A Review of the Effects of Altered Hydrology and Salinity on Vertebrate Fauna and Their Habitats in Northeastern Florida Bay | Wetlands Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

A Review of the Effects of Altered Hydrology and Salinity on Vertebrate Fauna and Their Habitats in Northeastern Florida Bay

  • Hydrologic Restoration
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Estuarine productivity is highly dependent on the freshwater sources of the estuary. In Florida Bay, Taylor Slough was historically the main source of fresh water. Beginning in about 1960, and culminating with the completion of the South Dade Conveyance System in 1984, water management practice began to change the quantity and distribution of flow from Taylor Slough into Northeastern Florida Bay. These practices altered salinity and hydrologic parameters that had measurable negative impacts on vertebrate fauna and their habitats. Here, I review those impacts from published and unpublished literature and anecdotal observations. Almost all vertebrates covered in this review have shown some form of population decline since 1984; most of the studies implicate declines in food resources as the main stressor on their populations. My conclusion is that the diversion of fresh water resulted in an ecological cascade starting with hydrologic stresses on primary then secondary producers culminating in population declines at the top of the food web.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
¥17,985 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Japan)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anonymous (1987) Along the Florida Reef:1871. In: Tales of Old Florida. Castle, Seacaucus, pp 265–309

  • Audubon JJ (1960) Audubon and his journals, vol 2. Dover Publications, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldwin JD, Bosley JW, Oberhofer L, Bass OL, Mealey BK (2012) Long term changes, 1958–2010, in the reproduction of bald eagles of Florida Bay, southern coastal Everglades. Journal of Raptor Research 46:336–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bancroft G, Strong AM, Sawicki RJ, Hoffman W, Jewell SD (1994) Relationships among wading bird forage patterns, colony locations, and hydrology in the Everglades. In: Davis SM, Ogden JC (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, pp 615–658

    Google Scholar 

  • Baratta AM, Fennema RJ (1994) The effects of wind, rain, and water releases on the water depth and salinity of northeast Florida Bay. Bulletin of Marine Science 54:1072

    Google Scholar 

  • Beard DB (1938) Everglades National Park project wildlife reconnaissance. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Everglades National Park, Homestead

    Google Scholar 

  • Bengston JL (1983) Estimating food consumption of free-ranging manatees in Florida. Journal of Wildlife Management 47:1186–1192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman RG, Powell GVN, Hovis JA, Kline NC, Wilmers T (1989) Variations in reproductive success between subpopulations of the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in south Florida. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:245–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley PM, Kjerfve B, Morris JT (1990) Re-diversion salinity change in the Cooper River, South Carolina: ecological implications. Estuaries 13:373–379

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brewster-Wingard GL, Ishman SE (1999) Historical trends in salinity and substrate in cental Florida Bay: a palioecological reconstruction using modern analogue data. Estuaries 22:269–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browder JA (1985) Relationship between pink shrimp production on the Tortugas fishing grounds and water flow patterns in the Florida Everglades. Bulletin of Marine Science 37:839–856

    Google Scholar 

  • Browder JA, Moore D (1981) A new approach to determining the quantitative relationship between fishery production and the flow of fresh water to estuaries. Proceedings on the national symposium on fresh water inflow to estuaries. Vol 1. U.S. Fish and wildlife service, Office of biological services. FWS/OBS-81/04:403–430

  • Browder JA, Restrepo VR, Rice JK, Robblee MB, Zein-Eldin Z (1999) Environmental influences on potential recruitment of pink shrimp, Farfantepenaeus duorarum, from Florida Bay nursery grounds. Estuaries 22:484–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craighead FC (1971) The trees of south Florida. University of Miami Press, Miami

    Google Scholar 

  • Curnutt JL (1996) Southern bald eagle. In: Rodgers JA, Kale HW, Smith HT (eds) Rare and endangered biota of Florida, volume 5: birds. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, pp 179–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Hall CAS, Kemp WM, Yanez-Arencibia A (1989a) Estuarine fisheries. In: Day JW, Hall CAS, Kemp WM, Yanez-Arencibia A (eds) Estuarine ecology. Wiley, New York, pp 479–511

    Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Hall CAS, Kemp WM, Yanez-Arancibia A (eds) (1989b) Estuarine ecology. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunson WA (1982) Salinity relations of crocodiles in Florida Bay. Copeia 1982:374–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunson WA, Mazzotti FJ (1989) Salinity as a limiting factor in the distribution of reptiles in Florida Bay: a theory for the estuarine origin of marine snakes and turtles. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:229–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Egler FE (1952) Southeast saline Everglades vegetation. Vegetatio 3:213–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faunce CH, Lorenz JJ, Ley JA, Serafy JE (2002) Size structure of grey snapper (Lutjanus griseus) within a mangrove “no-take” estuary. Bulletin of Marine Science 70:2011–2016

    Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan CA, Hendrickson JR (1976) Observations on the commercial fishery and reproductive biology of the totoboa, Cynoscion macdonaldi, in the northern Gulf of California. Fisheries Bulletin 74:531–544

  • Fourqurean JW, Robblee MB (1999) Florida Bay: a history of recent ecological changes. Estuaries 22:345–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Frederick PC, Collopy MW (1989a) Nesting success of five ciconiiform species in relation to water conditions in the Florida Everglades. Auk 106:625–634

    Google Scholar 

  • Frederick PC, Collopy MW (1989b) The role of predation in determining reproductive success of colonially nesting wading birds in the Florida Everglades. Condor 91:860–867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frezza PE, Canedo LC, Lorenz JJ (2007) Relationships between submerged aquatic vegetation abundance and salinity variability within the coastal mangrove zone of northeastern Florida Bay. Estuarine Research Federation Biennial meeting, Providence

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilmore RG, Donohoe CJ, Cooke DW (1983) Observations on the distribution and biology of east-central Florida populations of the common snook, Centropomus undecimalis. Florida Scientist Special Supplement 45:313–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Glipin-Johnson G, Gilpin-Hall M, Gipin V (2000) The cruise of the Seminole among the Florida Keys: March 10–April 5, 1905. Vincent Gilpin Jr., West Chester, PA

  • Gulick L (1995) Patterns of change in Florida Bay as reported by fishermen. In: Summary report of the Florida Bay adaptive environmental assessment and management workshop. The South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL, pp 3–8

  • Halley RB, Roulier LM (1999) Reconstructing the history of eastern and central Florida Bay using mollusk-shell isotope records. Estuaries 22:358–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halley RB, Swart PK, Dodge RE, Hudson JH (1994) Decade-scale trend in sea water salinity revealed 18O analysis of Montastraea annularis annual growth bands. Bulletin of Marine Science 54:670–678

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartman DS (1974) Distribution, status, and conservation of the manatee in the United States. National Technological Information Service PB81-140725, Springfield, Virginia

  • Johnson RA, Fennema RA (1989) Conflicts over flood control and wetland preservation in the Taylor Slough and eastern panhandle basins of Everglades National Park. Wetlands: Concerns and Successes. American Water Resources Association, pp 451–462

  • Kotun K, Renshaw (this issue) Taylor Slough hydrology: 50 years of water management, 1960–2010. Wetlands

  • Kushlan JA, Frohring PC (1985) Decreases in the brown pelican population in southern Florida. Colonial Waterbirds 8:83–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis RR, Gilmore RG, Crewz DW, Odum WE (1988) Mangrove habitat and fishery resources of Florida. In: Florida Aquatic Habitat and Fishery Resources, Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Eustis, pp 281–336

  • Ley JA (1992) Influence of freshwater flow on the use of mangrove prop-root habitat by fishes. Dissertation, University of Florida

  • Ley JA, Montague CL, McIvor CC (1994) Food habits of mangrove fishes: a comparison along estuarine gradients in northeastern Florida Bay. Bulletin of Marine Science 54:881–889

    Google Scholar 

  • Ley JA, McIvor CC, Montague CL (1999) Fishes in mangrove prop-root habitats of northeastern Florida Bay: distinct assemblages across and estuarine gradient. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 48:701–723

