21 years of data collection on water quality, plants, animals has made FIU a vital resource for researchers concerned with health of Everglades

–By Chrystian Tejedor for FIU News The National Science Foundation is providing a four-year $4.75 million renewal of the FIU Institute of Environment’s Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) program. This marks the fourth renewal since the program’s founding in 2000. For two decades, FIU researchers and their partners have collected data […]

Researcher is thirsty for sustainable Everglades

Small-scale droughts can have big effects on the Florida Everglades. Ph.D. student Anteneh Abiy is digging deep into these abnormally low rainfall events. He doesn’t have to do go too far into weather data to begin his work. 2017 was drier than usual. The Everglades received 6 inches of rainfall less than the annual average. […]

Scientists study portion of Everglades closed to people for decades

Shark in Joe Bay
After nearly 40 years of being closed off to the public, visitors to Everglades National Park can now explore Joe Bay. Joe Bay is one of the Everglades’ main sources of freshwater. Closing it was key in helping the American crocodile recover from extinction. But the long-untouched Joe Bay, along with nearby Snag Bay, is […]

Introducing the Everglades to Sweetwater Elementary students

Everglades National Park
This winter a group of students from the Honors College, who were participating in a unique Everglades class, embarked on an adventure — not trekking through alligators and pythons in the River of Grass — but interacting with fourth-graders at Sweetwater Elementary School. The Everglades: From Beginning to End, is a year-long, interdisciplinary Honors College […]

Algae give freshwater clues in the face of sea-level rise

Viviana Mazzei studies algae in Everglades.
Sea-level rise is a monumental threat, but one FIU biologist is tracking levels using one of the Florida Everglades’ tiniest residents. Viviana Mazzei is examining communities of algae to help resource managers pinpoint which areas need freshwater most. Known as diatoms, these microscopic algae are a great indicator of environmental changes, including increased salinity and […]