This two-year project is communicating the results of scientific discoveries produced by an on-going LTER (Long-term Ecological Research) project devoted to understanding the Everglades ecosystem. Specifically, Dr. Heithaus is capitalizing on the discoveries funded through 0620409 (Coastal Oligotrophic Ecosystems Research) about the role of large-bodied, top predators in the Everglades, including bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) and American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). The STEM content of this project is biology, in particular ecology, the environment, and conservation.
These results are being communicated via: (1) multimedia exhibit presentations at multiple museums and nature centers in southern Florida, primarily the Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS), located in Ft. Lauderdale near the Everglades and (2) online dissemination of mini-documentaries and other educational components at social media websites and the LTER web site. The target audience for the museum exhibit components includes learners from diverse cultural backgrounds, such as urban family groups reflecting the demographics of southern Florida. This project will also develop a documentary about Everglades ecology that is planned for dissemination on a cable TV channel devoted to natural history. In order to link with formal education, related educational deliverables are being produced for use in science classroom settings (grades 4 through 12) that are aligned with the state science standards and benchmarks. Formative assessment conducted by museum staff and university students will evaluate learning outcomes as they relate to STEM content learning goals. After the two-year funding period, the science learning opportunities produced from the current Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) project will be sustained as the exhibit travels to other venues and as web deliverables are accessed on-line.
Intellectual Merit Currently, about 50% of the human population lives within 80 km of the coast and this number continues to rise. Thus, the impacts of humans on the coasts will continue to increase even as demand for the resources and ecosystem services provided by coastal habitats grow. In this project, we extended our study of the ecological role of top predators in the coastal Everglades as part of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research Project (FCE LTER; DEB-9910514). Our work has shown that bull sharks and alligators likely play important roles in linking the dynamics of coastal, estuarine, and freshwater habitats as well as transporting nutrients from the oceans upstream. But, only certain individuals play these linking roles while others remain within single habitat types, showing that understanding individual "personalities" within species is important. Our growing understanding of the behavior and roles of top predators will help to predict the consequences of human-driven changes to the system and lead to more effective management in addition to enhancing our understanding of ecological systems in general. Broader Impacts We used the NSF-funded research of the FCE LTER, especially that focused on predators, to enhance knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and appreciation for scientific research across a broad range of age groups and geographic locations. We produced 1) Two 26-minute documentaries. Coastal Carnivores (http://video.wpbt2.org/video/2252471153/) - a part of the PBS Series Changing Seas - aired on PBS2 in Miami as well as on 90% of all PBS stations nationwide and in 34 countries. It currently is available online. This documentary depicts research on the behavior of bull sharks and American alligators, and their role in community and ecosystem dynamics of the Shark River Slough of Everglades National Park (ENP). This documentary shows how ongoing studies can help make predictions about likely responses of these consumers to planned ecosystem restoration. It highlights work of two graduate students, who provide excellent role models for young scientists. Science Matters depicted the adventure of 14 elementary school teachers from Missouri who traveled to the Everglades to join research projects studying sharks and explored the oceans and marshes of South Florida. It highlighted how the flow of water connects distant ecosystems as well as people's role in environmental change both through habitat alterations and invasive species. It aired on PBS in Kansas Ciety 2) A 12-min documentary, Predators of Shark River, plays daily at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS). It has been delivered to many other science and nature centers in South Florida and is available at the FCE LTER website and Vimeo. This fast-paced exciting video highlihgts the threats to the Everglades through the eyes of its top predators and explores how individual differences in behavior are key to understanding the roles of species. It also discusses how environmental change will affect the ecosystem and inspires the young public about careers in science. 3) An interactive animal movement visualization tool that allows the public to view the movements of all individual alligators, bull sharks, snook, and gar that have been tagged as part of the FCE LTER relative to the environmental variables that are being measured by FCE researchers and the USGS (e.g. salinity, precipitation, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, etc) as a movie animation. This tool is part of a kiosk that includes video vignettes that is deployed online at tracking.fiu.edu and at the EcoDiscovery Center at MODS. The version at MODS was modified based on surveys to better communicate with young visitors to the museum while the online version is better suited for classrooms and keenly interested users. Surveys of users at MODS demonstrated that the kiosk acheived the goals of increasing awareness 4) A series of animations and micro documentary videos were created and embedded in the kiosk and in documentaries. These videos are also used in public lectures to illustrate key concepts and methods. 5) A prototype iPad app was developed and qualitatively tested. It is effectively used in classroom settings by trained personnel. The lessons learned from the prototype were used to develop a second app (not funded by this project) that is available on at the App Store. 6) Formal education materials including a Grade 4 leveled reader In addition to these projects the PI and graduate students working on the project have given more than a dozen public lectures around Florida. The PI conducted professional development for 50 elementary school teachers in Missouri and many more K-12 teachers at local, state, and national professional science teacher conferences.
