This book aims to synthesize research pertaining to key background and drivers of the South Florida ecosystem. Eight chapters organize the main research topics: geographic setting, oceanography, water quality, coral reef and hardbottom, seagrasses, mangroves, some important biota, and some important management actions.

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The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) in collaboration with the University of Michigan and funded by NOAA will produce a summer dissolved oxygen forecast for Chesapeake Bay. An annual anoxia forecast will be produced for two periods (early and late summer) and a hypoxia forecast will be produced for the month of July. The results of this forecast will be published on an interactive website and included in a press release.

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Conservation International is a worldwide non-profit dedicated to preserving and conserving the natural world using an integrated approach of natural and social sciences. IAN partners with Conservation International on producing policy briefs (4-page summary documents), reports, and guidebooks, based on their research findings and lessons learned in many areas around the globe.

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The first objective of the project is to produce a Nanticoke watershed/river report card in the format that is fast becoming the standard for reporting water quality information to the public. This report card will be used to inform and involve the public as part of the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance's programmatic and mission effort to conserve the resources of this river.

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This project seeks to establish a framework to coordinate efforts among watershed organizations using or planning to use report cards as outreach tools. This project also seeks to develop clear and consistent guidelines and protocols for the development and implementation of report cards by watershed organizations. Protocols will be developed and training provided for sampling and monitoring methodology, data analysis, and science communication.

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The National Park Service is carrying out assessments of the natural resource condition (NRCA) for nearly 300 of the National Parks throughout the country deemed to have significant natural resources. This project, to assess condition of Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia, is a synthesis project aimed at collating and synthesizing all available data to assess current status and trend for each metric, combining these into an overall framework.

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We strive to inspire future scientists and increase awareness about environmental issues. We believe that new media is a integral part of achieving these goals. Therefore, we have launched an IAN/EcoCheck channel on YouTube. This channel hosts environmental science videos created by UMCES faculty, staff, and students.

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Bay Backpack connects environmental educators with teaching resources, action projects, field experiences and funding opportunities that build environmental literacy and engage students in Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences, or MWEEs. It was developed and is maintained in coordination with the Chesapeake Bay Program's Education Workgroup.

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Empirical models were developed at South Carolina beaches and estuaries to create daily forecasts of bacterial water quality for use as decision support tools. These tools predict exceedance of bacteria criteria using integrated monitoring data, remote sensing, and meteorology information. The models developed for beach areas used precipitation data from a rain gauge network, tide data, and qualitative weather information to predict criterion exceedance.

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A partnership between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) has been formed to develop an effective monitoring strategy to evaluate and communicate the efficacy of the projects funded through the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund (CBTF).

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