Bioacoustic monitoring for eastern black rails at Fort Drum Marsh Conservation Area, Florida

The Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka publishes the results of research in all aspects of Science and Technology. The journal also has a website at http://www.nsf.gov.lk/. 2021 Impact Factor: 0.682The JNSF provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.Cover :Cover: a) selected piece of graphite for graphene extraction; (b) successive scotch tape peeling of graphene layer (c) graphene transferred on to SiO2/Si substrate; (d) AFM image of the transferred graphene layer

ABSTRACT: Accurate estimates of evapotranspiration from areas dominated by wetland vegetation are needed in the water budget of the Upper St. Johns River Basin. However, local data on evapotranspiration rates, especially in wetland environments, were lacking in the project area. In response to this need, the St. Johns River Water Management District collected evapotranspiration field data in Fort Drum Marsh Conservation Area over the period 1996 through 1999. Three large lysimeters were installed to measure the evapotranspiration from different wetland environments: sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), cattail (Typha domingensis), and open water. In addition, pan evaporation was measured with a standard class “A” pan. Concurrently, meteorological data including rainfall, solar radiation, wind speed, relative humidity, air temperature, and atmospheric pressure were collected. By comparing computed evapotranspiration rates with those measured in the lysimeters, parameters in the Penman‐Monteith, the Priestley‐Taylor, and Reference‐ET methods, and evaporation pan coefficients were estimated for monthly and seasonal cycles. The results from the data collected in this study show that mean monthly evapotranspiration rates, computed by the different methods, are relatively close. From a practical point of view, results indicate that the evaporation pan can be used equally well as the more complex and data‐intensive methods. This paper presents the measured evapotranspiration rates, evaporation pan coefficients, and the estimated parameter values for three different methods to compute evapotranspiration in the project area. Since local data on evaporation are often scarce or lacking, this information may be useful to watershed hydrologists for practical application in other project regions.

The objective of this numerical modeling project is to evaluate the impacts of canal plugs on wetland hydrology. In 1986, a series of eight earthen canal plugs were placed in a main drainage canal in the Upper St.Johns River Basin to attempt to re-establish wetland sheet flow and to prevent marsh overdrainage. While canal plugs retarded canal flow and re-hydrated the marsh, they also prevented the areas of the marsh contiguously upstream of the plugs from experiencing shorter intensity drying events that are essential to maintaining emergent marsh vegetation. As a result of prolonged inundation periods, nearly 1000 acres of emergent marsh (immediately) upstream of the plugs were converted to shallow open water flats. This resulted in undesirable vegetation shifts toward more flood tolerant species. In 1998, we developed a two-dimensional depth averaged finite element (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers RMA2) model to predict surface water elevations over the marsh under a variety of plug configurations. Our objective was to design an optimal plug configuration that would re-create more natural flow conditions in the marsh while minimizing the number of plugs. The model was calibrated from stage data measured during Tropical Storm Gordon (November 1994) and during normal dry season flows. The model was validated using stage data collected during the 1996 and 1997 wet seasons. The model indicated that appropriate marsh hydrology could be created using just three canal plugs instead of eight. Designed canal plug lengths ranged from 183 m (600 ft.) to 305 m (1,000 ft.) in length and each contained an operable culvert capable of passing 2.83 m³/s (100 cfs) downstream.

Four wetland restoration sites in the Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area located in central Florida, USA were flooded between 1992 and 1994. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stocked largemouth bass in the flooded areas from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were measured in flooded soils and in black crappie, brown bullhead catfish, and largemouth bass from the four sites. Areas 5 and 7 had the highest concentrations of total residual OCPs in the flooded soils, including dieldrin (385±241 μg/kg), sum of DDT, DDD, and DDE (7,173±1,710 μg/kg), and toxaphere (39,444±11,284 μg/kg). Sum of chlordane residuals was highest in area 5 (1,766±1,037 μg/kg). ANOVA indicated significant differences in location and fish muscle tissue concentrations for chlordane residuals, DDT residuals, and dieldrin. Fish from areas 5 and 7 had the greatest concentrations of chlordane residuals, DDT residuals, and dieldrin, which corresponded to the higher soil concentrations in these two areas. OCPs in muscle tissue were below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration action limits for human consumption. For three-year-old bass collected from Area 5, mean concentrations of chlordane residuals, DDT residuals, and dieldrin were 15–17 times higher in ovary tissue and 76–80 times higher in fat tissue compared with muscle tissue. Mean toxaphene levels in bass ovary and fat tissues were 9 and 39 times higher, respectively, than in muscle tissues. Tissue OCP concentrations were consistent with site OCPs, regardless of fish species.

