Doctoral Dissertation Research: Climate and Sea Level Control of Holocene Environments in South Florida

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The Everglades of southern Florida is home to one of the worlds largest freshwater marshes. Low topographic relief and abundant precipitation support diverse wetland communities, including sawgrass prairie, hardwood hammocks, water lily marshes, and brackish mangrove swamp. Considerable ecological research has focused on the modern biotic communities of this region and the detrimental effects human-related influences are having on the Everglades. Important to this discussion but less well-represented in the literature is the evolution of the Everglades over time. Variations in climate and sea level throughout the Holocene have played a crucial role in the evolution of this unique environment. An understanding of the response of Everglades hydrology and biota to past changes in climate and sea level is critical for predicting how this ecosystem will respond to both human and natural environmental changes in the future. This project will explore the Holocene paleoecology of the Everglades region of southern Florida and the relationship between terrestrial ecosystems, climate, and sea level. The project aims at understanding the cause and effect nature of climate and sea-level change on regional hydrology and the distribution of vegetative communities. Proxy records of climatic and environmental change, including sediment composition, pollen profiles, diatom spectra and other microfossils remains, will be employed to reconstruct the past climates and hydrological regimes of the region. Emphasis is also given to identifying the impact of Holocene eustatic fluctuations on the coastal and inland wetland assemblages. This project will provide valuable new insights into the natural historical evolution of the Everglades and other significant wetlands, particularly the relationships among climate, sea-level change, and biotic communities. Increased understandings of how the area's vegetation has been impacted in the past by changing climatic regimes and sea-level changes is critical for the development of effective strategies for preserving and restoring Everglades ecosystems in the face of intensified human population pressure and natural environmental changes. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.