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Light SS, Dineen JW (1994) Water control in the Everglades: a historical perspective. In: Davis SM, Ogden JC (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, pp 47–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Longley WL (ed) (1994) Freshwater inflows to Texas bays and estuaries: ecological relationships and methods for determination of needs. Texas Water Development Board and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz JJ (1999) The response of fishes to physicochemical changes in the mangroves of northeast Florida Bay. Estuaries 22:500–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz JJ (2000) Impacts of water management on roseate spoonbills and their piscine prey in the coastal wetlands of Florida Bay. Dissertation, University of Miami

  • Lorenz JJ (this issue) The relationship between water levels, prey availability and reproductive success in roseate spoonbills utilizing a seasonally flooded wetland as a forage area while nesting in Florida Bay. Wetlands

  • Lorenz JJ, Serafy JE (2006) Changes in the demersal fish community in response to altered salinity patterns in an estuarine coastal wetland: implications for Everglades and Florida Bay restoration efforts. Hydrobiologia 569:401–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz JJ, Ogden JC, Bjork RD, Powell GVN (2002) Nesting patterns of roseate spoonbills in Florida Bay 1935–1999: implications of landscape scale anthropogenic impacts. In: Poter JW, Porter KG (eds) The Everglades, Florida Bay and the coral reefs of the Florida Keys: An ecosystem sourcebook. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 555–598

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz JJ, Langan-Mulrooney B, Frezza PE, Harvey RG, Mazzotti FJ (2009) Roseate spoonbill reproduction as an indicator for restoration of the Everglades and the Everglades estuaries. Ecological Indicators 9S:S96–S107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall FE, Wingard GL, Pitts P (2008) A simulation of historic hydrology and salinity in Everglades National Park: coupling paleoecologic assemblage data with regression models. Estuaries and Coasts. doi:10.1007/s12237-008-9120-1

  • Matheson RE, Camp DK, Sogard SM, Bjorgo KA (1999) Changes in seagrass-associated fish and crustaceans communities on Florida Bay mud banks: the effects of recent ecosystem change. Estuaries 22:534–551

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazzotti FJ (1999) The American crocodile in Florida Bay. Estuaries 22:552–561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzotti FJ, Dunson WA (1984) Adaptations of Crocodylus acutus and Alligator mississippians for life in saline water. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 79A:641–646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzotti FJ, Best GR, Brandt LA, Cherkis MS, Jeffery BM, Rice KG (2009) Alligators and crocodiles as indicators for restoration of Everglades ecosystems. Ecological Indicators 9:S137–S149

    Google Scholar 

  • McIvor CC, Ley JA, Bjork RD (1994) Changes in freshwater inflow from the Everglades to Florida Bay including effects on the biota and biotic processes: a review. In: Davis SM, Ogden JC (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, pp 117–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Meeder JF, Ross MS, Telesnicki G, Ruiz PL (1996) Vegetation analysis in the C-111/Taylor Slough basin. Final Report to the South Florida Water Management District (Contract C-4244), West Palm Beach

  • Milsap BA, Gore JA, Runde DE, Cerulean SI (1990) Setting priorities for the conservation of fish and wildlife species in Florida. Wildlife Monograph No. 111

  • Moller PE (1991) American crocodile population dynamics. Final report for study number 7532, Bureau of Wildlife Research, Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, Tallahassee

  • Montague CL, Ley JA (1993) A possible effect of salinity fluctuation on abundance of benthic vegetation and associated fauna in northeastern Florida Bay. Estuaries 16:703–717

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nesbitt SA (1996) Eastern brown pelican. In: Rodgers JA, Kale HW, Smith HT (eds) Rare and endangered biota of Florida, volume 5: birds. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, pp 144–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Odell DK (1979) Distribution and abundance of marine mammals in the waters of Everglades National Park. In: Proceedings of the Conference on Science and Research, volume 5(1) of National Park Service Series. New Orleans pp 673–678

  • Odum WC, McIvor CC, Smith TJ (1982) The ecology of mangroves of south Florida: a community profile. U.S. Fish Wildlife Service Office of Biological Services FES/OBS-81-24

