The exchange of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in dwarf and fringe mangroves of the oligotrophic southern Everglades

Water management has altered both the natural timing and volume of freshwater delivered to Everglades National Park. This is especially true for Taylor Slough and the C-111 basin, as hypersaline events in Florida Bay have been linked to reduced freshwater flow in this area. In light of recent efforts to restore historical flows to the eastern Everglades, an understanding of the impact of this hydrologic shift is needed in order to predict the trajectory of restoration. I conducted a study to assess the importance of season, water chemistry, and hydrologic conditions on the exchange of nutrients in dwarf and fringe mangrove wetlands along Taylor Slough. I also performed mangrove leaf decomposition studies to determine the contribution of biotic and abiotic processes to mass loss, the effect of salinity and season on degradation rates, and the importance of this litter component as a rapid source of nutrients. ^ Dwarf mangrove wetlands consistently imported total nutrients (C, N, and P) and released NO2− +NO3 −, with enhanced release during the dry season. Ammonium flux shifted from uptake to release over the study period. Dissolved phosphate activity was difficult to discern in either wetland, as concentrations were often below detection limits. Fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the fringe wetland were positively related to DIN concentrations. The opposite was found for total nitrogen in the fringe wetland. A dynamic budget revealed a net annual export of TN to Florida Bay that was highest during the wet season. Simulated increases and decreases in freshwater flow yielded reduced exports of TN to Florida Bay as a result of changes in subsystem and water flux characteristics. Finally, abiotic processes yielded substantial nutrient and mass losses from senesced leaves with little influence of salinity. Dwarf mangrove leaf litter appeared to be a considerable source of nutrients to the water column of this highly oligotrophic wetland. To summarize, nutrient dynamics at the subsystem level were sensitive to short-term changes in hydrologic and seasonal conditions. These findings suggest that increased freshwater flow has the potential to lead to long-term, system-level changes that may reach as far as eastern Florida Bay. ^

South Beach Wine and Food Festival - Why Participate?

This paper studies why restaurants, wineries, and other exhibiters participate in Wine & Food festivals. We hypothesized [hat the purpose was to acquire new customers thru promotional involvement in the festival. A secondary outcome was to ascertain if there were differences in motivation between the three groups. A survey was conducted of participating companies in one of the largest Food & Wine festivals. We found differences in what motivated winery participants from restaurants or other exhibitors. A discussion of these differences and how festival organizers may aid participants in achieving their goals is presented.

Using Optical Properties to Quantify Fringe Mangrove Inputs to the Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Pool in a Subtropical Estuary

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and dissolved organic matter (DOM) optical properties were analyzed along two estuarine river transects during the wet and dry seasons to better understand DOM dynamics and quantify mangrove inputs. A tidal study was performed to assess the impacts of tidal pumping on DOM transport. DOM in the estuaries showed non-conservative mixing indicative of mangrove-derived inputs. Similarly, fluorescence data suggest that some terrestrial humic-like components showed non-conservative behavior. An Everglades freshwater-derived fluorescent component, which is associated with soil inputs from the Northern Everglades, behaved conservatively. During the dry season, a protein-like component behaved conservatively until the mid-salinity range when non-conservative behavior due to degradation and/or loss was observed. The tidal study data suggests mangrove porewater inputs to the rivers following low tide. The differences in quantity of DOM exported by the Shark and Harney Rivers imply that geomorphology and tidal hydrology may be a dominant factor controlling the amount of DOM exported from the mangrove ecotone, where up to 21 % of the DOC is mangrove-derived. Additionally, nutrient concentrations and other temporal factors may control DOM export from the mangroves, particularly for the microbially derived fluorescent components, contributing to the seasonal differences. The wet and dry season fluxes of mangrove DOM from the Shark River is estimated as 0.27 × 109 mg C d−1 and 0.075 × 109 mg C d−1, respectively, and the Harney River is estimated as 1.9 × 109 mg C d−1 and 0.20 × 109 mg C d−1.

Fringe mangrove forest before Hurricane Wilma, Shark River Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.