The effects of watershed management on the Shark Slough Whitewater Bay Estuary of Everglades National Park, Florida
Davis GE and Hilsenbeck CE. 1974. The effects of watershed management on the Shark Slough Whitewater Bay Estuary of Everglades National Park, Florida. RSP-N-65. National Park Service, South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park. Homestead, FL
The authors studied a large tropical estuary (Shark Slough Whitewater Bay Estuary) within Everglades National Park, FL to determine the effects of managing runoff into the headwaters of its watershed for a 12-year period. The authors found that runoff, as it affected water levels in the watershed, played a major role in determining seasonality and magnitude of salinity flux in the estuary. Elevated mean salinities are causing the estuarine nursery system to be replaced by a coastal mangrove complex. The destruction of the estuary was a result of changes in the seasonality of runoff, a slight decrease in mean annual rainfall over the watershed, and saltwater intrusion through the Buttonwood Canal into the eastern end of the estuary. Management recommendations are included.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Davis, Gary; Hilsenbeck, Charles
- Date of Issue
- 1974-11
- Publisher
- National Park Service, South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park
- Units
- EVER
- Keywords
- Aquatic Sciences, Everglades National Park, Everglades National Park, FL, FL, Impacts, Runoff, Salinity, Seasonality, Shark River Slough, Vegetation Change, Water Level, Water Resource Management, Whitewater Bay