Phosphorus (P) has been identified as the key constituent defining wetland productivity, structure, and function. Our goal was to investigate the spatial patterns of total P and three labile forms of P (labile organic, inorganic, and microbial biomass P) across a subtropical wetland located in east-central Florida, the Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area (BCMCA), and link spatial patterns to ecosystem processes. The wetland received a continual input of nutrients primarily from the south and intermittently from the west and east, respectively, which ceased in the mid-1990s. Since then the marsh system has been undergoing natural succession. We used (i) ordinary kriging to characterize the spatial patterns of total P and labile P forms across the wetland, (ii) local, moving spatial correlations to investigate relationships between total P and labile P forms, and (iii) a clustering technique to link the identified spatial patterns to biogeochemical processes. The spatially explicit analyses revealed patterns of total P and labile P forms as well as changing relationships between variables across the marsh. We were able to distinguish P-enriched areas from unaffected ("natural") areas and intermediate zones that are currently undergoing change as P is mobilized and translocated. We also identified areas that are at risk, showing a shift toward a more P-enriched status. Our results improve our understanding of P and its labile components within a spatially explicit context.

We compared seasonal patterns of habitat use by the prawn Palaemonetes paludosus and the crayfish Procambarus alleni in Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area, Florida. Prawn densities were similar to those found in other oligotrophic wetlands of southern Florida, whereas crayfish densities were much greater than reported previously for other wetlands in the area. Prawns and crayfish had strikingly different patterns of habitat use. Prawn density and biomass were similar in wet prairies and sloughs, whereas crayfish density and biomass were significantly higher in wet prairies. Within habitats, the abundance of prawns and crayfish generally increased with increasing structural complexity and the abundance of crayfish generally decreased with increasing water depth. Differences in risk of predation, frequency of agonistic encounters, food availability, and other factors likely contributed to observed patterns of habitat use. Because of differences in their ability to burrow and avoid concentration into dry-season refugia, prawns and crayfish responded very differently to seasonal variation in hydrologic conditions. Prawn densities were initially low (following a severe drought) and then increased during much of the study period, whereas crayfish densities were relatively stable throughout the study period. Overall, it appears that prawns are more responsive to antecedent hydrologic conditions and crayfish are more responsive to the availability of suitable habitats such as wet prairies.

There is considerable concern about ecological recovery in wetlands that have been enriched with P; however, there are few long‐term studies tracking the distribution of the soil P after the termination of P loading. The Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area in Florida contains areas with elevated soil P levels from historical loading. The local spatial variation of soil P was determined in a 750‐ by 150‐m area proximal to the historic surface water inflow point and a second area of the same size located in the center of the marsh with no record of historical P impacts. The average soil total P was estimated at 847 mg kg −1 in the P‐enriched area and 643 mg kg −1 in the marsh interior (unenriched). When compared with previously determined historical data, it was estimated that soil P has decreased in the P‐enriched area by about 61%. Meanwhile, there was an increase of 82% in P within the unenriched area during this same time period. These results suggest that P has been mobilized from the impacted areas toward the unimpacted marsh along the water flow patterns in the wetland. These observations have implications for restoration of high‐P wetland systems. Remobilization from P‐impacted to unimpacted areas can expand the area of increased nutrients despite termination of P inputs into the marsh. If remobilization predominates over burial, then it is also unlikely that the overall nutrient status of the system will return to pre‐impact levels within a reasonable management time frame (<25 yr).

