Postcards from the field

My research focuses on pre-20th century conditions in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem of south Florida to provide the context for resource managers to set targets for restoration. A primary goal of Everglades restoration is to re-establish more natural delivery of freshwater to the wetlands and estuaries in the region. By analyzing biotic assemblages from sediment cores collected from Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay, we can estimate pre-water management salinities and freshwater flow. To interpret the environments represented by the core assemblages, we investigate the environmental requirements of the living organisms. Our recent efforts have focused on the mangrove transition zone and after a pandemic-related hiatus, we were ecstatic to get back in the field in August 2021! Here, I am searching for mollusks and other invertebrates at the base of dwarf mangroves, near Whitewater Bay, Everglades National Park.