, however, have focused largely on how trade-offs between food and safety affect fitness. Less documented, and appreciated, is the potential for predator presence to directly suppress prey reproduction and affect life-history characteristics. For the first time, we tested the effects of visual predator cues on reproduction of two prey species with different reproductive modes, lecithotrophy (i.e. embryonic development primarily fueled by yolk) and matrotrophy …