Soil phosphorus (P) enrichment from external inputs can result in considerable changes in wetland ecosystem structure. What is not known is whether many of the microbial physiological measures that are effective at determining ongoing impact are equally sensitive to reductions in the soil P content. The study was conducted over a two year period (1999-2000) in two areas located in Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area (BCMCA), an area (Enriched) with historically elevated soil P (1,544 mg kg 21 in 1995, 877 mg kg 21 in this study) and a reference area (Reference) with background soil P contents (698 mg kg 21 ). Nutrient loading to this wetland was terminated in 1994. Microbial ecophysiology measures were obtained quarterly and consisted of soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) content, b-glucosidase and acid phosphatase, and end products of anaerobic microbial metabolism (CO2 and CH4). All measures exhibited significant temporal variation with higher values for MBC content, enzyme activities, and respiration rates during summer months (June and September) and lower in the winter months (December and March). We found no significant differences between site mean MBC (Enriched: 7.24, Reference: 8.22 mg 21 kg 21 ), CH4 production (Enriched: 4.41, Reference: 4.73 mmol CH4 gr 21 d 21 ), or b-glucosidase activity (Enriched: 56.14, Reference: 57.70 m gM UF gr 21 h 21 ). The site mean acid phosphatase (Enriched: 56.92, Reference: 78.74 m gM UF gr 21 h 21 )a nd CO 2 production rates (Enriched: 11.00, Reference: 13.69 mmol CO2 gr 21 d 21 ) were found to be significantly different. Microbial communities at the two sites were different in terms of their metabolic activities, but not in terms of C-pathways. We also found that enzyme profiles at the enriched site did not change appreciably over the two year period. The results obtained in this two year study suggest that most microbial community ecophysiology measures were not responsive to decreasing concentrations of P. However, at both sites, b-glucosidase and anaerobic microbial activities were higher in the second year (41.80 vs. 68.27 m gM UF gr 21 h 21 and 10.34 vs.13.85 mmol CO2 gr 21 d 21 ) and acid phosphatase activities lower (72.54 vs. 63.11 m gM UF gr 21 h 21 ). A drawdown that took place in the winter months of late 1999 and early 2000 might have released labile soil components, resulting in increases in overall metabolic activities and repression of the acid phosphatase activities. This has management consequences as P from the enriched areas can be remobilized and move further downstream in surface water.

We compared seasonal patterns of habitat use by the prawn Palaemonetes paludosus and the crayfish Procambarus alleni in Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area, Florida. Prawn densities were similar to those found in other oligotrophic wetlands of southern Florida, whereas crayfish densities were much greater than reported previously for other wetlands in the area. Prawns and crayfish had strikingly different patterns of habitat use. Prawn density and biomass were similar in wet prairies and sloughs, whereas crayfish density and biomass were significantly higher in wet prairies. Within habitats, the abundance of prawns and crayfish generally increased with increasing structural complexity and the abundance of crayfish generally decreased with increasing water depth. Differences in risk of predation, frequency of agonistic encounters, food availability, and other factors likely contributed to observed patterns of habitat use. Because of differences in their ability to burrow and avoid concentration into dry-season refugia, prawns and crayfish responded very differently to seasonal variation in hydrologic conditions. Prawn densities were initially low (following a severe drought) and then increased during much of the study period, whereas crayfish densities were relatively stable throughout the study period. Overall, it appears that prawns are more responsive to antecedent hydrologic conditions and crayfish are more responsive to the availability of suitable habitats such as wet prairies.

A rapid biodiversity assessment of insects and associated Laboulbeniales fungi was conducted over the course of five nights in August, 2018, at two central Florida lakes: Lake Eustis and the nearby protected and restored National Natural Landmark, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area (EMCA), which encompasses a portion of Lake Griffin. Lake Eustis was surveyed for Laboulbeniales in 1897 by mycologist Dr. Roland Thaxter but has not since been investigated. Because Lake Eustis has been urbanized, with the lake perimeter almost entirely altered by human development, the site offers a look into Laboulbeniales diversity across a 121‐year timeline, before and after human development. By surveying Lake Eustis and EMCA, a modern case study comparison of Laboulbeniales and insect diversity between a developed and a protected and restored system is made. A total of 4022 insects were collected during the rapid assessment. Overall, insect abundance was greater at EMCA, with 3001 insects collected, than 1021 insects collected from Eustis. Although family‐level insect richness was comparable between sites, with 55 families present at EMCA and 56 at Eustis, 529 out of 3001 (17.6%) of the insects collected at EMCA were hosts to parasitic Laboulbeniales fungi, whereas only 2 out of 1021 (0.19%) collected from Eustis were infected. A total of 16 species of Laboulbeniales found at EMCA compared with only one at Eustis. The current number of Laboulbeniales species documented at Eustis was incredibly depauperate compared with the 26 species and two varieties recorded by Thaxter in 1897. These findings suggest the possibility of utilizing Laboulbeniales as indicators of ecosystem health, and future research should investigate this question further. A figure displaying host–parasite records and a species list of Laboulbeniales are presented. Finally, updated occurrence records for species of Ceratomyces and Hydrophilomyces are provided.

