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patrickbdevaney
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mia9

Dataset card Data Studio Files
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 Community
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(Crocodiles and Roseate Spoonbills) 4 2 3 2 1 Slow 4 16
3 1
Requirement for preferred fish
communities 1 1 1
5 4
10
Food Web Support 5 3 5
Would be more useful with little
further study, L-31E restoration and
careful monitoring should provide data
2 1
Improvements west of shoreline may
have positive effects on open-water areas
4
Portions of Sub-region are presently
in a condition of Significant Harm
26
Would largely disregard conditions in
open-water areas
Population declines may be unrelated to
reductions in freshwater flow
2 12
4 Fast
Rev 11-14-03
National rarK service
U.S. Department of the Interior iCT" wS«*1
SERVICE
South Florida Natural Resources Center _
Everglades National Park ^
R E S O U R C E
E V A L U A T IO N
R E P O R T
SFNRC Technical Series
2006:1
Ecological &
Hydrologic Targets
for Western Biscayne National Park
silver perch (Bairdiella crysoura)
spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus)
Ecological &
Hydrologic Targets
for Western Biscayne National Park
RESO URCE EVALUATION REPORT
SFNRC Technical Series 2006:1
Biscayne National Park
Homestead, FL
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Everglades National Park
Homestead, FL
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Cover photograph courtesy of Christine Taylor, Florida International University
Inside cover illustrations courtesy of ©Diane Peebles
ii South Florida Natural Resources Center Technical Series (2006.1)
Ecological and Hydrologic Targets for Western Biscayne National Park iii
Ecological and Hydrologic Targets for Western Biscayne National Park
RESO URCE EVALUATION REPORT
SFNRC Technical Series 2006:1
The purpose of this document is to establish a set of scientifically based ecological and hydrologic targets in the western
areas of Biscayne National Park, to use these targets to estimate the current water deliveries that are requiredfor the protection offish and wildlife, and to give guidance about the timing and distribution of water inflows needed to sustain the
ecological targets. These current water deliveries will provide a baseline fo r Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
(CERP) projects to build upon in order to achieve substantial restoration of natural areas.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
National Park Service staff developed descriptive ecological
targets based on biological communities and quantitative targets for salinity and freshwater inflows in Biscayne National
Park. We selected biological indicators that include those described by the interagency RECOVER team to set environmental targets affected by inflows, primarily as measures of
seasonal salinity patterns in key areas of the park. Using target
values for salinity, we estimated hydrologic targets (freshwater inflows and their interaction with precipitation and circulation). Other relevant indicators of bay health derived from
previous and current studies in the entire Biscayne Bay area
also are discussed in support of defining desired ecological
conditions and the salinities needed to sustain them.
The productivity and richness of the estuarine communities of Biscayne National Park have significantly diminished,
as have those throughout Biscayne Bay, as a result of channel
creation and the diversion of water away from the natural
systems in south Florida. The quantity of freshwater, the
seasonal timing of inflows, and the distribution along the
coast have been significantly altered, profoundly affecting
the historic estuarine nature of the western half of the bay.
The alteration of the hydrology of south Florida has resulted
in the near complete loss of estuarine habitats from the bay,
including Biscayne National Park, diminishing the ecological
and economic value of this portion of the greater Everglades
ecosystem.
This report describes the desired conditions of the park
in terms of biology, ecology, and available historical record.
The “desired condition” takes into account historical information about the ecosystem but is not necessarily equivalent
to a pre-drainage state. The desired condition for the Western
Bay Zone of Biscayne National Park is a range of salinities
that is consistently estuarine for support of a productive and
diverse benthic community based on seagrass. These conditions also support federally-listed endangered species, such
as the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) and West
Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and create productive
nursery habitat that sustains local and regional (Florida Keys)
fishery resources.
Considering the needs of many native species, including
the juvenile stages of crocodiles, gray snapper, seatrout, and
pink shrimp, and populations of mojarras, pinfish, eastern
oyster, and wigeongrass, the following salinity characteristics
are required: