G. Lynn Wingard, Ph.D.
Lynn Wingard’s research focus is on the application of paleoecologic techniques to the interpretation of Holocene marine and estuarine ecosystems. Current emphasis is on deriving baseline environmental data for Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration resource managers and on examining the interaction of climate and sea level on south Florida’s coastline in the Holocene.
Professional Experience
1991-Present Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Lynn Wingard has been a Research Geologist with the USGS since 1991. She has conducted biostratigraphic and paleoecologic research on Mesozoic and Cenozoic Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain sediments throughout her career. Her early research focused on molluscan taxonomy and evolution across the Cretaceous Tertiary boundary and she examined the role of taxonomic assignments in calculations of extinction at the boundary. Investigations into the subsurface geology and paleoenvironments in Florida led to a reclassification of the subsurface Oligocene units and she assisted the Florida State Geologic Survey in their state map efforts.
Beginning in 1994, Lynn has served as Principal Investigator on projects related to the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration as part of the USGS Priority Ecosystem Science Program and she has served in a number of advisory roles related to this research. Her work has helped define salinity targets for Florida’s southern estuaries and has contributed to estimating historic freshwater flow through the wetlands. Her collaboration with Everglades resource managers has demonstrated the importance of paleoecology and the emerging field of conservation paleobiology in providing valuable scientific information to guide restoration efforts. Recent work has focused on sea level rise and storm history and how these driving factors have shaped the south Florida coastline over the last 5,000 years and what this tells us in terms of future projections of coastal change.
Science Leadership and Advisory Roles
- 1993: helped draft Program Implementation Plan for USGS South Florida Ecosystem Initiative
- 2001-Present: member of 6 CERP - Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan - Teams; currently serving on Southern Coastal Systems Sub-Team and Biscayne Bay Southeast Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Eco-subteam
- 2002: helped draft DOI and USGS Science Plans in Support of Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration
Education and Certifications
1979 BS (Geology / Biology) The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg VA
1983 MS (Geology) George Washington University, Washington DC
1990 PhD (Geology) George Washington University, Washington DC
Science and Products
Estimates of natural salinity and hydrology in a subtropical estuarine ecosystem: implications for Greater Everglades restoration
USGS ecosystem research for the next decade: advancing discovery and application in parks and protected areas through collaboration
Integrated conceptual ecological model and habitat indices for the southwest Florida coastal wetlands
Impact of Late Holocene climate variability and anthropogenic activities on Biscayne Bay (Florida, U.S.A.): Evidence from diatoms
U.S. Geological Survey ecosystems science strategy—Advancing discovery and application through collaboration
The U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystem Science Strategy, 2012-2022 - Advancing discovery and application through collaboration
Florida Bay salinity and Everglades wetlands hydrology circa 1900 CE: A compilation of paleoecology-based statistical modeling analyses
Climate variability during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age based on ostracod faunas and shell geochemistry from Biscayne Bay, Florida
Application of a weighted-averaging method for determining paleosalinity: a tool for restoration of south Florida's estuaries
Estuaries of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Laboratories of Long-term Change
A simulation of historic hydrology and salinity in Everglades National Park: Coupling paleoecologic assemblage data with regression models
Red-Rimmed Melania (Melanoides tuberculatus) - A snail in Biscayne National Park, Florida - Harmful invader or just a nuisance?
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 36
Estimates of natural salinity and hydrology in a subtropical estuarine ecosystem: implications for Greater Everglades restoration
Disruption of the natural patterns of freshwater flow into estuarine ecosystems occurred in many locations around the world beginning in the twentieth century. To effectively restore these systems, establishing a pre-alteration perspective allows managers to develop science-based restoration targets for salinity and hydrology. This paper describes a process to develop targets based on natural hydrAuthorsFrank E. Marshall, G. Lynn Wingard, Patrick A. PittsUSGS ecosystem research for the next decade: advancing discovery and application in parks and protected areas through collaboration
Ecosystems within parks and protected areas in the United States and throughout the world are being transformed at an unprecedented rate. Changes associated with natural hazards, greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing demands for water, food, land, energy and mineral resources are placing urgency on sound decision making that will help sustain our Nation’s economic and environmental well-being (AuthorsCharles van Riper, James D. Nichols, G. Lynn Wingard, Jeffrey L. Kershner, James E. Cloern, Robert B. Jacobson, Robin P. White, Anthony D. McGuire, Byron K. Williams, Guy Gelfenbaum, Carl D. ShapiroIntegrated conceptual ecological model and habitat indices for the southwest Florida coastal wetlands
The coastal wetlands of southwest Florida that extend from Charlotte Harbor south to Cape Sable, contain more than 60,000 ha of mangroves and 22,177 ha of salt marsh. These coastal wetlands form a transition zone between the freshwater and marine environments of the South Florida Coastal Marine Ecosystem (SFCME). The coastal wetlands provide diverse ecosystem services that are valued by society anAuthorsG. Lynn Wingard, J. L. LorenzImpact of Late Holocene climate variability and anthropogenic activities on Biscayne Bay (Florida, U.S.A.): Evidence from diatoms
