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

佛罗里达州南部的大沼泽地是世界上最大的淡水沼泽地之一。低地形地貌和丰富的降水支持着不同的湿地群落，包括锯草草原、阔叶木吊床、睡莲沼泽和微咸水红树林沼泽。相当多的生态学研究集中在该地区的现代生物群落以及与人类有关的影响对大沼泽地的有害影响上。对这一讨论很重要，但在文献中较少体现的是大沼泽地随时间的演变。整个全新世气候和海平面的变化在这一独特环境的演变中发挥了至关重要的作用。了解大沼泽地的水文和生物群对过去气候和海平面变化的反应，对于预测该生态系统未来将如何应对人类和自然环境变化至关重要。该项目将探索佛罗里达州南部大沼泽地地区的全新世古生态，以及陆地生态系统、气候和海平面之间的关系。该项目旨在了解气候和海平面变化对区域水文的因果性质以及植物群落的分布。将利用气候和环境变化的替代记录，包括沉积物成分、花粉剖面、硅藻光谱和其他微化石遗骸，重建该地区过去的气候和水文状况。还强调确定全新世海平面波动对沿海和内陆湿地组合的影响。该项目将为大沼泽地和其他重要湿地的自然历史演变提供有价值的新见解，特别是气候、海平面变化和生物群落之间的关系。更多地了解该地区的植被在过去如何受到气候制度变化和海平面变化的影响，对于在面对日益加剧的人口压力和自然环境变化的情况下制定保护和恢复大沼泽地生态系统的有效战略至关重要。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。

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.