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projects > predicting effects of hydrologic restoration on manatees along the southwest coast of florida > project summary
Project Summary Sheet
Fiscal Year 2005 Study Summary Report Study Start Date: 2000 Study End Date: 2005 Web Sites: http://cars.er.usgs.gov/Manatees/manatees.html Location (Subregions, Counties, Park or Refuge): Total System Funding Source: USGS Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science (GE PES) Initiative Principal Investigator(s): James Reid Study Personnel: James Reid, Brad Stith, and Susan Butler Supporting Organizations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, National Park Service, Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mote Marine Laboratory, Marine Mammal Commission, and Cincinnati Zoo. Associated / Linked Studies: Linked to "Southwest Florida Coastal and Wetland Systems Monitoring Project" (E. Patino) (http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/sys_monitor/) for hydrology data. Potential links to other projects/databases include TIME model, ATLSS model, and the associated PBS projects: "Impacts of Hydrological Restoration on Three Estuarine Communities of the Southwest Florida Coast and on Associated Fauna" (Carol McIvor) (http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/impacts_est/); Additional information on "Predicting Effects of Hydrologic Restoration on Manatees along the Southwest Coast of Florida" is available on the SOFIA website: http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/manatees/ Overview & Objective(s): Determine relative abundance, distribution, movements, and habitat use of manatees associated with coastal waters and rivers from Marco Island through Whitewater Bay. Identify resources critical to manatees in the region, including distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation, freshwater drinking sites, and winter refugia. Develop an individual-based ATLSS model to predict manatee response to changes in hydrology achieved by the Picayune Strand Restoration Project specifically and more broadly by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Additional information on population trend, distribution, and habitat use, coupled with models of hydrology, bathymetry, aquatic vegetation, and salinity, will allow development of a population-level model capable of predicting manatee response to future changes. The ATLSS model requires a hydrology model for the rivers and estuaries of the Ten Thousand Islands region and this hydrology model is not currently available. This integrated manatee/hydrology modeling effort can provide invaluable information as a small-scale test case for understanding and predicting how restoration efforts in the Everglades will affect manatees. Status: PES funding is scheduled to end in FY05. This study has provided insights into pre-restoration conditions and establishes a baseline for manatees and estuaries associated with the TTI. Findings have also identified relevant habitat characteristics for additional research and helped restoration/recovery agencies focus attention on appropriate management actions. An extension of an Everglades hydrology model into the TTI is needed in order to complete the ATLSS model. Proposals for integrated studies to extend hydrology models into the TTI are pending. This model effort would benefit the completion of this ATLSS product, and numerous other studies focused on the wetlands and estuaries in this region. Recent Products: Metadata reviewed, revised, and posted to SOFIA. Oral Presentations: Published Abstracts:
Planned Products: Specific Relevance to Information Needs Identified in DOI's Science Plan in Support of Ecosystem Restoration, Preservation, and Protection in South Florida (DOI's Everglades Science Plan) [See Plan on SOFIA's Web site: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/reports/doi-science-plan/]: This study supports two of the projects listed in the DOI science plan, including: Southern Golden Gate Estates Hydrologic Restoration, and Landscape-Scale Modeling. The study supports the Southern Golden Gate Estates Hydrologic Restoration project (SGGE; p. 51) by 1) modeling predicted changes in hydrology and ecology in the Ten Thousand Islands NWR (p. 59), and 2) providing baseline data and monitoring of effects on a federally listed species, the West Indian manatee, within the Ten Thousand Islands NWR (p. 59-60). The study supports the Landscape-Scale Modeling (LSM; p. 80-81) by 1) providing an individual-based demographic model of a threatened species, the West Indian manatee (p. 80), and 2) by providing Landscape-scale monitoring and assessment for MAP (p. 81, 90). This study also supports the CERP Monitoring and Assessment Plan, Part 1, Southern Estuaries Module, Section 3.2.4.10: Manatee Abundance and Distribution Relative to Freshwater Input (pp. 3-98 3-100). This study also supports the Planning Aid Report, Multi-species Conservation under Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), Project 30, Southern Golden Gate Estates Hydrologic Restoration Project (pp. 252-254, 262-264). Each manatee project task addresses a number of USGS project tasks related to hydrology, habitats and species, ecological indicators, and threatened and endangered species. Because the manatee is a federally listed species, our work supports a variety of needs identified by the DOI for listed species. Key Findings:
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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
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Last updated: 24 February, 2006 @ 04:29 PM(KP)