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viable pink shrimp fishery is dependant on a variety of factors (including some
that are far outside the purview of this salinity-regime study), due to their value
to both the ecosystem and the economy, preventing significant harm to the pink
shrimp fishery as a result of reductions in fresh water flow should be a goal of
the minimum flows and levels program for this region of the Bay.
Although this area has not been designated as critical habitat for the American
crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), surveys by Mazzotti and Cherkiss (1998) indicate
that this species is present in this sub-region of the Bay, and that their population
may be expanding.
Similarly, surveys and telemetry tracking have documented the presence of West
Indian Manatees within this sub-region (DERM, 1995). These monitoring efforts
indicate that manatees have most often been observed along the western shore of
the Bay, and have also documented the presence of manatees in manateeaccessible areas of Black Creek and the C-103 (Mowry Canal). The extent to
which fresh water and/or comparatively warm water during the winter, are the
attracting features for manatees is not known, however the presence of manatees
in these waterways at different times of the year suggests that both fresh water
and warm water may be attracting features to varying extents throughout the
year.
Biscayne Bay Characteristics
Freshwater Flow and Ecological Relationships in Biscayne Bay 2-23
Southern Biscayne Bay
The Southern Biscayne Bay sub-region extends from the Turkey Point area on the
north southwesterly to the U.S. 1 corridor that separates Biscayne Bay from
Florida Bay. It includes Card Sound, Barnes Sound and Manatee Bay, and the
southern boundary is also the southern boundary of the project area. The
boundaries for this sub-region have been selected based on several unique
features that set this area off from other sub-regions. These include the presence
of a sizable scrub mangrove and brackish marsh vegetative community that
exists to the west and northwest of the mangrove-lined shoreline up to the L-31E
levee and canal. Although inflows of freshwater have been significantly altered
as a result of dredge and fill operations, construction of Card Sound Rd. and U.S.
1 and other modifications upstream in the watershed, the changes are largely
more distant than in other areas of the Bay. Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Company’s Turkey Point Power Plant, and its associated radiator-type system of
cooling canals is present immediately adjacent to the western shoreline of the
Bay at the north end of this sub-region.
The only substantive canal that delivers fresh water into this sub-region of the
Bay is the Aerojet Canal (C-111). The offshore barrier island of north Key Largo,
which extends parallel to the shoreline approximately 3-5 miles to the east, is
connected to the mainland via two man-made roads; Card Sound Road and U.S.
1. Partially because there is no direct connection to the Straights of Florida as
there is in other sub-regions to the north, recorded salinity values in this portion
of the Bay have been documented to exceed 40 ppt. (DERM 1987).
This entire sub-region has been designated as critical habitat for the American
crocodile (Figure 10).
Figure 10
Critical Habitat for the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Multi-species Recovery Plan for South
Florida
Summary of Project Tasks
Freshwater Flow and Ecological Relationships in Biscayne Bay 3-1
SECTION 3
SUMMARY OF PROJECT TASKS
TASK 2 - LITERATURE AND DATA REVIEW
In project Task 2, a detailed literature review was performed and a bibliographic
database was prepared. A separate Task 2 report was prepared that provides a
detailed summary of the literature review methods and contents (Appendix A).
The bibliography is a result of a literature survey and represents the readily
identifiable body of knowledge concerning freshwater flow and ecological
relationships with respect to establishing Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) in
Biscayne Bay. Numerous information sources were used to develop this
bibliography, including various libraries and Internet web-based information.
These references support various portions of the final report and
recommendations.
The bibliographic database was prepared in Microsoft Access 2000 software,
which allows a search of the documents through various listings and tables. The
database contains 299 total bibliographic entries considered to have some direct
relevance to the project.
A list of key words was developed for selecting bibliographic entries. These
keywords were grouped into topic categories and can be used to query the
database. The references contained in this MS Access database can be queried to
generate the following reports:
· A listing of 86 Biscayne Bay specific references;
· A listing of 99 references that are considered most relevant;
· Topic Category 1 - Animal Species (146 references);
· Topic Category 2 - Aquatic Plants and Habitats (98 references);
· Topic Category 3 - Ecological Indicators (45 references);
· Topic Category 4 - Impact Approach (70 references);
· Topic Category 5 - Water Quality Data (89 references);
· Topic Category 6 - Hydrologic Data (40 references);
· An alphabetical listing by author of all 299 references;
In general, the literature search revealed that:
· A considerable amount of scientific data is available for Biscayne Bay.
Summary of Project Tasks
Freshwater Flow and Ecological Relationships in Biscayne Bay 3-2
· The majority of directly applicable data is the result of research that has been
conducted, or is being conducted by personnel associated with academic
institutions and/or state or federal governmental entities.
· The majority of site-specific data are the result of work that has been done
within the physical boundaries of Biscayne National Park and/or Everglades
National Park. With the exception of some individual sites (e.g., Oleta River
State Park) there is comparatively less information concerning flora, fauna
and ecological conditions in areas of Biscayne Bay outside Biscayne National
Park.
· There is a considerable amount of information concerning water quality
within Biscayne Bay, and some studies have documented that non-salinity
related water quality parameters in inflows to the Bay have reached lethal
limits for some biota.
· There is a reasonably detailed database concerning the presence, absence and
distribution of American crocodiles and West Manatees, two species that are