SUMMARY OF HIGH PRIORITY LANDSCAPE-LEVEL SCIENCE NEEDS
Major DOI Responsibilities and Interests	Major Unanswered Questions	Needed Science	Timeline
Help ensure that hydrologic performance targets accurately reflect the natural predrainage hydrology and ecology (DOI CERP partnership responsibility)	Landscape-Scale Modeling
	What are the physical conditions in the Greater Everglades prior to drainage and how will the existing conditions respond to water management? What is the influence of regional CERP activities (EAA water reservoirs, ASR, barrier walls, etc.) on groundwater recharges to Everglades National Park, Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay and how do they affect seepage into the surficial aquifer? What monitoring programs and research projects need to be implemented that will provide appropriate data for verification and calibration of existing models?	Develop tools to describe the hydrology in the predrainage ecosystem. A groundwater model is needed to address historical, current and projected groundwater flows between Everglades and Biscayne and Florida Bays Model and monitoring of the surficial aquifer Collection and synthesis of model calibration and verification data Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses Continuous calibration, validation, testing, and peer review Improved accessibility of modeling data and analysis results through the development of decision support tools and graphical user interfaces Improved accessibility of model code and associated metadata	The landscape-level science needs relate to multiple projects with multiple timelines.
	Comprehensive Integrated Water Quality Feasibility Study
	What were the water quality parameters in the pre-drainage Everglades?	Research to determine the natural water quality parameters for the estuaries.
Help ensure that hydrologic performance targets protect threatened and endangered species and promote fish, wildlife, and park values (consultations on project design related to DOI stewardship responsibilities)	Landscape-Scale Modeling
	What simulation models need to be developed that will predict the ecological response of key indicator species and landscape level communities to proposed changes in water management? What decision support tools, including graphical user interfaces, need to be developed so that model output can be easily interpreted for assessment purposes? What are the ways to increase sustainable compatibility of the built environment with natural system needs of national parks and refuges ̵ especially, relevant to water-related challenges? Can linking together existing models of the ecological response of individual species provide insight into the predictive response of multiple species to changes in water management or do additional models need to be developed? Which hydrologic models are available to cover coastal areas where the SFWMM is less accurate, and how might the input into those models be improved? How can ecological performance measures be incorporated into decision support tools that have reasonably simple output formats? What alternative higher resolution hydrologic models are available to drive the ecological models? What improvements can be made to existing hydrologic models or what new models need to be developed to improve predictive measures of salinity? How can existing model output be converted into other formats to allow data to be analyzed using different platforms and exported for use in GIS?	Modeling of vegetative production and changes in vegetative communities: tree islands mangrove vegetation sawgrass prairie vegetative communities important for endangered species, such as muhly grass invasive or exotic species that are recognized to be in competition with the communities listed above Landscape-scale land use compatibility assessment tools Everglades Landscape Model (ELM) development Regional Simulation Model (RSM) ecological module development Development and validation of spatially explicit habitat suitability index models: threatened and endangered species indicator species sensitive to hydrologic change certain established or potential exotic species Development and validation of stage-structured demographic models: threatened and endangered species indicator species sensitive to hydrologic change freshwater fish functional group estuarine fish functional group Development and validation of individual-based demographic models: threatened and endangered species key prey species (white-tailed deer) certain wading bird species Development and validation of higher resolution ecological models Incorporation of models into the monitoring and adaptive assessment program Models that describe and link water management and hydrodynamics with habitat impacts, particularly related to marine and estuarine environments (ie. Submerged aquatics).
	Comprehensive Integrated Water Quality Feasibility Study
		Research to link WQ characteristics, such as performance targets, to ecosystem structure and function Phosphorus-reduction technologies Research to identify relevant links between water quality and ecosystem structure and function Research to identify degraded ecosystems and quantify the types and sources of pollution Better understanding of the water quality impact of ASR activities on the natural system
	Studies to Support Fish and Wildlife Friendly Siting and Operation of Reservoirs, STAs, and ASR Structures
	What construction and operational considerations can minimize adverse effects of water projects on fish and wildlife values?	GIS habitat mapping to guide site selection for large reservoirs and STAs Studies of the effects of intake pumps and control structures Analyses of reservoirs and STAs as habitats for invasive exotic aquatic species
	Risks to Fish and Wildlife from Soil-Borne Contaminants
	How can we improve upon standard environmental assessment protocols to better characterize background contaminant levels on large parcels of land? What trust resources are at greatest risk from exposure to soil and sediment contaminants, and what is the risk of bioaccumulative contaminants? What is the relative risk of exposure to multiple contaminants compared to the risk of exposure to an individual contaminant? How will rehydration affect risk from methyl mercury exposure or bioaccumulation?	Site contamination assessments Risk assessments Risks associated with bioaccumulation Risks associated with multiple contaminants Sediment quality assessment guidelines for mercury and selenium Research into the potential effects of copper on periphyton Monitoring of actual uptake of contaminants into the food chain Research to determine direct and indirect (food web) effects of mosquito control chemicals on federally listed species
Assess the responses of ecological communities and species as a basis for adaptive management (continuation of DOI responsibilities outlined above)	Landscape-Scale Monitoring and Assessment
	What monitoring and assessment programs need to be put in place to provide information for interim goals and target assessments and CERP Updates? Which portions of the MAP should DOI fund to best support restoration of DOI resources (e.g. DOI lands and threatened and endangered species) and to ensure a sound science base for adaptive management? How can DOI ensure that the monitoring and research components proposed in the MAP contribute to recovery goals for the species and ecosystems of South Florida? How can data management systems allow for management decision-making and improved accessibility to; synthesis of information; synthesis of monitoring and assessment; and restoration evaluation data and analysis information. How will coastal communities be affected by the simultaneous effects of increased freshwater flows and sea-level rise?	Interim goals and targets development and assessment Additional tool development and research for Interim Goal predictions and desired restoration conditions Peer review and assessment methodology, analysis and data management MAP implementation Development of decision support tools to allow for better access to and analysis of monitoring data and evaluation assessment reports Development and implementation of long term storage of data, metadata, and analysis information Enhance hydrologic and meteorological monitoring networks Develop accessible and shared databases. Research to assess the current and historic interrelationships between sea level to support the development and validation of process-based models. Long-term monitoring of coastal community resources to detect early ecological responses to changes in sea-level.