  • Ogden JC (ed) (1977) Transactions of the North American Osprey Research Conference. Transaction and Proceeding of the Service No. 2, U.S. National Park Service, pp 143–151

  • Ogden JC (1978) Status and nesting biology of the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, (Reptilia, Crocodilidae) in Florida. Journal of Herpetology 12:183–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogden JC (1993) Florida Bay vertebrates: status reports for osprey, roseate spoonbill, brown pelican and northwestern wading bird colonies. Everglades National Park, Homestead

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogden JC (1994) A comparison of wading bird nesting colony dynamics (1931–1946 and 1974–1989) as an indication of ecosystem condition in the southern Everglades. In: Davis SM, Ogden JC (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie press, Delray Beach, pp 533–570

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Shea TJ, Ludlow ME (1992) Florida Manatee. In: Humphrey SR (ed) Rare and endangered biota of Florida Vol I. Mammals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, pp 190–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Poole AF (1989) Ospreys: a natural and unnatural history. New York, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell GVN (1987) Habitat use by wading birds in a subtropical estuary: implications of hydrography. Auk 104:740–749

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell GVN, Bjork RD (1996) Great white heron. In: Rodgers JA, Kale HW, Smith HT (eds) Rare and endangered biota of Florida, volume 5: birds. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, pp 388–403

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell GVN, Powell AH (1986) Reproduction by great white herons Ardea herodias in Florida Bay as an indicator of habitat quality. Biological Conservation 36:101–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell GVN, Bjork RD, Ogden JC, Paul RT, Powell AH, Robertson WB (1989) Population trends in some Florida Bay wading birds. Wilson Bulletin 101:436–457

    Google Scholar 

  • Robblee MB, Barber TB, Carlson PR, Durako MJ, Fourqurean JW, Muehlstein LK, Porter D, Yarbro LA, Zieman RT, Zieman JC (1991) Mass mortality of the tropical seagrass Thalassia testudinum in Florida Bay (USA). Marine Ecology Progress Series 71:297–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson WB (1993) Florida bay vertebrates—status reports for great white heron, reddish egret and bald eagle. Everglades National Park, Homestead

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers JA, Kale HW, Smith HT (eds) (1996) Rare and endangered biota of Florida, volume 5: birds. University of Florida Press, Gainesville

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross MS, Meeder JF, Sah JP, Ruiz PL, Telesnicki G (1996) The southeast saline Everglades revisited: a half-century of coastal vegetation change. Vegetation Analysis in the C-111/Taylor Slough Basin. Final Report to the South Florida Water Management District (Contract C-4244), West Palm Beach, Florida

  • Ross MS, Meeder JF, Sah JP, Ruiz PL, Telesnicki G (2002) The southeast saline Everglades revisited: a half-century of coastal vegetation change. Journal of Vegetation Science 11:101–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford, ES, Schmidt TW, Tilmant JT (1986) The early life history of spotted seatrout, red drum, gray snapper, and snook in Everglades National Park, Florida. Report SFRC-86/07, South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida

  • Rutherford ES, Tilmant JT, Thue EB, Schmidt TW (1989) Fishery harvest and population dynamics of spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, in Florida Bay and adjacent waters. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:108–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Serafy JE (1992) Fish assemblages and macrophytes: quantitative investigations in tidal freshwater Chesapeake Bay. Dissertation, University of Maryland

  • Serafy JE, Lindeman KC, Hopkins TE, Ault JS (1997) Effects of freshwater canal discharge on fish assemblages in a subtropical bay: field and laboratory observations. Marine Ecology Progress Series 160:161–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons G, Ogden L (1998) Gladesmen. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL

  • Snedaker S, de Sylva D, Cottrell D (1977) A review of the role of fresh water in the estuarine ecosystem. Southwest Florida Water Management District, Brooksville

