PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #31: Animal Population and Community Ecology I.
Wednesday, August 7. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC
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Effects of Everglades restoration alternatives on American alligator populations: An ATLSS module.
Slone, Daniel*,1, Allen, Jon2, Rice, Ken3, 1 USDA Forest Service, Pineville, LA2 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL3 USGS Biological Resources Division, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
ABSTRACT- The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a keystone species of the South Florida Ecosystem. Population growth and survival depends directly on the hydrologic functioning of South Florida watersheds. Degradation of habitat and hydrological conditions has prompted planning for ambitious restoration efforts (e.g., the Central and South Florida Project Restudy, Kissimmee River Restoration, and the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration initiative). As a top predator and key factor in the structuring of plant communities and associated aquatic animals, it is an ideal indicator of ecosystem health. The response of alligator populations to spatio-temporal changes in hydrological conditions throughout the South Florida Ecosystem is integral to the evaluation of any restoration alternative. We present here the American alligator component of the Across Trophic Level System Simulation (ATLSS) Everglades restoration modeling project. This stage-based population model accepts spatially explicit output from hydrologic models of current or historical conditions, or predicted conditions from proposed restoration alternatives, and from a Spatially Explicit Species Index, the "ATLSS American Alligator Production Index Model", that predicts potential nesting. Consistent with ATLSS methodology, we compare outputs from alternative hydrologic models to a base scenario to evaluate differences in alligator population levels over the Everglades landscape and identify those alternatives that result in biotic characteristics that approximate historical conditions.
KEY WORDS: Everglades restoration, ATLSS, American alligator, Landscape ecology