OCEAN LECTURE SERIES

"Ill Winds from the Caribbean to Louisiana: Studying the Effects of Mitch, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma on Mangroves and Salt Marshes"

• Ed Proffitt, Ph.D.
Florida Atlantic University at Harbor Branch

About the Lecture - 2006

Hurricane Mitch destroyed much of the economic base of Honduras with 250 mph winds and 4 feet of rainfall. Pacific coast shrimp farms were flooded and filled with mud. Caribbean coast tourist areas such as the Bay Islands suffered extensive damage to mangroves, terrestrial systems, and human infrastructure. Charley destroyed or severely damaged mangrove systems in Charlotte Harbor. Jeanne and Francis affected mangroves in parts of the Indian River Lagoon. Katrina and Rita caused extensive flooding and sedimentation to salt marshes in Louisiana. Finally, Wilma this past fall damaged mangroves in the Ten Thousand Islands south of Naples.

This talk will discuss the effects of such storms on natural ecosystems like mangroves and salt marshes. How quickly do these systems recover from hurricane damage? Do the food webs and nursery areas of estuaries suffer loss of productivity when marshes or mangroves are severely degraded by a storm? Have the dominant plant species of these systems adapted evolutionarily to recurring hurricane impacts, and, if so, what is the nature of these adaptations? The lecture will also cover how such studies are conducted and the logistical problems of conducting science in disaster areas.

About the Speaker

Ed Proffitt arrived at FAU/HBOI about a year ago. Before coming here, he was Chief of the Wetlands Ecology Branch at the National Wetlands Research Center, US Geological Survey lab, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He has also served as Director of the Louisiana Environmental Research Center, was the first director of the Florida Office of the Center for Marine Conservation (not-for-profit environmental organization), and was the Director of the Natural Resources Management Department for Collier County in southwestern Florida.

Ed has served on the faculty of FAU, McNeese State University (Lake Charles, LA), the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and St. Petersburg College. At the USGS, he led the Biology Team that went to Central America in response to Hurricane Mitch in 1998. This last fall he and FAU/HBOI colleague, Dr. Donna Devlin, were awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to study the effects of, and recovery from, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in coastal marshes of Louisiana.