    Google Scholar 

  • Sogard SM, Powell GVN, Holmquist JG (1989a) Spatial distribution and trends in abundance of fishes residing in seagrass meadows on Florida Bay mud banks. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:179–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Sogard SM, Powell GVN, Holmquist JG (1989b) Utilization by fishes of shallow, seagrass-covered banks in Florida Bay: 1. Species composition and spatial heterogeneity. Environmental Biology of Fishes 24:53–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone M, Lorenz JJ (2012) Roseate spoonbills in Florida Bay. South Florida Annual Wading Bird Report 18:13–16

  • Swart PK, Healy G, Greer L, Lutz M, Saied A, Anderegg D, Dodge RE, Rudnick D (1999) The use of proxy chemical records in coral skeletons to ascertain past environmental conditions in Florida Bay. Estuaries 22:384–398

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tabb DC, Alexander TR, Thomas TM, Maynard N (1967) The physical, biological, and geological character of the area south of the C-111 Canal in extreme southeastern Everglades National Park, Florida; Report to the U.S. National Park Service (contract NPS 14-10-1-160-11). Everglades National Park, Homestead

  • Tebeau CW (1955) The story of the Chokoloskee Bay country, with the reminiscences of pioneer C.S. “Ted” Smallwood. Banyan Books, Miami

    Google Scholar 

  • Thayer GW, Chester AJ (1989) Distribution and abundance of fishes among basin and channel habitats in Florida Bay. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:200–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Thayer GW, Colby DR, Hettler WF (1987) Utilization of the red mangrove prop root habitat by fishes in south Florida. Marine Ecology Progress Series 35:25–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thayer GW, Powell AB, Hoss DE (1999) Composition of larval, juvenile, and small adult fishes relative to changes in environmental conditions in Florida Bay. Estuaries 22:518–533

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilmant JT, Rutherford ES, Thue EB (1989a) Fishery harvest and population dynamics of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) from Florida Bay and adjacent waters. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:126–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilmant JT, Rutherford ES, Thue EB (1989b) Fishery harvest and population dynamics of common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) from Florida Bay and adjacent waters. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:523–524

    Google Scholar 

  • Torres LG (2009) A kaleidoscope of mammal, bird and fish: habitat use patterns of top predators and their prey in Florida Bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series 375:289–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Lent TJ, Johnson R, Fennema R (1993) Water management in Taylor Slough and the effects on Florida Bay. Report to South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead

  • Van Lent TJ, Snow RW, James FE (1999) An examination of the modified water deliveries project, the C-111 project and the experimental water deliveries project: hydrologic analysis and effects on endangered species. South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead

    Google Scholar 

  • Wakeman JM, Wohlschlag DE (1977) Salinity stress and swimming performance of spotted seatrout. Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 31:357–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Will LE (1984) A dredgeman of Cape Sable. The Glades Historical Society, Belle Glade

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood DA (1997) Official lists of endangered and potentially endangered fauna and flora in Florida. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, Tallahassee

    Google Scholar 

  • Worth GAJ (1998) Physiological constraints on the ecology of the West Indian manatee: potential ramifications for the release of long-term captive manatees. Florida Marine Research Institute, St. Petersburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Zieman JC, Fourqurean JW, Iverson RL (1989) Distribution, abundance and productivity of seagrasses and macroalgae in Florida Bay. Bulletin of Marine Science 44:292–311

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank John Kipp, Lori Oberhofer, Sonny Bass and especially the late John C. Ogden for their contributions to my understanding of the subject matter. This publication was produced as part of a special issue devoted to investigating the ecological response of over 20 years of hydrologic restoration and active management in the Taylor Slough drainage of Everglades National Park. Support for this special issue was provided by; the Everglades National Park, the Southeast Environmental Research Center, the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program (National Science Foundation cooperative agreement #DBI-0620409), the Everglades Foundation and the South Florida Water Management District.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Audubon Florida Tavernier Science Center, 115 Indian Mound Trail, Tavernier, FL, 33070, USA

    Jerome J. Lorenz

Authors
  1. Jerome J. Lorenz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jerome J. Lorenz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lorenz, J.J. A Review of the Effects of Altered Hydrology and Salinity on Vertebrate Fauna and Their Habitats in Northeastern Florida Bay. Wetlands 34 (Suppl 1), 189–200 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0377-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0377-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation