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Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1969.6/86486
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Browsing publications by Author "Chimney, Michael J."
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Item The avifauna of constructed treatment wetlands in South Florida used for Everglades restoration(Florida Field Naturalist, 2007) Chimney, Michael J.; Gawlik, Dale E.Constructed treatment wetlands invariably create wildlife habitat (Kadlec and Knight 1996, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1999, Knight et al. 2001). Habitat improvement can be dramatic, especially when these systems are built on degraded areas such as farm fields (Hickman 1994). The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have built a complex of large treatment wetlands, known as Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs), on reclaimed farmland in south Florida as part of a multi-billion dollar effort by State and Federal governments to protect and restore the Everglades (Chimney and Goforth 2001, Sklar et al. 2005, SFWMD 2006). Current plans call for the STAs to encompass more than 17,000 ha. These wetlands were designed to treat and reduce high phosphorus concentrations in stormwater runoff from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) before this water enters the northern portion of the remaining Everglades, the Water Conservation Areas (WCAs) (Fig. 1). The STAs have attracted a high abundance and diversity of wildlife species, including many birds. This paper presents a checklist of the avifauna found in two of the STAs and compares STA bird community composition and species richness with regional and other treatment wetlands.Item The ecological–societal underpinnings of Everglades restoration(The Ecological Society of America, 2005) Sklar, Fred H.; Chimney, Michael J.; Newman, Susan; McCormick, Paul; Gawlik, Dale; Miao, ShiLi; Mc Voy, Christopher; Said, Winifred; Newman, Jana; Coronado, Carlos; Crozier, Gaea; Korvela, Michael; Rutchey, KenThe biotic integrity of the Florida Everglades, a wetland of immense international importance, is threatened as a result of decades of human manipulation for drainage and development. Past management of the system only exacerbated the problems associated with nutrient enrichment and disruption of regional hydrology. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) now being implemented by Federal and State governments is an attempt to strike a balance between the needs of the environment with the complex management of water and the seemingly unbridled economic growth of southern Florida. CERP is expected to reverse negative environmental trends by “getting the water right”, but successful Everglades restoration will require both geochemical and hydrologic intervention on a massive scale. This will produce ecological trade-offs and will require new and innovative scientific measures to (1) reduce total phosphorus concentrations within the remaining marsh to 10 μg/L or lower; (2) quantify and link ecological benefits to the restoration of depths, hydroperiods, and flow velocities; and (3) compensate for ecological, economic, and hydrologic uncertainties in the CERP through adaptive management.