Project Personnel: Gary L. Hill, Noah Silverman, and Katie Kuss

Supporting Organizations: National Park Service — Everglades National Park, National Audubon Society, University of Miami (Rosensteil School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences)

Associated / Linked Projects: Predicting effects of hydrologic restoration on manatees along the southwest coast of Florida (actually a subset of this larger project). Also: Fish utilization of mangrove fringe habitats within southeastern Florida (Latter through a subcontract to the University of Miami)

Overview & Status: The objectives of this research to date have been to: (1) quantify the dynamics (spatial and temporal patterns of the density and biomass) of fishes and decapod crustaceans in intertidal mangrove forests and to relate these distributional patterns to hydrological and environmental factors; (2) focus on riverine mangroves along the salinity gradient in Shark River, and fringing mangroves in northeastern Florida Bay influenced by Taylor Slough and C-111 Canal as well as fringing mangroves along the western shoreline of southern Biscayne Bay. Starting in late dry season 2002, additional objectives are to: (3) describe the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) of Shark and Lostmans Rivers and of nearshore coastal waters at their mouths; (4) quantify the range of physical factors that influence the distribution and development of this (SAV) using multivariate statistical analyses.

Needs & Products: Products: (1) Excel datasets of fish numbers and biomass at 3 fixed sites in fringing mangrove forests along a salinity gradient in Shark River, March 2000-February 2002. (2) Faunce, C.H., Serafy, J.E., J. Lorenz, and S. Snedaker, 2002. Fish utilization of mangrove fringe habitats within southeastern Florida: Final Report to U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources division, Florida Caribbean Science Center, 88 pages.

Application to Everglades Restoration: Fish surveys at fixed sites along the estuarine portion of Shark River over a series of years (2000-2001, ongoing) provides data on inter and intra-annual variation in fish numbers and biomass. Further, this data will provide the baseline against which to assess the effects of future hydrological restoration upstream. Visual fish surveys in estuarine mangroves in areas influenced by drainage from Taylor Slough and C-111 Canal in northeastern Florida Bay can be used against earlier analogous data prior to C-111 cutouts to assess this recent restoration activity. Visual surveys along the western shorelines of southern Biscayne Bay (2000-2001, completed) are similarly baseline data against which to judge future restoration activities affecting that coastal lagoon. (Latter two datasets collected under a subcontract to U. Miami.)