Florida Bay Habitat Assessment Program
Durako M. 2004. Florida Bay Habitat Assessment Program. Critical Ecosystems Studies Initiative. ASS97-3. Everglades National Park/South Florida Natural Resources Center
Final Report and publications. Seagrass communities are known to provide structural shelter for a variety of fish, and comprise an important link in the food chain of Florida Bay. Past occurrences of large-scale seagrass die-offs have resulted in increasing concern regarding the health and vitality of this important estuary. A greater understanding of how the system responds to changes in hydrology becomes particularly important in light of management changes proposed under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and associated projects. Funds dispersed through the Critical Ecosystem Studies Initiative helped fund a science-based Fish Habitat Assessment Program (FHAP). The program was initiated largely to assess the spatial and temporal variability of seagrass communities, and gauge the effects of changes in water management. Durako, Michael J. 1994. Indicators of seagrass ecological condition: an assessment based on spatial and temporal changes. In (K.R. Dyer and R. J. Orth (eds.) Changes in Fluxes in Estuaries. ECSA22/ERF symposium. Olsen and Olsen. Gredensborg, Denmark. Durako, Michael J. 1994. Seagraa die-off in Florida Bay (USA): Changes in shoot demographic characteristics and population dynamics in Thalassia testudinum. Marine Ecology Progress Series 110:59-66. Durako, Michael J. and Jennifer I. Kunzelman. 2002. Photosynthetic characteristics of Thalassia testudinum measured in situ by pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry: methodological and scale-based considerations. Aquatic Botany 73:173-185. Fourqurean, James W., Joseph N. Boyner, Michael J. Durako, Lee N. Hefty, and Bradley J. Peterson. 2003. Forecasting responses of seagrass distributions to changing water quality using monitoring data. Ecological Applications 13(2):474-489. Fourqurean, James W., Michael J. Durako, Margaret O. Hall, and Lee N. Hefty. 2002. Seagrass distribution in South Florida: A multi-agency coordinated monitoring program. In The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys: An Ecosystem Sourcebook. CRC Press.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Durako, Michael
- Date of Issue
- 2004
- Units
- EVER
- Keywords
- Assessment, CESI, everglades, Monitoring, Restoration, Seagrass
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Estuarine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex