The South Florida Ecosystem History Database
Paleoecology
Jeffery
Robert Stone and G. Lynn Brewster-Wingard, U. S. Geological
Survey,
Reston, Virginia
The South Florida Ecosystem History Database was designed with two
purposes: 1) to create a powerful tool for accessing, managing, and relating
data generated by ongoing USGS studies of the Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay, and
South Florida Ecosystem History Projects; and 2) to provide a mechanism to
allow widespread access to information generated by these studies to interested
scientists, land-use managers, and the public.
The South Florida Ecosystem History Database relates foraminifer,
mollusk, ostracode, pollen/plant, and diatom data from modern surface and core
sites across the south Florida ecosystem. By correlating information using
selected flora and fauna, the database quickly answers questions regarding
changes in environmental conditions throughout the south Florida ecosystem
(ranging back approximately 200 years) based upon biotic diversity and ecological
preferences of organisms. Application of the database facilitates recognition
of long-term trends in biota that, in turn, will help determine the range
of natural variability in environmental changes, such as salinity and substrate
conditions, and help determine if changes correlate to natural events or human
activities.
The database also combines information about extant biota,
environmental conditions, and modern sedimentation from specific sites across
south Florida. Modern field data, including temperature, substrate, water
depth, and salinity collected from selected sites, along with extant and fossil
data on organisms, provides information on key indicator species within the
south Florida ecosystem. As ongoing studies continue to add information, the
database will provide information regarding ecological tolerances and
preferences of species as well as a valuable tool for monitoring the effects of
changes produced by efforts to restore balance to the south Florida ecosystem.