Tampa Bay
Conceptual Model to "Restore the Historic Balance" of Emergent
Habitat Types
Type: Extent of habitat (i.e., area of habitat and
whether there has been a decline).
Category: Intertidal and Wetland
Cost: $75,000
Description: For this project, historic photographs would be
used to estimate relative abundance (in acres) of different types of emergent
habitats around Tampa Bay shoreline for 1990 and 1950. Although it is recognized
that much of the shoreline has been developed and is no longer "restorable"
to native habitats, and that the total extent of native habitat has been reduced
significantly, the ratio of different habitat types has also been altered. The
most severely impacted (in terms of percentage lost) is oligohaline habitats
in rivers (which has been reduced by an estimated 90% over the last 100 years.
Outcome: The Tampa Bay Habitat Restoration Master Plan calls
for the restoration of the historic balance of habitat types, using the assumption
that severe changes in the ratios of historic habitat types may cause a "biological
bottleneck" to estuarine-dependent organisms. Tampa Bay Estuary Program
has adopted a goal of restoring 100 acres of oligohaline habitat every five
years (for a total of 1800 acres) to achieve the historic balance of habitats.
Contact: Robin Lewis, Lewis Environmental Services, Inc., email:
LESrrl3@aol.com
Citation: "Setting Priorities for Tampa Bay Habitat Protection
and Restoration: Restoring the Balance," 1995, Technical Publication #09-95,
Tampa Bay National Estuary Program, prepared by Lewis Environmental Services,
Inc. (R.R. Lewis III and D. Robison).
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