Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Economic Valuation Analysis Of Buccoo Reef Marine Park, Tobago, West Indies, Dionne J. Da Costa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate tourism capacity, the effectiveness of the management plan and the visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) for increased conservation effort in the Buccoo Reef Marine Park (BRMP) in Tobago. Non-market contingent valuation was applied to estimate tourists’ WTP, using the data from a survey of 164 tourists. Local residents and government agencies were consulted to evaluate the management plan and the tourism capacity. Eighty-eight percent of local residents stated that the park was not well managed and that they lacked trust in the park agency. The density of tourists was 67-97% more than …

Assessment Of Submerged Vegetation As Indicators Of Irgarol Contamination, Melissa V. Fernandez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Irgarol 1051 is a common antifoulant toxic to certain marine organisms. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) are exposed to this herbicide when it leaches into the marine environment from painted structures, making SAVs ideal candidates to function as sentinel indicator of contamination. In the initial stage of this study, Coconut Grove and Key Largo Harbor were assessed for environmental exposure to Irgarol. Water, sediment and SAVs were collected, the latter two subject to automated solid phase extraction, and all samples analyzed by GC/MS-SIM for Irgarol and its metabolite, M1. Of the vegetation analyzed, Halodule and Syringodium had the highest capacity to …

A Modeling Approach To Determine The Impacts Of Land Use And Climate Change Scenarios On The Water Flux Of The Upper Mara River, L. M. Mango, Assefa Melesse, M. E. Mcclain, Daniel Gann, S. G. Setegn

GIS Center

With the flow of the Mara River becoming increasingly erratic especially in the upper reaches, attention has been directed to land use change as the major cause of this problem. The semi-distributed hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool 5 (SWAT) and Landsat imagery were utilized in the upper Mara River Basin in order to 1) map existing field scale land use practices in order to determine their impact 2) determine the impacts of land use change on water flux; and 3) determine the impacts of rainfall (0%, ±10% and ±20%) and air temperature variations (0% and +5%) based on …

Water Quality Monitoring Program For Bermuda's Coastal Resources, Joseph N. Boyer, Henry O. Briceño

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Developing A Data-Driven Classification Of South Florida Plant Communities, Jay P. Sah, Michael S. Ross, Susana Stofella

SERC Research Reports

A comprehensive, broadly accepted vegetation classification is important for ecosystem management, particularly for planning and monitoring. South Florida vegetation classification systems that are currently in use were largely arrived at subjectively and intuitively with the involvement of experienced botanical observers and ecologists, but with little support in terms of quantitative field data. The need to develop a field data-driven classification of South Florida vegetation that builds on the ecological organization has been recognized by the National Park Service and vegetation practitioners in the region. The present work, funded by the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program - South Florida/Caribbean …

A Geospatial Database Of Tree Islands Within The Mustang Corner Fire Incident Of 2008, Pablo L. Ruiz, Michael S. Ross, Jay P. Sah

SERC Research Reports

Fire, which affects community structure and composition at all trophic levels, is an integral component of the Everglades ecosystem (Wade et al. 1980; Lockwood et al. 2003). Without fire, the Everglades as we know it today would be a much different place. This is particularly true for the short-hydroperiod marl prairies that predominate on the eastern and western flanks of Shark River Slough, Everglades National Park (Figure 1). In general, fire in a tropical or sub-tropical grassland community favors the dominance of C4 grasses over C3 species (Roscoe et al. 2000; Briggs et al. 2005). Within this pyrogenic graminoid community …

Resampling Of Permanent Pine Rockland Vegetation Plots On Big Pine Key, Jay P. Sah, James R. Snyder, Michael S. Ross, Danielle Ogurcak

SERC Research Reports

The pine rocklands of South Florida are characterized by an herbaceous flora with many narrowly endemic taxa, a diverse shrub layer containing several palms and numerous tropical hardwoods, and an overstory of south Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa). Fire has been considered as an important environmental factor for these ecosystems, since in the absence of fire these pine forests are replaced by dense hardwood communities, resulting in loss of the characteristic pineland herb flora. Hence, in the Florida Keys pine forests, prescribed fire has been used since the creation of the National Key Deer Refuge. However, such prescribed …

2010 Annual Report Of The Water Quality Monitoring Project For The Water Quality Protection Program Of The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Joseph N. Boyer, Henry O. Briceño

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

2010 Annual Report Of The Water Quality Monitoring Project For The Water Quality Protection Program Of The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (Summary), Joseph N. Boyer, Henry O. Briceño

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Habitat – Vegetation Monitoring: Fy 2009 - Final Report, Jay P. Sah, Michael S. Ross, James R. Snyder, Pablo L. Ruiz, Susana Stofella, Nate Colbert, Erin Hanan, Lawrence Lopez, Michael Camp

SERC Research Reports

This document summarizes the activities that were accomplished in FY 2009 on the research project “Cape Sable seaside sparrow habitat – Vegetation Monitoring”, a collaborative effort among the US Army Corps of Engineers, Florida International University, and the US Geological Survey. The major activities in 2009 included field work, data analysis and presentations. The results of 2009 field work were presented at the 4th International Congress of Fire Ecology and Management, Savannah, GA from November 30 to Dec 5, 2009 and at the Cape Sable seaside sparrow (CSSS) Fire Meeting, held at the Krome Center, Homestead, FL on December 8, …

Everglades Ridge, Slough, And Tree Island Mosaics: Year 2 Annual Report, Michael S. Ross, James B. Heffernan, Jay P. Sah, Pablo L. Ruiz, Adam A. Spitzig, Ewan Isherwood

SERC Research Reports

Status and history of the Ridge-Slough Mosaic The Florida Everglades is a large subtropical wetland with diverse hydrologic, edaphic, and vegetative characteristics. Historically, a significant portion of this system was a slow moving river originating from the Kissimmee River floodplain, flowing into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee, and draining south-southwest over extensive peatlands into Florida Bay (McVoy 2011). Human-induced alterations to the hydrologic regime, including reduction, stabilization, and impoundment of water flow through diversion and compartmentalization of water via canals and levees have degraded pre-drainage vegetation patterns and microtopographic structure (Davis and Ogden 1994, Ogden 2005, McVoy 2011). The …

Survival And Growth Responses Of Eight Everglades Tree Species Along An Experimental Hydrological Gradient On Two Tree Island Types, Susana L. Stoffella, Michael S. Ross, Jay P. Sah, René M. Price, Pamela L. Sullivan, Eric A. Cline, Leonard J. Scinto

FCE LTER Journal Articles

Questions: How are the early survival and growth of seedlings of Everglades tree species planted in an experimental setting on artificial tree islands affected by hydrology and substrate type? What are the implications of these responses for broader tree island restoration efforts?

Location: Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA), Boynton Beach, Florida, USA.

Methods: An experiment was designed to test hydrological and substrate effects on seedling growth and survivorship. Two islands – a peat and a limestone-core island representing two major types found in the Everglades – were constructed in four macrocosms. A mixture of eight tree species was planted on …