Back-pumping of agricultural runoff into a large shallow lake and concurrent changes in the macroinvertebrate assemblage.

Macroinvertebrates were monitored during the summer of 2001 at two paired reference and impact sites, to assess potential effects of agricultural runoff, which was back-pumped upstream into Lake Okeechobee, USA. Monitoring was conducted prior to back-pumping (Pre, April-May), during back-pumping (BP, June-September) and during the following year (Post, April-September, 2002, impact sites only). Prior to back-pumping, the macroinvertebrate communities at both impact sites differed from those at their respective reference sites.

A comparison of three methods to collect submerged aquatic vegetation in a shallow lake.

Two boat-based and one in-water sampling method have been used to collect submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) as part of a long-term monitoring program in Lake Okeechobee, Florida, USA. The boat-based methods consisted of collecting SAV with a ponar dredge, used only to collect Chara, and an oyster tongs-like rake apparatus, used to collect all SAV. The in-water method involved use of a 0.

Large-scale mapping and predictive modeling of submerged aquatic vegetation in a shallow eutrophic lake.

A spatially intensive sampling program was developed for mapping the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) over an area of approximately 20,000 ha in a large, shallow lake in Florida, U.S. The sampling program integrates Geographic Information System (GIS) technology with traditional field sampling of SAV and has the capability of producing robust vegetation maps under a wide range of conditions, including high turbidity, variable depth (0 to 2 m), and variable sediment types.

Hurricane effects on a shallow lake ecosystem and its response to a controlled manipulation of water level.

In order to reverse the damage to aquatic plant communities caused by multiple years of high water levels in Lake Okeechobee, Florida (U.S.), the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) authorized a "managed recession" to substantially lower the surface elevation of the lake in spring 2000.