USGS · 1008572
Abstract not supplied at this time
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L. L. Smith, C.K. Dodd. 2003. Wildlife mortality on Highway U.S. 441 across Paynes Prairie, Alachua County, Florida. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/1008572
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Many coastal estuaries have experienced declines in pH over the past few decades due to coastal acidification. However, mean monthly water column pH values (collected during daylight hours) have increased in Tampa Bay, Florida over recent decades concurrent with seagrass recovery. We measured changes in carbonate system and water quality variables in Tampa Bay and the near-coastal Gulf of Mexico environment to quantify diurnal to seasonal trends, drivers, and controls of carbonate chemistry; identify exposure periods to low pH conditions; and to examine the potential for seagrasses to buffer acidification in Tampa Bay. Autonomous sensor packages deployed in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico from December 2017 to June 2020 recorded hourly measurements of seawater temperature, salinity, pressure, pH T (total scale), carbon dioxide (pCO 2 ), dissolved oxygen (DO), and photosynthetically active radiation. Results indicated strong temperature and biological influence on DO, pH T , and pCO 2 in Tampa Bay during the dry season, and only weak to moderate correlation of these variables with temperature and salinity during the wet season. Strong influence from biological processes during the wet season was coincident with spring-to-summer periods of maximum seagrass growth rates. Gulf of Mexico results indicated higher pH T and DO, and lower pCO 2 than in Tampa Bay, with similar but attenuated seasonal variation. Results suggest potential benefits from seagrass photosynthesis increasing pH T , DO, and decreasing pCO 2 in Tampa Bay, and delivery of high pH T , low pCO 2 Gulf of Mexico water to Tampa Bay during flood tides. Approximately 30% of pH T and pCO 2 data records collected in Tampa Bay were below pH T 7.900 and above pCO 2 of 600 μ atm, primarily during the wet season, indicating potential for dissolution of carbonate sediments that may also help buffer acidification conditions in Tampa.
Native across the Old World tropics from Africa to Southeast Asia and Australia, Lygodium microphyllum (Cav.) R. Br. (Old World Climbing Fern) is one of the most invasive plant species threatening South Florida ecosystems (Rodgers et al. 2014). This invasive fern was first collected as a naturalized plant in South Florida in the late 1960s (Beckner 1968). Subsequent populations were observed in the late 1970s in both Martin and Palm Beach Counties (Nauman and Austin 1978). In 1989 L. microphyllum was observed by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR). In 1995, a survey by SFWMD indicated that 12% of LNWR was colonized by L. microphyllum. By 1997 this had increased to 36% (Ferriter 2001). Ten years later, Systematic Reconnaissance Flights conducted over LNWR estimated that 44% of LNWR had sparse (> a single individual tree, shrub or stem to <50%) or dense (>50%) infestations of L. microphyllum
Our study supports previous research suggesting that participation in citizen-science programs can significantly enhance student learning and attitudes about science, while simultaneously promoting environmental stewardship. Providing students with the opportunity to collect scientific data through citizen-science programs can increase their understanding of local ecosystems, enhance their observation skills, and can improve their understanding of the scientific process.