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.