FIU gets $6.375 million renewal from NSF for Everglades research

Florida International University (FIU) has secured a $6.375 million renewal from the National Science Foundation for the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) program.

The six-year renewal is the fifth in the program’s history, which has been conducted in lock-step with the congressionally authorized Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan since that was first initiated 25 years ago. In addition to the long-term research that will continue, the program will expand its focus to integrate more community voices into the research, including the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, farmers, economists, business leaders and policymakers, according to John Kominoski, principal investigator of the FCE-LTER and researcher in the FIU Institute of Environment.

The goal is to better understand how Everglades restoration impacts the livelihoods of local communities and to use long-term data to help people and nature adapt and thrive together. The program seeks to connect South Floridians to the ecosystem they depend on, from real estate values tied to water quality to the protection of food systems.

“We will bring people together to figure out how we can all grow together in South Florida,” said Kominoski, who is also an FIU professor of biological sciences. “Our past work has focused on how Everglades ecosystems stay above the fresh and marine water they receive. We want to bring that concept to the public and policy-makers so we can all thrive.”

The FCE-LTER is part of the National Science Foundation’s Long Term Ecological Research program which provides much-needed insight for complex ecological systems through observations and experiments — insight that can’t be obtained from short-term research. Housed at FIU, more than 245 scientists from 78 different institutions have contributed to the research including 147 researchers and staff from FIU.

“At FIU, our researchers are focused on providing the science needed to keep ecosystems healthy along with economies and communities thriving,” said Mike Heithaus, FIU vice provost of environmental resilience and executive dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. “The Everglades provides South Florida with clean drinking water and remains one of the world’s most amazing natural places.  While our faculty, staff and students are working to understand how the Everglades and all its species function, they are also working with the public, government and all interested parties to provide the information needed to manage this incredible resource.”

In addition to the expanded community collaboration, the scientists will also conduct research on legacy impacts from disturbances that remain in the environment for long periods of time.

“Because the system is ever-changing, the need for data to best manage and adapt to coastal changes is very critical to sustaining coastal communities,” Kominoski said.

The Everglades is a unique, interconnected ecosystem vital for biodiversity, a habitat for rare species and offers important functions including water filtration and flood control. It’s also a popular destination, supporting Florida’s tourism industry. However, the Everglades has been heavily impacted by human development and water management, leading to habitat loss, reduced water quality and reduced water flows.

“The continued renewal of FCE funding is an attestation to FIU's role, along with our collaborators, in providing the underlying Everglades ecosystem restoration science,” said Todd Crowl, director of FIU’s Institute of Environment. “This science is necessary to fully recover and ultimately conserve this globally recognized, iconic coastal wetland.”

Everglades restoration – the world’s largest such effort – largely focuses on improving the quality, quantity, timing and distribution of water from Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee flowing south to Florida Bay. For decades, FIU scientists in collaboration with scientists from other universities, as well as local, state and federal agencies and organizations, have provided much-needed data to inform restoration and support the long-term health of this iconic yet imperiled ecosystem.