tional Meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. June 18-19, uniting all the CESU administra-tors in the U.S. providing the chance to meet members of Con-gress and Tom Fish, the new na-tional CESU administrator. At the end of October, the Gulf Coast, Piedmont-South Atlantic and SFC CESUs, will come together with the aim of developing collabora-tions across the regional units. Another local meeting will be the Florida Bay meeting in Naples, December 8-12. This meeting has been held on a semi-regular basis since 1992. All these meetings provide a great platform to show-case South Florida and our scien-tists. Come join us!

MIAMI, FL The eyes of the world are on South Florida. After years of wandering in the wilder-ness, three large international meetings will set camp in our area, turning 2008 into a promis-ing year for partnerships and the sharing of scientific information. The first event is the Ocean Sci-ence Meeting in Orlando organ-ized by the American Society of Limnologists and Oceanogra-phers on March 4-11. Held bien-nially, the convention is alter-nately organized by ASLO and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The spring meeting of AGU follows convening in Fort Lauderdale on May 27-30, fea-turing a special session on the Everglades.

The jewel of international confer-ences will be the 11th Interna-tional Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, from July 7-11. Every four years since its 1966 origins in India, the ICRS chooses a different location around the world to continue its exchange. South Florida last hosted the event in 1977, and this year serves as venue for what will be the largest assembly of coral reef workers in the world! Over 2500 abstracts were submitted - almost 1000 more than the last meeting in Oki-nawa, Japan. These forums will showcase the natural environments of South Florida, the very areas covered in the strategic plan of the SFC CESU. The CESU Network Na-

Pollution Watch: Research Collaboration Addresses Water QualityPollution Watch: Research Collaboration Addresses Water QualityPollution Watch: Research Collaboration Addresses Water Quality

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

2 Bird Habitat

3 Preservation in Puerto Rico

4 Nature Links

5 Fellowship

5

Cultivating Seagrasses

6 Upcoming

Message from the Director Message from the Director Message from the Director

BOYNTON BEACH, FL As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is not the “research” branch of the U.S. Department of Interior, refuges regularly develop partnerships with other organizations to address science needs. The A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is one refuge where outside scientific expertise is regularly sought. Located at the northern end of the Florida Everglades, the preserve is a focal point of a number of high-profile applied science issues, including water management to minimize water quality im-pacts, the subject of the second-longest Federal environmental lawsuit in the country. Since 2005, the Loxahatchee Refuge has worked through the CESU program to establish research and moni-toring programs to better understand the ecological impacts of water quality pollution (both nutrients and water hardness) on the 220 mi2 soft-water wetland ecosystem. Working hand-in-hand with Dr. Donatto Surratt and Dr. Rebekah Gibble of the University of Miami, the FWS team is using monitoring and research data to develop an increased understanding about the resources of the refuge. Their applied science work is translating into near-real-time management recommendations that could be used to better operate the water management system in the northern Everglades. Dr. Surratt is working on establishing relationships between water management and water quality of in-flows that enter the marsh through overtopping of a canal network surrounding the Refuge. With a mechanism to track the movement of this nutrient-laden water into the refuge, Dr. Surratt has illuminated linkages between the surface water chemistry and water quality of areas within the refuge’s wetlands. While much is known about the effects of nutrients – especially phosphorus – on the ecological responses of the historically oligotrophic Everglades, much less is known about the other chemical constituents in hard water entering the Everglades. Dr. Gibble is working on establishing relationships between water hardness and the ecological response of multiple trophic levels in the Refuge, ranging from periphyton to vascular plants and apple snails, the food supply for the critically endangered Everglade snail kite. Matt Harwell

P U B L I S H E D B Y T H E S O U T H F L O R I D A C A R I B B E A N

C o o p e r a t i v e E c o s y s t e m S t u d i e s U n i t

C . B . D a n i e l s , E d i t o r J u l i a n a A c c i o l y , A s s i s t a n t E d i t o r

