Freshwater

USGS is collaborating with partners to assess past and current CyanoHABs for the development of a predictive model and forecasting system for Lake Pontchartrain Estuary. This technology can be beneficial for informing future planning of water resource development projects, and the water management of the estuary.

USGS is working with partners to understand how the federally protected Florida manatee ( Trichechus manatus latirostris) population changes over time and responds to threats.

USGS scientists are conducting research to understand how estuary fisheries are affected by the the timing and/or magnitude of freshwater discharge into Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana.

The Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, has been listed as Threatened since 1991. Beginning in 1986, USGS has been investigating sturgeon population abundance and ecology throughout its range, but mostly in the Suwannee River.

This study will examine the potential effects of sea level rise, drought and water extraction by examining tree growth patterns across the Gulf Coast, specifically targeting long-term research plots available in the North American Baldcypress Swamp Network (NABCSN) and the Suwannee River.

WARC scientists work with local partners to verify and document sightings of non-native marine fishes.

WARC scientists will obtain live fish specimens from the field to conduct and enhance on-going laboratory research on harmful algal blooms and the use of piscicides to control invasive fish.

USGS will provide support to the Large-scale Marsh Creation – Upper Barataria Component Project by monitoring change in the area of land and water, and recovery of vegetation and elevation over time.

USGS researchers and their partners will develop a coupled hydrodynamic and water quality modeling system; calibrate and validate the models; assess and predict outcomes of a canal backfilling restoration project on key water quality attributes; and run the modeling system under a suite of scenarios reflecting changing environmental conditions.

The USGS Joint Ecosystem Modeling team will use Bayesian networks to build a spatially explicit Everglades Vulnerability Analysis module based on current knowledge and existing data on fish density and biomass trends on the landscape.

USGS is collaborating with partners to develop a scientific vision for freshwater Mussel research.

Fifty-four biologists from nine organizations, including USGS, participated in a two-day Fish Slam event on December 13 - 14, 2023 in Southwest Florida.