Abstract

The southwest Florida shelf is part of the greater Everglades ecosystem and is bordered by Lee and Collier counties, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The development of an extensive canal system in the region has diverted freshwater runoff to the shelf for over sixty years. Changes in the ecology of this coastal ecosystem have resulted and are currently being assessed as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The goal of the plan is to restore the quantity, quality, timing and distribution of freshwater flows through the region. An examination of the changes in water quality on the shelf over a six year record is provided and includes an assessment of land-use and restoration efforts. Sub-regions of the shelf are delineated by grouping similar water quality and salinity means and variations, and nutrient distributions associated with survey stations, freshwater sources and coastal boundary land uses. The results can be used to enhance and contribute to the existing regional conceptual ecological models that include estuarine fish community components (Barnes 2005, Browder 2005, Rudnic et al. 2005, SFWMD 2007).

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