Shallow marine ecosystems are experiencing significant environmental alterations as a result of changing climate and increasing human activities along coasts. Intensive urbanization of the southeast Florida coast and intensification of climate change over the last few centuries changed the character of coastal ecosystems in the semi-enclosed Biscayne Bay, Florida. In order to develop management poAuthorsAnna Wachnicka, Evelyn Gaiser, G. Lynn Wingard, Henry Briceño, Peter HarlemU.S. Geological Survey ecosystems science strategy—Advancing discovery and application through collaboration
Executive SummaryEcosystem science is critical to making informed decisions about natural resources that can sustain our Nation’s economic and environmental well-being. Resource managers and policymakers are faced with countless decisions each year at local, regional, and national levels on issues as diverse as renewable and nonrenewable energy development, agriculture, forestry, water supply, andAuthorsByron K. Williams, G. Lynn Wingard, Gary Brewer, James E. Cloern, Guy Gelfenbaum, Robert B. Jacobson, Jeffrey L. Kershner, Anthony D. McGuire, James D. Nichols, Carl D. Shapiro, Charles van Riper, Robin P. WhiteThe U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystem Science Strategy, 2012-2022 - Advancing discovery and application through collaboration
Ecosystem science is critical to making informed decisions about natural resources that can sustain our Nation’s economic and environmental well-being. Resource managers and policy-makers are faced with countless decisions each year at local, state, tribal, territorial, and national levels on issues as diverse as renewable and non-renewable energy development, agriculture, forestry, water supply,AuthorsByron K. Williams, G. Lynn Wingard, Gary Brewer, James E. Cloern, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Robert B. Jacobson, Jeffrey L. Kershner, Anthony D. McGuire, James D. Nichols, Carl D. Shapiro, Charles van Riper, Robin P. WhiteFlorida Bay salinity and Everglades wetlands hydrology circa 1900 CE: A compilation of paleoecology-based statistical modeling analyses
Throughout the 20th century, the Greater Everglades Ecosystem of south Florida was greatly altered by human activities. Construction of water-control structures and facilities altered the natural hydrologic patterns of the south Florida region and consequently impacted the coastal ecosystem. Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem is guided by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration PlanAuthorsF.E. Marshall, G.L. WingardClimate variability during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age based on ostracod faunas and shell geochemistry from Biscayne Bay, Florida
An 800-year-long environmental history of Biscayne Bay, Florida, is reconstructed from ostracod faunal and shell geochemical (oxygen, carbon isotopes, Mg/Ca ratios) studies of sediment cores from three mudbanks in the central and southern parts of the bay. Using calibrations derived from analyses of modern Biscayne and Florida Bay ostracods, palaeosalinity oscillations associated with changes in pAuthorsThomas M. Cronin, G. Lynn Wingard, Gary S. Dwyer, Peter K. Swart, Debra A. Willard, Jessica AlbietzApplication of a weighted-averaging method for determining paleosalinity: a tool for restoration of south Florida's estuaries
A molluscan analogue dataset is presented in conjunction with a weighted-averaging technique as a tool for estimating past salinity patterns in south Florida’s estuaries and developing targets for restoration based on these reconstructions. The method, here referred to as cumulative weighted percent (CWP), was tested using modern surficial samples collected in Florida Bay from sites located near fAuthorsG.L. Wingard, J.W. HudleyEstuaries of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Laboratories of Long-term Change
Restoring the greater Everglades ecosystem of south Florida is arguably the largest ecosystem restoration effort to date. A critical goal is to return more natural patterns of flow through south Florida wetlands and into the estuaries, but development of realistic targets requires acknowledgement that ecosystems are constantly evolving and changing in response to a variety of natural and human-driAuthorsG.L. Wingard, J.W. Hudley, F.E. MarshallA simulation of historic hydrology and salinity in Everglades National Park: Coupling paleoecologic assemblage data with regression models
Restoration of Florida’s Everglades requires scientifically supportable hydrologic targets. This study establishes a restoration baseline by developing a method to simulate hydrologic and salinity conditions prior to anthropogenic changes. The method couples paleoecologic data on long-term historic ecosystem conditions with statistical models derived from observed meteorologic and hydrologic dataAuthorsFrank E. Marshall, G. Lynn Wingard, Patrick A. PittsRed-Rimmed Melania (Melanoides tuberculatus) - A snail in Biscayne National Park, Florida - Harmful invader or just a nuisance?
Potentially harmful to humans and other animals, the red-rimmed melania snail (Melanoides tuberculatus; family Thiaridae) was discovered in Biscayne National Park, Florida, in 2003 by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers. The discovery raised concerns for park managers because this aquatic non-native snail is present in significant numbers in areas frequently used by park visitors and poses aAuthorsG. Lynn Wingard, James B. Murray, W. Bane Schill, Emily C. PhillipsNon-USGS Publications**
Marshall, F.E., Bernhardt, C.B., and Wingard, G.L. 2020. Estimating late 19th century hydrology in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: An integration of paleoecologic data and models. Frontiers in Environmental Science: Freshwater Science. DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00003**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.