Matheson
Hammock County Park (Miami-Dade County,
Florida)
MONITORING OVERVIEW AND HISTORY
Matheson Hammock
is a 351 acre park owned and managed by Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1930, Matheson Hammock is a
popular park consisting of a marina, boat ramps, atoll pool, nature trails,
wading beach, and bike paths. Matheson
Hammock borders Biscayne Bay and is mostly comprised of Mangrove swamp area. The mangroves in this area have yet to be
restored with the only destruction being due to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and
the anthropogenic effects of construction of the marina and main road going
through the park.
The
mangrove forest is one of Earth’s richest and most diversified marine
environments (Greenburg 7). Along with
being one of the richest and most diversified, the mangrove system is also “one
of the most productive tropical ecosystems.
They function as a major source of nutrients to surrounding nutrient
depleted waters, provide habitat for a diverse assemblage of animals, act as
sediment traps protecting delicate offshore ecosystems (such as coral
communities), and provide nursery grounds for many marine species. Mangroves act as storm barriers that absorb
storm surge energy. The mangrove
wetlands provide a critical habitat for consumable fish and shellfish”
(Surveying 50).
The
mangrove ecosystem is a valuable resource that requires diligent monitoring to
preserve the remaining mangrove population.
The mangrove population in Florida is only “approximately 500,000 acres,
which is less than one third of the acreage originally found in Florida at the
turn of the century” (Sealey 35). Although no formal mangrove monitoring of
Matheson Hammock Park exists in Miami-Dade County, the students of the MSC 232
Lab at the University of Miami have been monitoring and compiling data since
1993. The students observe the mangrove
community and assess it in rank, faunal variety, and density while also
analyzing the soil composition and testing the water quality for oxygen concentration,
salinity, temperature, and pH. With
continued student monitoring of Matheson Hammock Park, there is hope that more
attention from Miami-Dade County will be focused on restoration projects.
Greenburg, Jerry, Idaz, and Micheal. Mangroves:
Trees in the Sea. Seahawk Press: Miami, 2000.
Sullivan-Sealey, K.M. 5th ed. Laboratory
Excercises and Field Methods in Marine Biology for South Florida and the
Caribbean-
A Conservation Perspective. Media
Publishing: Nassau, Bahamas, 2000.
Feeley, Deena Wells,
Emily F. Schmitt, and Kathleen M. Sullivan Sealey. Surveying Coral Reef Fishes: A Manual for
Data
Collection, Processing, and Interpretation of Fish Survey Information for the
Tropical Northwestern Atlantic.
REEF and The Nature Conservancy: Nassau, Bahamas, 1998.
SITE MAP
Map
of Matheson Hammock County Park with park facilities and infrastructure – text
history
Map of Mangrove
communities of Park
Map
of survey locations (by year) in the Park
By Taxa
Species scientific
name
Common name
Reference used in
identification
Location:
·
Algae
Checklist and linked photos and web
sites
·
Mollusk Checklist and linked
photos and web sites
·
Crustacean
Checklist and linked photos and web
sites
·
Other
coastal marine invertebrates and linked photos and web
sites
·
Wading
and Coastal Birds Checklist and linked photos and websites
Mangrove
tree species – identification and ecology
Mangrove
community classification
Annotated
Bibliography on Mangrove Ecology
MANGROVE COMMUNITY
ASSESSMENT
Mangrove
Reconnaissance Surveys – text and photos
Mangrove
Quantitative Surveys: I Vegetation Profiles
Mangrove
Quantitative Surveys: 2 Quantitative Plots
Mangrove
Community Assessment Report
SUMMARY OF STATUS AND
TRENDS
Major
Storm and Hurricane tracts for South Florida
Hurricane Andrew- www.nhc.noaa.gov/1992andrew.html
Hurricane Georges- www.nhc.noaa.gov/1998georges.html
Hurricane
Andrew and its impact on Matheson Hammock
Tidal cycles in Biscayne Bay: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/sites_useastlower.html
(Scroll down to Miami and the desired location, click and
then scroll down to daily tides)
Summary
of sampling effort – Year by Year Inventory
1.) 1993 Report and Pictures
1993
Report Summaries:
As there were only two surveys
conducted in Matheson Hammock Park in 1993 both are posted on the web. These were the first surveys to be conducted
in Matheson Hammock Park, therefore, they are generally broad and unspecific
but they are a good starting point to look at for the basis of material. They both could use pictures, more data
analysis, and an expanded faunal list.
