USGS scientists develop decision support tools to help inform management and restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.
The Science Issue and Relevance: Over the past decade, we have greatly advanced our understanding of the Everglades’ ecological vulnerabilities and restoration needs. However, we have yet to apply this knowledge in a system-wide, integrated manner. RECOVER’s (REstoration COordination & VERification) Five-Year Plan called for the development and application of an ecosystem vulnerability model that would enable integrative analysis of ecological responses to multiple ecological stressors and restoration actions that operate on a wide range of scales.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: We will use Bayesian belief networks to model two systems within the Greater Everglades ecosystem, which will serve as case studies that can be expanded upon to model the overall Everglades landscape. This includes the construction of influence diagrams for a system that links the spatial, temporal, abiotic, and biotic factors impacting the system. These Bayesian networks will then be parameterized with conditional probabilities based on available data such as published models or expert opinion. Finally, we will perform sensitivity analysis and identify vulnerabilities of the constructed networks.
Future Steps: The two case studies will be expanded upon to include the entire Everglades ecosystem in anticipation of its use as a decision support tool. System inputs will be updated based on projected hydrologic or climatic changes and highly sensitive parts of the system will be identified.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Helper
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Wader Distribution & Evaluation Modeling (WADEM)
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Marl Prairie Indicator
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: EverSnail
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Alligator Production Probability Model
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Greater Everglades Modeling Decision Support Tools
Advanced Technological Solutions in Support of Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Science: Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM)
- Overview
USGS scientists develop decision support tools to help inform management and restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Mangroves in South Florida The Science Issue and Relevance: Over the past decade, we have greatly advanced our understanding of the Everglades’ ecological vulnerabilities and restoration needs. However, we have yet to apply this knowledge in a system-wide, integrated manner. RECOVER’s (REstoration COordination & VERification) Five-Year Plan called for the development and application of an ecosystem vulnerability model that would enable integrative analysis of ecological responses to multiple ecological stressors and restoration actions that operate on a wide range of scales.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Wading birds in the Greater Everglades Methodology for Addressing the Issue: We will use Bayesian belief networks to model two systems within the Greater Everglades ecosystem, which will serve as case studies that can be expanded upon to model the overall Everglades landscape. This includes the construction of influence diagrams for a system that links the spatial, temporal, abiotic, and biotic factors impacting the system. These Bayesian networks will then be parameterized with conditional probabilities based on available data such as published models or expert opinion. Finally, we will perform sensitivity analysis and identify vulnerabilities of the constructed networks.
Future Steps: The two case studies will be expanded upon to include the entire Everglades ecosystem in anticipation of its use as a decision support tool. System inputs will be updated based on projected hydrologic or climatic changes and highly sensitive parts of the system will be identified.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Bayesian belief networks will be used to model two systems in the Greater Everglades ecosystem. - Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Helper
The Sparrow Helper tool allows for the evaluation of water management scenarios by generating, plotting, and mapping hydrologic metrics across a range of time scales to predict impacts of proposed water depth changes to sparrow subpopulations.Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Wader Distribution & Evaluation Modeling (WADEM)
WADEM (Wader Distribution Evaluation Modeling) is a JEM model that estimates species-specific habitat suitability across the landscape for Great Egret (Ardea alba), White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), and Wood Stork (Mycteria americana).Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Marl Prairie Indicator
Marl prairie is the most diverse freshwater vegetation community in the Greater Everglades and provides the only suitable habitat for the federally endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow (CSSS; Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis).Joint Ecosystem Modeling: EverSnail
EverSnail, developed in collaboration with the University of West Florida, is an age- and size-structured spatially-explicit landscape model of native apple snails (Pomacea paludosa).Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Alligator Production Probability Model
Because the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a keystone species of the Everglades ecosystem, managers need a way to quantitatively assess the effects of alternative restoration scenarios on alligators.Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Greater Everglades Modeling Decision Support Tools
The Joint Ecosystem Modeling team is developing and applying ecological models and other decision support tools for Greater Everglades restoration project planning.Advanced Technological Solutions in Support of Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Science: Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM)
The JEM Biological Database offers secure data storage in relational databases, as well as web applications to manage, search, analyze, and report on captured data. - Web Tools