BRIEF SUMMARY:

Wood Storks’ dependency on concentrations of small fish throughout their nesting season and corresponding sensitivity to variations in hydrology make them a key indicator of wetland health throughout the Everglades. Dr. Shannon Clem will talk about the Wood Stork population here in Southwest Florida, how their population has declined in recent decades, and how Audubon Florida is working to reverse this trend through science-driven wetland conservation and restoration.

BIO:

As a community ecologist, Dr. Clem’s focus is on connections between organisms, especially as they relate to ecosystem perturbations (natural and anthropogenic). She received a B.S. in Marine Science from Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL) and a Ph.D. from Florida International University (Miami, FL) where she examined impacts of altered hydroperiod and nutrients on Everglades food webs and has since conducted research throughout the Greater Everglades. Outside the Corkscrew watershed, key projects have focused on issues like impacts of non-native fishes in Everglades National Park, links between hydrology and aquatic animal communities in Big Cypress National Preserve, and the decline of bonefish in Florida Bay. Dr. Clem is adjunct graduate faculty at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and a Research Affiliate of FGCU’s Everglades Wetland Research Park.