A Multi-Species/Habitat Ecological Evaluation of Alternative Everglades Restoration Plans

Abstract

This project is the only ecological study that looks at the entire Greater Everglades South Florida landscape and is the only study to evaluate the effects of a restoration alternative on biological diversity and ecological integrity. Major goals of the South Florida Everglades Restoration Initiative are to restore and maintain the native biological diversity of South Florida, and to recover threatened and endangered species. This project provides direct integration of South Florida-wide data layers on species richness and potential habitats developed through the USGS gap analysis project. It addresses questions on how to protect and conserve threatened and endangered species and the biological diversity of South Florida. It provides a scientifically based ecological evaluation procedure for assessing the potential effects of alternative restoration plans. It can be used to examine how restoration plans for one species may impact available potential habitat for other species and for developing habitat management plans that optimize the benefits to the greatest number of species on a regional scale. The objective of this project are to provide a comprehensive assessment of the effects of restoration alternative on the amount and configuration of ecosystem types and potential habitats of endangered and threatened vertebrates and to evaluate the effectiveness of threatened and endangered species habitat protection of overall South Florida biological diversity.

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