Abstract
The Picayune Strand Restoration Project (PSRP) is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to restore hydrology and habitat within the bounds of the former Southern Golden Gate Estates (SGGE), Collier County, Florida. This study evaluated the success of the restoration to date by monitoring the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities for species indicators of ecosystem compositional change and determined whether there is convergence between restored and reference sites with divergence from the unrestored sites. Aquatic macroinvertebrate collection took place at 19 sampling sites using dip netting. Eight reference sites are within the bounds of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (FSPSP) and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (FPNWR). The remaining 11 sites are distributed across the Picayune Strand State Forest (PSSF) to include both restored and unrestored sites. Univariate results indicated that: the lowest species richness values occurred within the unrestored sites, richness significantly increased in all restored sites relative to the unrestored sites, and the highest richness was documented in the reference wetlands. Multivariate analysis confirmed these patterns and also indicated that most aquatic macroinvertebrate species assemblages in reference and restored sites were not significantly different while unrestored sites were significantly different. Furthermore, the presence of Procambarus alleni (Everglades crayfish), Hylalella (Amphipod), Procambarus fallax (Slough crayfish), Calibaetis spp (Mayfly species) and other rare or unique species may be used as indicator species to document restoration success. Based on the results of this study, there appears to be convergence of restored and reference habitats overall indicating a vector of success for the restoration. In addition, specific potential hydroperiod indicator taxa were identified to continue to monitor changes as the restoration proceeds.