The dataset consists of a table in CSV format of daily evapotranspiration (ET) from an ET station within the Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area. Evapotranspiration data were estimated using eddy-covariance methods from 10/21/2014 to 9/30/2016. Data processing followed methods outlined by Shoemaker and others (2011). Ancillary data includes net radiation, latent heat, sensible heat, relative humidity, air temperature, water distance above (+) or below (-) land surface, and Bowen's ratio. Net radiation data were bad from 3/17/2015 to 5/14/2015 due to missing values for long-wave radiation. During this time period, net radiation was gap-filled using a linear regression of continuous GOES incoming solar radiation with high quality net radiation data collected from 1/1/2000 to 9/1/2005. The site location is 27°41'46", -80°42'43".

Temporal oscillations in hydrology are a common occurrence in wetlands and can result in alternating flooded and drained conditions in the surface soil. These oscillations in water levels can stimulate microbial activities and result in the mobilization and redistribution of significant amounts of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). The goal of this study was to experimentally simulate a drawdown and reflood of marsh soil from a nutrient-enriched site and a reference site of a wetland (Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area, Florida). The goal was to better understand the changes in biogeochemistry and microbial activities present in these soils as a result of hydrological fluctuations. Measurements of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP), ammonia, and nitrate in the floodwater indicated significantly higher (alpha = 0.05) NH(4)(+) and DRP fluxes from the nutrient-enriched site; floodwaters in the cores from both sites contained significant NO(3)(-) concentrations (9.6 mg N L(-1)), which was rapidly consumed over the core incubation period (30 d). Water level drawdown and reflooding initially stimulated the soil microbial biomass, methanogenic rates, and extracellular enzyme activities (acid phosphatase and beta-glucosidase). The anaerobic microbial metabolic activities (CO(2)) where initially significantly (alpha = 0.05) enhanced by the reflood, resulting in roughly equivalent rates as the aerobic respiratory activities (CO(2)), presumably as a function of the high water column NO(3)(-) levels. This study illustrates that the reflood event in the hydrological cycles in a wetland can significantly stimulate the activities of hydrolytic enzymes and microbiological communities in these soils.

Modeling of the spatial variability of biogeochemical soil properties in a freshwater ecosystem

Encroachment of woody shrubs into graminoid-dominated wetlands can impact ecosystem carbon and water cycling due to differences in species physiology. In subtropical Florida, shortened hydroperiods have led to the expansion of Carolina willow (Salix caroliniana) in sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) marsh communities, potentially compromising ecosystem health. In this study, we assessed differences in leaf gas exchange between willow and sawgrass in Blue Cypress Marsh Conservation Area (BCMCA). Stomatal conductance (gs) and photosynthetic CO2 exchange (Anet) were measured across a range of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; 0–2000 μmol m−2 s−1). Leaf area index (LAI; m2 leaf m−2 ground) was determined for each species and used in conjunction with land cover estimates to extrapolate leaf measurements to the plant canopy and assess the consequences of shrub encroachment on landscape atmospheric carbon and water exchange. Willow had higher average rates of leaf gs and Anet than sawgrass. However, willow had lower water use efficiency (WUE) and greater LAI, resulting in greater loss of water through transpiration by willow populations and diminishing projected landscape water availability despite marginally increased C assimilation. Climate drying or potential positive feedbacks of shrubs to autogenic drying may accelerate shrub encroachment and increase risk of wetland loss.