Ecological and Economic Impacts of Land-Use and Climate Change on Coastal Food Webs and Fisheries

Description: The Suwannee River estuary supports several imperiled species, multimillion-dollar fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism in Florida’s Nature Coast. This project will assess how past, present, and future climate and land use scenarios influence the quality of natural resources in the Suwannee River estuary. The team will develop a predictive model to evaluate different watershed management actions, based on water quality and nutrient flow. These predictions, combined with food web modelling, will project how changes in freshwater quality and quantity will influence fish and shellfish populations. Results from the watershed and food web models will also be combined with survey data to evaluate the economic impacts of different land use and climate scenarios.

Focus Groups

Focus Group/Advisory Committee Facilitated Discussion

Suwannee River Estuary Model Inputs

Suwannee River Estuary Model Outputs

Household survey response data to assess use and non-use value of coastal resources in the Nature Coast, Florida, obtained in 2022

Economic Impact Analysis Results for Suwannee River Basin Scenarios

Saltwater recreational angler survey response data to assess current visitation and future visitation under climate/land use change scenarios, Suwannee River Estuary, Florida, 2023

Suwannee River Surface Water-Groundwater Model, Inputs, and Outputs