Report 1993-28: This survey conducted by Loney, A., Moretti, M., Muglia, M.,
and Teare, B. was a good report with all of the necessary requirements met,
however could use more elaboration on data analysis. While the highlights of this report are the research needs
portion of the report and the very neat and concise data sheets.
Report 1993-29: This survey conducted by Herr, J. and Schmitt, E. just meets
the bare requirements, it needs a lot more information and has incomplete data
sheets. Contains a lot of instructions
on how to collect data but no real information extrapolated from data.
2.) 1995 Report and Pictures
1995
Report Summaries:
In 1995,
there were eight surveys conducted in Matheson Hammock Park.
Report 1995-03: This survey conducted by
Koester K., Harger S., Bradenburg C., Ferriter L., Vespe R., Bean D., and
Habashy D. was chosen for it’s excellent data analysis and good information
they obtained from interviewing the supervisor for Matheson Hammock Park. The highlights of the report include a good
vegetation profile and good management comments, although it could also use a
more in depth faunal list including algal species.
Report 1995-05: This survey conducted by
Pantony, A., Freitas, W., Manuel, C., Schull, J., and Keating, J. is a good
report meeting all necessary requirements.
The highlights of this report are the good geological comments and the
plot vegetation map. The report could,
however, use more elaboration overall including algal species on the faunal
list.
3.) 1996 Report and Pictures
1996
Report Summary:
There were seven surveys conducted
in Matheson Hammock Park in 1996.
Report 1996-01:
This report conducted by Kanter, M., O’Connor, M., Keller, M., and
Handelsman, J. was selected because of its extensive information and
completeness. The highlights of this
report are that every section of this report contains good information and good
data analysis.
4.) 1997 Report and Pictures
1997
Report Summary:
In 1997,
two surveys were conducted in Matheson Hammock Park.
Report 1997-07: This
survey conducted by Somers, R. and Yoshioka, K. was very short perhaps due to
the fact that Somers, R. was the only person who worked on the report. Basically, the report as a whole needs a lot
of work the only highlight was the data collection itself.
5.) 1998
Report and Pictures
1998
Report Summaries:
In 1998, there were nine surveys conducted in Matheson Hammock Park.
Report 1998-06: This survey conducted by Blair, K.,
Good, S., Hooper, K., Rans, V., and Schneider, S. was chosen as it is a very
well written report with good content.
This report was done in an essay format different from the traditional
heading with content underneath but is still informative. The highlights of this report included the
good faunal list and very neat and concise data sheets, however, the plot
vegetation map has yet to be completed.
Report 1998-07: This survey conducted by
Cooney, P., McGuffie, B., Eckert, G., Domark, J., and Stump, K., was chosen
because of it’s excellent data analysis.
This report contains very good information; however, the faunal list
could be expanded to include algal species.
6.) 1999 Report and Pictures
1999
Report Summary:
Thirteen surveys were conducted in
1999 in Matheson Hammock Park.
Report 1999-05: This survey conducted by
Barrera, J., Grossman, K., Martinson, E., and Hooper, K. because it is an
excellent report with lots of good information. They have a good faunal list, including algal species seen. The only thing that could have been
elaborated on is the monitoring and research needs.
7.) 2000 Report and Pictures
2000
Report Summary:
In 2000, there were eleven surveys
conducted in Matheson Hammock Park.
Report 2000-11: This survey conducted by
Greco, M., Lewis, A., Lubeck, M., and Toler E. was selected because it is an
excellent report with all of the necessary requirements met. It has extremely neat data sheets and an
excellent graphical representation of the vegetation profile. The report also has a lot of great pictures
of which only a few could be selected to be posted. The only thing that could have possibly been elaborated on is the
faunal list.
8.) 2001 Report and Pictures