Optimizing water management for Everglades wading birds and non-native fish

by Dr. Simeon Yurek Research Ecologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Abstract

Simeon Yurek is a Research Ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Gainesville, Florida. His focal research areas include spatially–explicit ecological modeling and decision analysis supporting conservation and restoration of wetlands, estuaries, barrier islands, and riverine ecosystems. He develops simulation models that predict outcomes of alternative decision–making strategies given uncertainty in precipitation, streamflow, and tropical storm regimes due to global climate change. He has led several structured decision–making workshops, working directly with stakeholders to identify objectives and action plans for mitigating ecosystem stressors such as storm surge, sea level rise, flooding, and drought. Example ecosystems include freshwater and coastal wetlands of the Florida Everglades, barrier islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico, bottomland hardwood forest in North Carolina, and oyster reef networks in coastal Louisiana. This talk will focus on simulation modeling of Everglades aquatic food webs, including prey dispersal dynamics and optimal foraging by predators, which are mediated by dynamic seasonal wetland hydrology and spatially–variable topography.