E M A I L C O N T R I B U T I O N S T O :

c d a n i e l s @ r s m a s . m i a m i . e d u

P. K. Swart

Miami, FL Dr. Dale E. Gawlik has been hooked on wild birds since Junior High School. In his teen years, the Director of Environmental Sciences at Flor-ida Atlantic University in Boca Raton was taken as an apprentice by Wisconsin researchers Frederic and Frances Hamerstrom and got to work closely with captive hawks and owls used in studies, also assisting in the rehabilitation of injured raptors. Gawlik has been staying close to feathered vertebrates since then- on air or in our wetlands. As the lead investigator for a project entitled, “Wading Bird Colony Location, Size, Timing and Wood Stork Nesting Success,” a three-year habitat study conducted in Lake Okeechobee, Gawlik and graduate student Heidi Herring follow individual storks as they rise up from a nesting colony, sometimes several thousand feet, and fly to their feeding sites.

“This work requires a rock solid stomach because the observer must spend hours cramped in a small the plane looking through binoculars while circling behind the target bird,” said Gawlik. “None of the other wildlife flights I have done, such as aerial surveys or radio tracking, are nearly as difficult.” Wading birds sit at the apex of the food pyramid and their breeding, which some scientists claim has decreased by 90 percent from natural levels, serves as a direct indicator of the general health of the ecosystem that shapes the Everglades. Gawlik’s study aims at creating a model to predict the probability of birds to use their habitat as a function of hydrologic conditions, vegetation type, and distance to a nesting colony.

The project took off in January 2005 and builds on an existing database of reproductive success and productiv-ity information dating back to the 1960s. The historic data has already served as an early warning of the col-lapse of ecosystem function, the widespread contamination of the wetland biota with mercury, and the critical functions provided by droughts.

Initial findings have revealed that the wood storks at Lake Okeechobee prefer vegetation on the edge of the mangroves despite the fact that they have long abandoned the coastal systems. They also rely heavily on other birds and when flying at several thousand feet the ungainly storks cue in on flocks and rarely land to feed at a site that is not already occupied.

“We suspect this to be related to the patchy and unpredictable distribution of food in the Everglades relative to other more stable systems,” says Gawlik.

In an era of climate change, the team of scientists is one of the first to use the EDEN hydrology data along with relatively new statistical model called discrete choice model.

“We were excited about the technique because it was the first of a group called resource selection functions, which allowed resource availability to vary over time,” says Gawlik. “This is critical for a wetland ecosystem like the Everglades, where water changes daily.”

No Flight of Fancy No Flight of Fancy No Flight of Fancy ---Wild BirdWild BirdWild Bird Habitat Study Helps Gauge Habitat Study Helps Gauge Habitat Study Helps Gauge Health of the EvergladesHealth of the EvergladesHealth of the Everglades

P A G E 2

by Juliana Accioly

Dale examines an Egret. Photo Credit: Dale.Gawlik.

Photo Credit: San Juan NHS Archives.

SAN JUAN, P.R. The island of Puerto Rico holds fascinating historic appeal, its stories retold through the forts and trails in the colonial portion of Old San Juan. This capital city is one of the few walled cities left in the New World, its solid defense system built by the Spanish between the16th and 18th century, the oldest European construction in the United States. Inscribed as a World Heritage site since 1983, the site requires specialized protection efforts by the San Juan National Historic Site, a preservation program entitled “Old Ways are the Best Ways.” “Our park’s conservation program represents the challenge of learning something new to preserve something old,” says Edwin Colon, Park Facility Manager. After extensive research, the staff of the San Juan NHS adopted traditional ma-sonry techniques to protect the fortifications from the degradation triggered by time, weathering and man-made threats such as vandalism and graffiti. Findings revealed that the modern cement initially used to patch up the old walls was in-compatible with the living breathing lime-base historical structures, creating humidity that furthered the cumulative dam-age. The masonry staff of San Juan NHS is required to complete a two-year program in traditional lime masonry theory and practice before being certified to perform the periodical replacement of the mor-tar layers on the forts San Felipe del Morro, San Cristobal, El Canuelo and the two-and-a-half miles of fortress walls that surround Old San Juan. For every restoration, samples are taken from the origi-nal materials and matched with a combination of prepared lime, brick dust and aggregates. The new mortar is then applied in historically appropriate ways to ensure the features and integrity of the structures. The San Juan NHS provides frequent training in traditional lime masonry to local agencies and con-ducts workshops for groups of students from universities such as the University of Puerto Rico, Polytechnic University, and the University of Philadelphia. In one to two-week workshops, stu-dents get to watch the repair work by the masonry crews and acquire hands-on experience by working in-lab with materials. Additional opportunities for student learning of specialized preservation techniques exist in the form of seasonal hires and or internships.

Visitors and students to the island also have the opportunity to learn about a second Na-tional Park Service conservation work in progress. At the ground of the El Morro fort 24 obsolete cannons and 352 shells are being treated with special techniques developed by a CESU institution, Texas A & M University. “This restoration program is part of the true endeavors in preserving our historic integrity,”

says Javier Martinez, museum technician for the San Juan NHS.

The “Metal and Artifacts Conservation Project” involves careful documentation, stabilization before treatment and con-stant monitoring of the artifacts. Ideally, they should be kept at the lowest possible relative humidity and to circumvent the harmful exposure, cannons in display are protected by a special sealant. The artillery gives a sense of place to the military architecture of the forts - storing the pieces away would deprive visitors of one of Puerto Rico’s main attractions and students of a fantastic educational opportunity.

Keepers of History: Keepers of History: In Puerto Rico, Students Learn In Puerto Rico, Students Learn Preservation Techniques Preservation Techniques

P A G E 3

by Juliana Accioly

San Juan NHS staff prepares cannon for treatment.

Photo Credit: San Juan NHS Archives.

Photo Credit: San Juan NHS Archives.

Wall restoration underway.

P A G E 4

“We have al-ready seen a definite in-crease in so-cial skills and interaction,” said Kelly East, the group’s in-structor. East, who has been a teacher for the Dade County schools for 15 years, has led the group in field trips that include numerous boat trips and seagrass explo-ration at local parks. “By opening their access to employment in the areas of recreation and leisure in nature-related fields these youngsters have better chances towards a more fulfilling life,” said East. Nature Links’ list of partners includes Miami Dade County and Miami Parks Recreation, the National Park Service (i.e., Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park), South Florida Caribbean CESU, Parent to Parent, Associa-tion for Re-tarded Citizens, Fairchild Tropi-cal Garden, the Urban Environment League, and the Sunrise Community, Inc.

MIAMI, FL Twice a week six students from ages 18 to 22 gather in the facilities of Shake-A-Leg Miami to develop their professional skills. As participants of the Build-ing Recreational Independence & Developing Gate-ways to Employment program, they take part in a ho-listic curriculum of study that goes beyond traditional vocational training and classroom practices. Launched in August 2007, B.R.I.D.G.E. features a hands-on components spe-cially tailored for young adults with developmental delays and disabilities. Funded by the Miami Dade School System, the program offers students lessons in health and water safety and activities linked to the natural world – op-portunities that aim at en-hancing their quality of life and involvement in their community. The program is one of the endeavors of Nature Links, an organization created by the University of Miami under the leadership of Gregory Bush, Director of the UM Institute for Public History, and Shake-a-Leg Miami, an institution that helps individuals with physical and developmental challenges. Nature Links focuses on the use of parks and other related places as educational, recreational and train-ing sites. Students are taught job skills that can be used to improve the care of parks and other recrea-tional venues that serve the community. Along with their participation in the 2-year-program, the students are required to show competencies in reading and mathematics. The curriculum also includes a con-tinuing life skills element and job referral coordina-tion efforts.

Seeking Change, Offering Choices Project Links Young Adults with Disabilities to their Community and Parks by Juliana Accioly

B.R.I.D.G.E. students are given instruction in skills required for boat maintenance.

Photo Credit:Kelli East.

Photo Credit:Kelli East.

B.R.I.D.G.E. students experience a day at sea.

Students receive sailing instruction.

Photo Credit: Kelli East.

P A G E 4

AAAQUACULTUREQUACULTUREQUACULTURE ANDANDAND P P PRESERVATIONRESERVATIONRESERVATION SSSAVINGAVINGAVING OUROUROUR S S SEAGRASSESEAGRASSESEAGRASSES

Dr. Silva Maciá

When your lawn goes bad, you call When your lawn goes bad, you call When your lawn goes bad, you call the turf folks and rethe turf folks and rethe turf folks and re---sod. Can we sod. Can we sod. Can we try the same approach with our try the same approach with our try the same approach with our

fragile marine seagrassesfragile marine seagrassesfragile marine seagrasses? ? ?

“When one’s senses are fully awak-ened, the true feast is neither food nor wine,…but nature itself. Only people who live on cement streets and car-peted floors can ever forget the inher-ent drama in nature and, by mere hab-its of city living, become nature-blind.” Lin Yutang, Chinese Teacher

Partnerships: Canon Fellowship Program Partnerships: Canon Fellowship Program Partnerships: Canon Fellowship Program Ends after a Decade of Environmental PhilanthropyEnds after a Decade of Environmental PhilanthropyEnds after a Decade of Environmental Philanthropy

versity of Miami student and coral researcher Wade Cooper (2006). Canon’s commitment to the cur-rent scholars continues through 2009 despite the fact that it will not financially support a 2008 competition. Students are encour-aged to seek funding through other conservation organizations and check the AAAS and NPS websites in May 2008 for infor-mation on future competitions.

an effort to incorporate science and technology into park man-agement. Awardees benefited greatly from the 3-year doctoral dissertation scholarships which facilitated in-novative research in areas such as invasive species, food web dy-namics, animal biodiversity, and coral ecology. Former recipients from SFC CESU institutions in-cluded Ashley Morris and Linda Erica “Rikki” Grobar-Dunsmore from the University of Florida in 2002, Ivan Diaz, a native of Santiago, Chile and University of Florida student (2005), and Uni-

The 2007 recipients of the Canon National Parks Science Scholars Program comprised the tenth class and final beneficiaries of the fellowship program, which leaves a void in environmental philan-thropy by ending more than a decade of support for cutting-edge research critical in the con-servation and management of na-tional parks throughout the Americas. The collaboration be-tween Canon U.S.A. Inc., the Na-tional Park Service and the American Association for the Ad-vancement of Science (AAAS) granted more than $800,000 to doctoral students since 1997, in

P A G E 5

MIAMI SHORES,FL Dr. Silvia Maciá and her students at Barry University are develop-ing an aquaculture program on campus, one that just might make seagrass “resodding” a common practice in Biscayne Bay. Dr. Maciá and her student researchers Denise Chuck, Robin Cascioli, and Michelle Metcalf have been collecting fruits and germinating seeds of turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum). Extracted from local coastal wa-ters, the samples are cultivated in flow-through tanks in Dr. Ma-ciá’s laboratory.

The results have been promising, with small patches thriving under her special care. The ultimate goal is to transplant healthy seagrass clones back into damaged field plots and so help restore the turtle grass beds of South Florida.

Barry University student points out successful Thalassia testudinum cultivars.

by Juliana Accioly

by Jeremy Montague

Photo Credit: Jeremy Montague.

P A G E 6

Don’t forget to

mark your calendar.

Upcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming Events The Ocean Sciences Meeting will be held in Orlando, FL on March 2-7, 2008.

http://www.aslo.org/orlando2008/ The 18th Caribbean Geological Conference will be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on March 24-29, 2008. http://www.sodogeo.org/detalle_noticias.asp?codid=135 The 2008 National Conference on Urban Ecosystems is May 28-30, 2008 in Orlando, FL. www.americanforests.org/conference The 2008 Biennial Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Network National Meeting is June 18-19, 2008 in Washington, D.C. www.cesu.psu.edu/news/2008_meeting.htm The U. S. Geological Survey and the Univ. of Florida / IFAS will host "20th Salt Water Intrusion Meeting (SWIM)" June 23-27, 2008 in Naples, FL. http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/SWIM/ The 11th International Coral Reef Symposium is July 7-11, 2008 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/ The 2008 Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Conference is July 18-August 1, 2008 in Naples, FL. conference.ifas.ufl.edu/GEER2008/index.htm

The Joint Meeting of the Gulf Coast, Piedmont-South Atlantic and the South Florida Caribbean CESUs is October 28-29, 2008 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL.