FGCU | The Water School Graduate Student Information

THE

WATER

SCHOOL AT FGCU

CHANGING THE TIDE OF FLORIDA’S WATERS

FLORIDA

WATER PROBLEM HAS A

Wetlands are too dry, uplands are too wet and water quality overall is declining. Situated in the midst of critical fresh and salt water systems that fuel the state’s economy and well being, the scholars at The Water School at FGCU are uniquely positioned to take on these pressing issues. We’re taking an interdisciplinary look at water-based issues, not just from the perspective of the health of our waterways, but also how that water impacts the health of the surrounding ecosystems, the state’s economy and the people who rely on it for life and leisure. By taking a leading role in this vital issue, we will be a catalyst for change in our community, our state and throughout the world.

GROWING OUR IMPACT No matter where you are in Florida, you’re never far from a body of water. And, west or east, you’re a mere 75 miles from the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean.

After 21 years now, we’ve reached a level of maturity in terms of our curricular programs, our research capacity, our people. It’s really about making our communities better, making our communities healthier, making our communities stronger, making our communities more prosperous.”

- Greg Tolley, Ph.D., Professor of Marine Science, Chair, Department of Marine and Ecological Sciences

Tourism, growth, development, agriculture and recreation all depend on healthy Florida ecosystems and aquatic environments. That’s why Southwest Florida needs experts who can focus on the key impact areas, study the issues and problems from multiple perspectives, identify emerging issues, help find sustainable solutions and train nextgeneration experts to take the reins.

The comprehensive nature of The Water School at FGCU will allow us to focus on key areas critical to our water-driven world: Climate Change, Natural Resources, Ecosystem Health, Health and Well-Being, Restoration and Remediation.

With 400 acres of protected habitat and LEED-certified buildings, FGCU is an environmental lab with sustainability at the core of its mission. Our award-winning initiatives in education, energy production, research and sustainable practices make us one of the nation’s greenest campuses — the perfect place to develop The Water School at FGCU. (fgcu.edu/thewaterschool)

Southwest Florida’s environment is complex and delicate.

Knocking just one element off balance can lead to unexpected consequences that take decades to repair.

Today, we’ve become more adept at predicting these problems, but are still often left searching for comprehensive solutions.

THE WATER SCHOOL AT FGCU WILL: ► Be a comprehensive center for learning and research using a holistic approach that not only focuses on the environmental sciences, but also draws in the social sciences, business and engineering. ► Include state-of-the-art research and learning facilities housed in one building where students will receive the professional preparation they need to tackle real-world problems. ► Bring together all water-focused faculty from the marine and ecological sciences, biology, engineering and business fields. ► Integrate our off-campus facilities that provide access to the Gulf of Mexico, estuaries, rivers and the Everglades. ► Draw in our local, national and international partners and open the doors to new partnerships. ► Conduct outreach and education programs in our local communities so that we help create a more water-literate society. ► Allow FGCU to claim its rightful place as a leading, independent source of environmental and scientific knowledge. ► Take the lessons we learn here and apply them throughout the state, nation and world.

“There are 50 voices at least with something to say about the water issues in Florida.

It’s a mish-mash of different things. But in my mind, an overall picture of the water problems needs to be established. One that isn’t political.

We need a qualified source of information and someone you can trust so that we can develop solutions. FGCU can be that.”

- David Bath, Sanibel Island resident FGCU donor

1

2

EXISTING WATER RESEARCH SOURCES The university has several research programs dedicated to water issues.

The Water School will serve to tie these all together.

The economic impact of water in Southwest Florida is huge, from recreational use to just sustaining life here. Climate change, natural resources, human health, ecosystems and restoration and remediation — every choice we make in every one of these areas has a cost.”

- Shelton Weeks, Ph.D., Department Chair of Economics & Finance and Lucas Professor of Real Estate

VESTER MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE RESEARCH FIELD STATION (1) In 2007, Norm and Nancy Vester donated more than $1 million to FGCU, which enabled the university to buy the Bonita Beach Plantation Resort. Today, the facility serves as an easy-access point to Estero Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and is an important base of operations for studies of Southwest Florida’s coastal and watershed habitats. It’s used by FGCU faculty and students, as well as researchers from throughout Florida and the U.S. It has also hosted researchers from 15 foreign nations.

THE KAPNICK CENTER AND EVERGLADES WETLAND RESEARCH PARK (2) Working with the Naples Botanical Garden, we have developed the Kapnick Center, a joint-use facility for teaching, research and outreach located at the Garden. The facility is home to FGCU’s Everglades Wetland Research Park, whose faculty, staff and students focus on restoration science through ecological engineering.

THE COASTAL WATERSHED INSTITUTE (3) This Institute has laid the groundwork for the development of our interdisciplinary approach. It began in 2004 as an interdisciplinary group of FGCU researchers, graduate students, undergraduates and community partners with a collaborative focus on watershed-related concerns and their impacts on the coastal environments of Southwest Florida. The Water School at FGCU will take the concept and scope even further.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAM (4) This partnership with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida includes a faculty position whose appointment is split between FGCU and the Conservancy. Through it, we have created the Environmental Education Alliance of Southwest Florida, a network of environmental educators from FGCU’s five-county service area who come together to share innovative ideas, best practices and more.

ROOKERY BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE FACULTY LIAISON (5) FGCU has a long history of collaboration that includes education, outreach, a graduate fellowship and undergraduate internships.

3

4

The issue of water is not just the water itself. It’s what the water enables us to do. It’s about an integrated opportunity for us to think about water and health, water and policy, water and economics, water and engineering. It’s about something that brings the entire region together.”

- Michael V. Martin, Ph.D.,

5

President, Florida Gulf Coast University

IMPACTING OUR COMMUNITIES Protecting the future of our water resources is a shared and interconnected responsibility.

Service learning and civic engagement are already key parts of the FGCU experience for our students and for our academic staff. The Water School at FGCU will continue this important university tradition. The school will also build on two decades of proven academic excellence in water-related research and initiatives, and in business, health, engineering and outreach expertise.

Another key facet of The Water School at FGCU will be partnership and cooperation — not only across disciplines inside the university, but well beyond our borders. We’re fortunate to count on key partnerships and know that they will grow.

Regional partnerships include: ► Conservancy of Southwest Florida I think we really need to make people aware that water is important and why it matters.

There’s no question that as the climate is changing, it is going to affect everybody’s life.”

- Leslie Fogg, Naples resident, FGCU donor

► Naples Botanical Garden ► Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve ► Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Marine Lab ► Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve ► South Florida Water Management District ► Florida Department of Environmental Protection ► Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

$15.9M

The amount of competitive, extramural funding secured by our award-winning faculty through the prestigious National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management District and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative — created following the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 — and others.

241

Number of refereed presentations made by faculty at regional, national and international conferences.

118

15 NUMBER OF PEER-REVIEW EDITORIAL BOARDS OUR STAFF SERVES.

14 NUMBER OF LOCAL ADVISORY BOARDS AND COUNCILS THAT WE SERVE.

148

NUMBER OF PUBLIC AUDIENCES REACHED THROUGH INVITED PRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING 75 IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES.

Number of scientific publications produced by faculty and published in peer-review journals over the last four years.

1

RESEARCH REEF

People need a better understanding of the water issues that we face and they need a place where they can go for information with the confidence that it is science-based and factual.”

- Malcolm S. Wade, Jr. ,

Senior Vice President, U.S. Sugar

Drawing on expertise from all disciplines across the University will focus our resources on regional water needs and provide students with hands-on, high-quality educational and training experiences. They will graduate with solid foundations that will lead to high-skill, high-pay STEM careers — careers that generate solutions for our most vexing ecological challenges.”

- Bob Gregerson, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences

FOCUS ON

CLIMATE CHANGE THE WORLD’S CLIMATE IS CHANGING AND THE IMPACTS ON FLORIDA WILL BE ACUTE. Sea level rise alone poses one of the greatest threats to low-lying Florida, where it could harm private property and infrastructure and important wildlife habitat such as beaches, mangrove forests and marshes.

Changing weather patterns could decrease water quality and availability in lakes, rivers and estuaries, thus affecting aquatic wildlife populations.

Ocean acidification, caused by increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, will not only kill coral reefs, but can also prevent shelled mollusks such as oysters, clams, conchs and whelks, from building shells.

Such changes, of course, could have a major negative impact on human health as well as the area’s economy, including tourism and real estate.

FGCU faculty are already conducting climate change research: looking at the effects of changes in temperature and salinity on the physiology of animals as well as monitoring the effects of Hurricane Irma on mangrove forests, which protect communities from wind and storm surge.

There’s a window of opportunity now where we need to be making the kinds of investments that will allow us to adapt to the changes we will be facing in the future if we’re going to continue to have the quality of life and the kind of life we have right now.”

- Greg Tolley, Ph.D. Professor of Marine Science Chair of the Department of Marine and Ecological Sciences

As part of a BP settlement grant, along with the University of Florida, University of Miami and the U.S. Geological Survey, Mike Savarese and Felix Jose, professors of Marine Science, are developing models to show decision makers in Collier County what the coastline will look like at various times in the future as sea level rises.

Obviously, climate change is the big environmental story of the 21st century, and The Water School is in the right place at the right time to meet it head-on.

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY

THE WATER SCHOOL fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

FOCUS ON

NATURAL RESOURCES WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SOUTHWEST FLORIDA’S NATURAL RESOURCES, YOU CAN’T NOT TALK ABOUT WATER. WATER IS OUR ENVIRONMENT. But Southwest Florida’s natural resources aren’t just water.

They’re what water produces and what those products do for us.

Take mangroves away, for example, and we lose storm protection for homes, rookery areas for wading birds, nursery habitat for economically important fish species.

“It’s a beautiful area, but with growth and development, we are putting pressure on the environment,” says Mike Parsons, Ph.D., professor of Marine Science and director of the Vester Field Station.

“So, we need to study it, and we need to do our best to maintain it and manage it. And who better to work on it than local experts where it’s right in their backyard?”

So, it’s only natural that the new school will include studies of Southwest Florida’s water-based natural resources.

Because of the complexity and interconnected nature of Southwest Florida’s natural resources, the local experts in The Water School will be from many disciplines, including environmental studies, marine sciences, economics, chemistry, paleoclimatology and engineering.

A drop of rain falls in central Florida and makes its way down to the coast and out into the estuaries and then to the Gulf.

What we’re talking about is a comprehensive approach to water.

It’s not just we’re really focused on the Gulf of Mexico, or we’re really focused on Lake O, or we’re really focused on the Everglades. It’s a comprehensive approach.”

- Bob Gregerson, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY

THE WATER SCHOOL fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

FOCUS ON

ECOSYSTEM HEALTH NATURAL RESOURCES ARE THOSE PARTS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT THAT PROVIDE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES THAT BENEFIT PEOPLE. Healthy ecosystems are productive, resilient to stress and well organized to maintain their function. Researchers call this “ecosystem integrity.”

In a system with integrity, the right amount of relatively nutrientfree fresh water flows down the Caloosahatchee River from the watershed, results in clear water and healthy seagrass beds, which provide food and habitat for juvenile fish that grow up to be part of the area’s recreational and commercial fisheries.

Without integrity, too much fresh water and too many nutrients kill seagrasses in the lower part of the river and cause massive toxic algae blooms, killing fish and creating health hazards for humans.

So, although some of The Water School’s research will be directed toward natural resources, some will be directed toward various causes that upset the balance – climate change, freshwater management and habitat loss.

There’s passion about water in this area.

People move here for the fishing, beaches, birding, boating, all those kinds of things.

There’s also passion when we get it wrong.

Citizens are complaining about dead fish on the beaches, cyanobacteria blooms in the Caloosahatchee River, flooding.

We’re passionate, too.”

- Greg Tolley, Ph.D. Professor of Marine Science Chair of the Department of Marine and Ecological Sciences

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY

THE WATER SCHOOL fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

FOCUS ON

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING SOUTHWEST FLORIDA’S AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT CONTAINS PLENTY OF FASCINATING AND RECREATIONALLY AND ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CRITTERS. But there’s also some very unpleasant and unhealthy stuff in our waters, including toxic algae, that can kill marine life and make people very sick.

Understanding how our waters – and water problems – affect human health and well-being will be a key focus of the The Water School at FGCU. “We started doing some red tide research years ago,” says Greg Tolley, Ph.D., professor of Marine Sciences and chair of the Department of Marine and Ecological Sciences. “The human – health aspect of that has been widely reported. Ciguatera is an emerging field, and Mike Parsons [professor of Marine Science and director of the Vester Field Station] is doing a bang-up job looking at this. It’s an organism that’s related to red tide. It creates toxins, much like the red tide organism.” Those toxins accumulate in a number of popular fish people eat.

Human health and ecological systems health are interconnected — if our environment isn’t healthy, people get sick.

– Darren Rumbold, Ph.D. Professor of Marine Science

Parsons recently received a $5.9-million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a new model that can predict where ciguatera toxins might occur in commercial fisheries to better protect people from ciguatera poisoning’s nasty impacts – vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, numbness, vertigo and, in severe cases, death.

“The idea is to put together predictive models that will keep people from getting sick,” says Parsons. “So, if you know that the environmental conditions are proper or appropriate for triggering a ciguatoxin bloom, you can steer fishers away from that or tell local fishmongers not to buy fish from that area.”

Mercury poisoning is such an important health issue that the Florida Department of Health publishes guidelines for fish consumption. “In Southwest Florida, mercury is huge,” Tolley says.

Darren Rumbold, professor of Marine Science, has done considerable work on mercury in fish, including sharks. But he’s also looking at mercury in pythons in the Everglades.

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY

THE WATER SCHOOL fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

FOCUS ON

RESTORATION & REMEDIATION SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IS A WATER-LOVER’S PARADISE — RIVERS, LAKES, ESTUARIES, THE GULF OF MEXICO, BOATING, FISHING, SCUBA DIVING, SEAFOOD. Wetlands loss and restoration have long been topics in Florida — ongoing efforts to fix the Everglades is the biggest wetlands restoration project in history – and Bill Mitsch, Ph.D., eminent scholar and director of FGCU’s Everglades Wetland Research Park, is actively involved in wetlands restoration using a multi-disciplinary approach called ecological engineering. When ecological engineering originated in the early 1960s, the idea of engineers working with ecologists was considered a little off-thewall.

“Because when do ecologists and engineers ever talk to each other?”

Mitsch says. “But it’s a successful field because the engineering world just wasn’t ready for fixing things like the pollution in the Caloosahatchee or the problems we’re having in the Everglades. Engineers definitely solve problems; that’s what they do, but we needed a field that was solving problems in an ecological fashion, not with the usual technology.”

Poor water quality has virtually wiped out aquatic grasses in the Caloosahatchee, and Win Everham, Ph.D., professor and program leader of Environmental Studies, is experimenting with ways of restoring grasses in the river. “If we can get grasses established and living long enough to fruit, that will invigorate the seed bank. If we get healthy vegetation in the river, releases from Lake Okeechobee won’t matter.”

Students and faculty in FGCU’s Department of Marine and Ecological Sciences are also involved in restoration work – restoring oyster habitats. Bob Wasno, manager of the Vester Marine Field Station and co-head coach of FGCU’s D-3 hockey club, has taught students to make oyster habitats from broken hockey sticks, which are then anchored to area docks. A single oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, and as many as 400 oysters can colonize a 9.17-cubic-foot (40-inches-by- 20-inchesby-20-inches) habitat, so a single habitat can filter 20,000 gallons of water a day.

Water is bigger than ever in the public eye — from Everglades restoration, to red tide, to hurricanes, to climate change. There are problems and we need solutions.

We can’t turn our backs on these important issues.

- Bob Gregerson, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY

THE WATER SCHOOL fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

SUPPORTING SOLUTIONS

The success of The Water School at FGCU will hinge on our ability to secure private funding from individuals, corporations, foundations and the State of Florida to expand the university’s infrastructure, establish scholarships and fellowships and realign new and current graduate and undergraduate programs within the school.

A NEW RESEARCH LABORATORY BUILDING The Integrated Watershed and Coastal Studies Building will be 116,000 square feet. This building will serve as a comprehensive center of STEM activity and will provide much-needed bench laboratory courses that will help solve Florida’s water problem.

NEED: $10M

SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS Strengthening and understanding Southwest Florida’s environment will involve many students working alongside scientists. FGCU seeks to attract and retain the best and brightest students, fellows and faculty.

Contributions will be used to create student research scholarships, assistantships, faculty stipends and host symposiums.

NEED: $5M

EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACULTY LED SCHOLARLY RESEARCH The presence of additional researchers on campus – new faculty, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows – will also increase and enhance opportunities for undergraduate research. Once implemented, this new program will help FGCU gain wider national recognition for its contributions to research on the connections among freshwater, watersheds and coastal ecosystems.

NEED: $5M Current degree programs for the school — each program falls within an area of strategic emphasis designated by the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida: ► B.A.

Environmental Studies

► B.S. ► B.S.

Marine Science Environmental Geology

► M.A.

Environmental Studies

► M.S.

Environmental Science

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY

THE WATER SCHOOL fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

Highlighted Research Areas in Environmental Geology CLIMATE SCIENCE EDUCATION AND AWARENESS The Water School strives to connect communities to nature, through translating science and science communication, while raising awareness about climate change-related environmental issues. This program aims to combine educational concepts with a knowledge of natural sciences to develop leaders in the Environmental Education (EE) field. Students will gain an understanding of the roles communication and education have in solving environmental problems, enriched with opportunities to learn and create in coastal EE and ecology through hands-on place-based field experiences along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Graduates go on to become advanced practitioners in (EE) who will take on leadership roles through positions such as EE specialists and directors in a variety of settings including, outdoor and nature centers, natural resource agencies, conservation efforts, parks and recreation, and P-16 school settings. Lastly, our climate science educators support programs providing the professional training decision-makers need to manage local and regional climate- and environment-related problems. Contact: Dr. Molly Nation.

COASTAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND PREPARATION The Water School is equipped to help communities assess and improve their coastal climate resilience to better contend with the consequences of climate change, specifically sea-level rise (SLR), increased storminess, and inundation. Coastal vulnerability to SLR and storm surge, and any subsequent adaptation planning and implementation, requires: an understanding of the Holocene development of coastal geomorphology; an empirical dataset revealing recent historical changes of the coast; an accurate, high resolution representation of current shallow water bathymetry and topography of the beach face and dune field; the appropriate computer modeling tools for predicting change in coastal geomorphology as a response to climate change; and an engineering plan that incorporates green and gray solutions to improve resilience. Our faculty and affiliates have the background and experience to assist local and more distant communities with these problems. Our curriculum and mentorship are designed to train students to become the next generation of coastal resilience professionals. Contact: Dr. Michael Savarese.

Highlighted Research Areas in Environmental Geology CONSERVATION PALEOBIOLOGY Conservation paleobiology is a relatively young discipline that employs concepts and methods from the sciences of paleontology, sedimentology, and stratigraphy to assist.

For example, environmental management and restoration practices require an understanding of what the pre-anthropogenic conditions were like. The paleontology and sedimentology of pre-Anthropocene record can be used to establish targets for restoration.

Distinguishing native and exotic species often requires describing the biota of region prior to human occupation, something potentially discernable from the near-fossil record. Lastly, global problems, such as the impacts of climate change on life or the relationship between habitat loss and biodiversity (i.e, understanding mass extinction dynamics), can be assisted by looking at former pre-human historical examples through the lens of paleontology.

Water School faculty comprise a collaborative network of geologists, ecologists, and environmental scientists working on such problems locally, and collaborates with governmental agencies and NGOs. Many of our graduates are employed with these same organizations. Contact: Dr. Michael Savarese.

HOLOCENE & ANTHROPOCENE COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE As uniformitarianists, geologists are fond of saying the “present is the key to the past”. The converse – the past is the key to the future – is also true. To best predict future coastal geomorphology and the coastal environmental estuarine-scape, an understanding of late Holocene development of a coastal region is exceedingly helpful.

Coastal geomorphology develops as a consequence of rate of sea-level change, rate of sedimentation, the climatic history of disturbance (i.e.., storminess), and, in the Anthropocene, the influence of societal impact. The relationships among SLR rate, sedimentation, and storminess in the past can be uniformly applied to predict future coastal geomorphologic change. At The Water School, our faculty and students are applying concepts and methods from sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleoecology, geochemistry, and geochronology to infer these critical relationships. Contact: Dr. Michael Savarese.

Highlighted Research Areas in Environmental Geology IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE & SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT ON HYDROLOGY Water is essential for humans and ecosystems, and we face many water-related challenges as our climate changes and humans alter the land. These challenges threaten the freshwater resources not only for humans but also wildlife.

Climate change influences fresh surface water and groundwater in several ways, including increased precipitation, flooding, evaporative demand, and groundwater recharge from rising temperatures, as well as saltwater inundation from storm surges and sea-level rise.

Humans have impacted the natural cycling of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, as well as introduced human-made toxins to the environment. Coupled with the anthropogenic effects on water resources such as increased water demand for domestic, industrial, and agricultural needs, as well as increasing runoff and pollution, a multitude of serious problems exist for geoscientists to investigate.

Faculty and students at The Water School are addressing these problems with hydrological, hydrogeological, geophysical, geochemical methods to better understand the atmosphere-water-land nexus. Contact: Dr. Rachel Rotz.

PALEOTEMPESTOLOGY: HOLOCENE & ANTHROPOCENE HISTORY OF STORMINESS Predicting future climatic patterns in tropical storm generation and impacts can be informed by reconstructing the late Holocene history of storminess.

Paleotempestology is a conceptual and methodological framework that can be employed to infer that preAnthropocene storm history. The Water School is detecting sedimentologic and geochemical proxies for storm deposition in the stratigraphic record to reconstruct the extent, frequency, and intensity of hurricanes over the last few thousand years. When our regional records from Southwest Florida are integrated with similar records across the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean, Bahamas, and the northern Gulf of Mexico, long-term climatological patterns emerge allowing for better future forecasting. Contact: Dr. Joanne Muller.

Highlighted Research Areas in Environmental Geology SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE What does it mean to say climate change is a market failure? Carbon emissions cause external costs Externalities are one example of how free markets fail to secure the social good. When markets fail there is a prima facie case to intervene in some way to correct them. Climate change is an externality with a difference: 1) global, 2) long-term and persistent, 3) highly uncertain, and 4) interaction with other market failures.

To make climate change and environmental and resource issues key to the policy debate, it is vital to demonstrate the contribution that the environment makes to human well-being, and the serious economic and health effects of pollution. How these costs and benefits are distributed between current and future generations is a key consideration. Climate change is the most formidable environmental challenge facing the world today and the lessons and tools of environmental economics are highly relevant for thinking about, and providing solutions to, this global economic phenomenon. At the Water School we will equip undergraduate and graduate students to use economic concepts and quantitative methods to the analysis, appraisal and valuation of a wide range of environmental problems and policies. This will be done by developing some of the fundamental economic tools for environmental policy analysis and management. Contact: Dr. Johane Dikgang.

Questions? https://www.fgcu.edu/thewaterschool/ Contact: Mike Savarese at savarese@fgcu.edu

https://www.fgcu.edu/thewater school/

Environmental Studies M.A.

Conservancy of Southwest Florida

For more information: MA Environmental Studies Program Coordinator klefevre@fgcu.edu Florida Gulf Coast University The Water School 10501 FGCU Blvd. South Fort Myers, Florida 33965 Our environmental expertise:

msavares@fgcu.edu

“This program has given me the opportunity to do groundbreaking research together with an incredible team of students and

faculty who share my passion for environmental conservation and education.”

FGCU Campus Library

~ Anne Smiley

https://www.fgcu.edu/thewatersch ool/departments/ees/envirostuma/

Program of Study

The Environmental Studies MA is an interdisciplinary degree that cuts across the natural and social sciences.

We prepare students to apply scientific information

in policy analysis and Conservancy of Southwest Florida

The Environmental Studies MA supports your career path in an emerging and rapidly growing field that has needs from the State of Florida to internationally. The program is an effective terminal degree for entry into this field at a high career level. It provides advanced training to enhance skills and boost careers of current professionals. It can also prepare you to pursue studies at the doctoral level.

Please visit us for more information at https://www.fgcu.edu/thewaterschool/departm ents/ees/envirostuma/

Complete the following: EVR 6322 Con App Sustainability (3) EVR 6825 Environ Program Evaluation (3) EVS 6941 Environmental Practicum I (3) EVS 6942 Environmental Practicum II (3) Select one of the following courses: OCB 6635 Estuarine Ecology (3) PCB 6064C Advanced Ecology (3) Select two of the following courses: EVR 5925 Environmental Education (3) EVR 6237 Natural Resource Management (3) EVS 6937 Environmental Policy (3) URP 5316 Land-Use Planning (3)

decision-making.

About the program The Master of Arts in Environmental Studies prepares you for a career and leadership position in a variety of sectors within the environmental field, including: local, state, and federal agencies, consulting firms, nongovernmental organizations dedicated to conservation, and non-formal environmental educational facilities and programs.

Core Courses

The program is part of FGCU’s Water School: www.fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

RBNERR

Select one of the following courses: EVR 5068C Microbial Ecology (3) EVR 5145 Ecotoxicology (3) GLY 5661C Conservation Paleobiology (3) OCB 6050 Biological Oceanography (3) OCG 6053 Coastal & Watershed Geol (3) PCB 5307C Limnology (3) Select one of the following courses: EVR 6045C Data Analysis Enviro Science (3) GIS 5306C Advanced GIS: Spatial Analysis (3) PAD 5933 Proposal Writing/Grant Admin (3) STA 5355 Appl Mathematical Statistics (3) Select three of the following courses: EVR 5414 Interpreting the Environment (3) EVR 5925 Environmental Education (3) EVR 6216 Sci Basis for Watr Qual Policy (3) EVR 6877 Sustainability Human Systems (3) PAD 5142 Management of Non-profit Org (3) PAD 5356 Environmental Policy & Ethics (3) PAD 5620 Environmental Law (3) URP 5312 Growth Mgmt & Comp Plan (3)

Total Credit Hours: 36

Environmental Science M.S.

For more information: “The program provided me opportunity to work and excel in lab and field research and engage with the scientific community. The skill set I gained and the mentoring

I received contributed immensely

MS Environmental Science Program Coordinator Dr. David Fugate dfugate@fgcu.edu Florida Gulf Coast University The Water School 10501 FGCU Blvd. South Fort Myers, Florida 33965

to pursuing my doctorate in marine biology." ~ Julie M Neurohr https://www.fgcu.edu/thewaterschool/dep artments/mes/enviroscims/

Program of Study

“This program has given

Core Courses

me the opportunity to

Complete the following: EVR 6022 Environ Rsch Methodology (3) EVS 6920 Graduate Seminar (1) EVS 6970 Master’s Thesis (6-8)

do groundbreaking research together with an incredible team of students and faculty who share my passion of

About the program The Master of Science in Environmental Science prepares you for a career as an environmental professional or for continuing your graduate studies in a PhD program.

Whether you are currently employed as an environmental professional, a recent graduate, or just interested in a career change, this program is designed for you.

environmental conservation and education.“ ~ Anne Smiley

FGCU upholds a strong commitment to the environment and promotes sustainability. The M.S. Environmental Science degree offers an integrated study of ecosystems, environmental science, and ecological restoration. We offer small class size and opportunities for research and professional development. We also encourage you to share your research with professionals in the field by participating in regional and national conferences.

The program is part of FGCU’s Water School:

www.fgcu.edu/thewaterschool

RBNERR

Select one of the following: EVR 6322 Concepts Apps Sustainability (3) EVR 6937 Environmental Policy (3) PAD 5620 Environmental Law (3) Select one of the following: OCB 6635 Estuarine Ecology (3) PCB 6064C Advanced Ecology (3)

Electives EVR 5068C Microbial Ecology (3) EVR 5145 Ecotoxicology (3) EVR 5414 Interpreting the Environment (3) EVR 5925 Environmental Education (3) EVR 6045 Data Analysis Enviro Science (3) EVR 6322 Concepts Apps Sustainability (3) EVR 6907 Independent Study (1-3) EVR 6936 Special Topics Enviro Sci (3) EVS 5815 Ecological Risk Assessment (3) EVR 6937 Environmental Policy (3) EVS 6941 Environmental Practicum (3) GIS 6308 Advanced GIS Rsch Project (3) GLY 5266 Advanced Biogeochemistry (3) GLY 5575C Sediment Dynamics (3) GLY 5661C Conservation Paleobiology (3) GLY 6566 Carbonate Sed Petrol & Stratig (3) OCB 6050 Biological Oceanography OCC 5115C Advanced Marine Chemistry (3) OCG 6053 Coastal & Watershed Geology (3) PAD 5620 Environmental Law (3) PCB 5307C Limnology (3)

Total Credit Hours: 36

Faculty Biographies in the FGCU Environmental Geology Program Dr. Michael Savarese, Professor of Coastal Climate Resilience & Preparation, The Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University 239-590-7165 / msavares@fgcu.edu Dr. Michael Savarese is a Professor of Coastal Climate Resilience & Preparation within the Department of Marine and Earth Sciences within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School.

He has degrees in geoscience with background in coastal geology and paleobiology and has been a faculty member at FGCU since the University's opening in the fall of 1997. Mike’s current teaching and research interests concern the history of environmental change in coastal settings, particularly in response to human development, climate change, and sea-level rise. An understanding of the history of coastal evolution during times of comparable climatic change allows for sounder predictions of future outcomes. Mike has also successfully collaborated with computer modelers, using his field-based data to improve the predictive capabilities of flooding, geomorphologic, and ecological models.

Throughout his years at FGCU, Mike has served as a liaison between scientists and managers/decision- makers, serving in the past as the Chairperson of the Big Cypress and the Southwest Florida Restoration Coordination Teams. More recently, he has served as a community liaison to foster coastal resilience and climate-change preparedness efforts throughout Southwest Florida and beyond, working closely with natural, urban, and cultural resource managers and elected officials within local, state, and federal government.

Services provided: ● Interpretation of recent (last 5000 years) geological history of coastal settings. ● Impacts of sea-level rise on estuarine ecology and barrier island dynamics. ● Community lectures and discussions concerning climate change, the effects experienced locally, and the efforts underway for preparedness. ● Facilitation of collaboration among scientists and decision makers.

Dr. Molly Nation Dr. Molly Nation is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Education in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Studies within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School. She earned her BS in Biology and MA in Teaching from Georgia Southern University where she then 1

taught high school and middle school before obtaining her Ph.D. in Science Education from The University of South Florida. Her research and teaching interests include climate change education and issues of climate justice. Molly is currently serving as an AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Science, Technology & Policy Fellow with the U.S. Environme nta l Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development, the scientific arm of the agency. Its leading-edge research informs Agency decisions and supports the emerging needs of EPA stakeholders, including the Agency’s state, tribal, and community partners.

Services provided: ● Climate change education and climate justice. ● Curriculum development, building communities of practices, developing workshops and professional development opportunities. ● Training and professional development for decision makers seeking background in climate-change science and its impacts.

Dhurv Bhatt Dhruvkumar Bhatt is a GIS/Spatial Analyst I, working with The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University to assist Faculty Members and Students in their research which requires the use of GIS and Remote Sensing tools. During his more than 10 years of experience, Mr. Bhatt has worked with local government in the US and as a contractor at Indian Space Research Organizatio n where he used his mapping and spatial analytical skills to help scientists and local communities to solve problems on a local as well as at a regional level ranging from utility mapping, to glacier mass balance, crop prediction, the Chandrayan Moon Mapping Mission and others. His recent work at FGCU involves oyster reef mapping and restoration, red tide monitoring, turtle nesting project, propeller scar monitoring, and LiDAR digital elevation modeling of barrier islands. He has also created few data collection applications using the ESRI tools such as Survey123 and ArcGIS Collector for damage assessment, Sign Inventory, utilities mapping etc.

Services provided: ● Expertise in GIS and remote sensing services. ● Visual representation in identifying issues in climate change. ● Assessment of potential solutions in resilience and preparation. ● Providing interdisciplinary tool that can be applied across multiple fields to work to our advantage.

Dr. Christopher Daly

2

Dr. Daly is an Assistant Professor of Coastal Geomorphology at the FGCU Water School. He is a trained coastal engineer and researcher, whose work focuses on beach and nearshore dynamic s.

His work as an engineer started in the Caribbean, where he designed and built coastal protection structures in response potential climate change impacts in the region. Becoming increasingly interested in studying sediment transport processes, he has since carried out his doctoral and postgrad research in numerous countries, particularly in Europe. He frequently uses a combinatio n of fieldwork, numerical modeling, and remote sensing techniques in his work, and has studied process at both small and large spatio-temporal scales, from beach cusp formation to shoreline evolution in embayed beaches. He has taught courses within the realms of Earth Systems Science and Coastal Engineering and Management. His current research is focused on tropical coastlines and ecosystems.

Services provided: ● Evaluation of coastal evolution models and impact assessments. ● Coastal monitoring and research on tropical coastlines and ecosystems> ● Facilitating discussion between governing bodies and stakeholders involved in coastal management.

Dr. Joanne Muller Joanne is a Professor in the Department of Marine and Earth Sciences within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School and received her PhD in Paleoclimatology from James Cook Univers ity in Australia. Her current research interests center on past climate change in tropical and subtropical latitudes with a special focus on the Southwest Florida region. She has a strong background in both atmospheric science and sedimentology, stratigraphy, and geochemistry, allowing her to understand the influence of storms on the geology of coastal environments. Joanne’s research focuses on paleotempestology, a conceptual and methodological framework that detects the impacts of hurricanes prior to recorded human history from sedimentary clues preserved in sediment cores. These records, when integrated with similar records from across the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico, can reveal climatological patterns in storminess which can then inform future forecasting.

Services provided: • Inferring the pre-recorded human history of hurricane impacts locally and regionally to assess future vulnerability and resilience.

• Assist communities with storm preparedness.

• Community lectures, discussions, and workshops concerning climate change, tropical storms and hurricanes, and their potential impact on coastal environments and communities.

3

Dr. Rachel Rotz Dr. Rachel Rotz is an Assistant Professor of Geology in the Department of Marine and Earth Sciences within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School and received her PhD in Hydrogeology from University of Georgia. Her research focuses on the origin, age, quality, and quantity of groundwater in variable-density environments in arid and coastal environme nts.

Additional interests include the timing and flow of surface and subsurface water on Earth and Mars in addition to the climatic and anthropogenic impacts on coastal hydrogeology (i.e., barrier islands, wetlands, volcanic islands). Dr. Rotz works with undergraduate and graduate students on applied research projects to help students build self-efficacy and strengthen career intentions in the STEM fields, and engages public partners (e.g., state parks, residential communities) to build hydrologica l monitoring networks for environmental outreach and education.

Services provided: ● Remote sensing and GIS of terrestrial hydrology. ● Hydrogeological field methods. ● Groundwater numerical modeling. ● Geoscience outreach and education.

Dr. Win Everham Dr. Edwin “Win” Everham is a Professor of Ecology and Environmental Studies in Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School. Dr. Everham received his PhD in Environmental and Forest Biology from the State University of New York in systems ecology – studying the impacts of hurricanes in the Caribbean. He has been working at FGCU since before the University opened its doors in 1997. His research interests focus on how ecosystems unravel and respond to disturbance events. These events include natural disturbances like hurricanes and fires as well as anthropogenic impacts including climate change, the introduction of invasive species, and ecological restoration.

He is currently exploring patterns of anuran communities through time in Southwest Florida as indicators of environmental change, the ecology of an invasive snake on the island of St. Croix, monitoring restoration of the Picayune Strand State Forest, and tracking long-term growth in multiple forest plots including mangroves toward understanding local impacts of climate change.

While Dr. Everham’s work focuses primarily on Southwest Florida, this work encompasses a broad range of ecosystems and taxa. He recently co-edited a book on sustainability in higher education “Making the Sustainable University” and is working on another book project exploring the vectors of change in Lake Trafford following restoration dredging. He serves in a variety of service roles with non-profit organizations in the region. He regularly connects his teaching and research to local monitoring and restoration needs.

4

Services provided: ● Expertise on natural disturbances and impacts from climate change from exploring patterns through time and monitoring. ● Knowledge of indicators of environmental change.

Dr. Brian Bovard Dr. Brian Bovard is an Assistant Professor of Wetland Ecology in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Studies within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School. He received his Ph.D. in Plant Physiological Ecology from Duke University and acts as a community partner with the Naples Botanical Gardens working on projects related to the use of native species in green infrastructure designs and plant conservation. Brian’s teaching and research interests focus on ecological responses to climate change, the role of mangrove ecosystems in the global carbon cycle, and the use of native plant species in coastal restoration and plant conservation projects. He is also working on developing approaches that use remotely sensed information to assess mangrove ecosystem functions and services over larger spatial scales.

Services provided: • Community presentations and discussions on vegetation responses to climate change, • Appropriate application of native plant species in green infrastructure projects such as xeric and wetland rooftop gardens.

• Expertise on fire, flooding and hurricane impacts on Florida ecosystems.

• Expertise on the ecohydrology of Florida’s forested wetlands.

Dr. Heather Skaza Acosta Dr. Heather Skaza Acosta is an Associate Professor of Environmental Education in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Studies and Assistant Program Director of Strategic Initiatives for Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School. She received her PhD in Science Education, with a focus on climate literacy, from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Skaza Acosta’s research and outreach focuses on models and modeling and field studies in environmental education. She supports the growth and enrichment of environmental education in our region as a leader of the Environmental Education Alliance of Southwest Florida.

Dr. Skaza Acosta is passionate that more voices are heard in the climate conversation. She uses her expertise in climate education and communication to bring underrepresented perspectives to our understanding of climate change in our region and to understand the resources our communities need to be resilient to its impacts.

5

Services provide: ● Expertise in climate education and education. ● Engaging underrepresented perspectives in understanding climate change and resources needed to be resilient.

Dr. Seneshaw Tsegaye Dr. Seneshaw Tsegaye is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). He received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of South Florida (USF) and specializes in water resources. Currently, Dr. Tsegaye serves as a Backe Chair for sustainable water and renewable energy research. Prior to Joining FGCU, Dr. Tsegaye served as the Director of Climate Mitigatio n and Adaptation Program at the USF. With a passion for building sustainable communities, Dr. Tsegaye’s research focuses on Resilie nt and Smart Cities Strategies. Specifically, integrated urban water management, productive water use (recuse/recycling, energy/nutrient recovery from wastewater), appropriate technologies for sustainable water management, climate- land-energy-water (integrated analysis); GIS for sustainable development; water sensitive urban design, dynamic systems modeling for sustainability, water-energy-food nexus, agent based modeling for demand-side water management strategies, decentralized water supply and sanitation, climate change impacts on water resources, and transitioning from gray to green infrastructure systems.

Services provided: ● Expertise in resilient and smart city strategies and water management. ● Knowledge in GIS utilization for sustainable development and climate change impacts.

Dr. Jayanta Gupta Dr. Jayanta Gupta is an Associate Professor in FGCU’s Marieb College of Health & Human Services and directs the College’s Bachelor of Science Program in Public Health. He received his medical degree from the University of Calcutta, India, and PhD degree from the University of Cincinnati. His research focuses on elucidating the genetic and environmental risk factors behind complex diseases, which include asthma, allergies, and chronic kidney disease.

Services provided: ● Educate the public on the health effects of environmental hazards including those brought about by the changing climate.

6

● Perform collaborative research on environmental risk factors that affect human health.

Gene McAvoy Gene McAvoy is an extension agent emeritus with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF IFAS) and served as the Regional Specialized Vegetable Agent (Rank Agent IV) in SW Florida and County Extension Director in Hendry County from 1997 -2019. He went on to serve as the Associate Director for Stakeholder relations at the UF IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee from 2019 – 2022.

He has over 50 years’ experience in vegetable production as well as agribusiness and organizational development. Gene starting his career off by picking tomatoes and strawberries while in high school to earn money for college on a vegetable farm in NJ – the Garden State.

Before starting work at the University of Florida Hendry County Extension Office in LaBelle in 1997, Gene spent 14 years in West Africa, South Africa, and the Caribbean working on various US Agency for International Development agriculture projects. He served as a Marketing and Farmer Organizational Specialist in Swaziland, a Small Farmer Marketing Project Director in Jamaica, Greenhouse Manager for Windswept Farms in New Jersey, an Instructor with the Rutgers University Department of Horticulture and Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger.

He has expertise in a number of areas including pest and disease management, food safety, WPS compliance, worker safety training, agricultural best management practices and other areas of concern to the industry. McAvoy has been a Certified Crop Advisor since 1997 and is currently President of Have Gun Will Travel Agricultural Consulting.

Services provided: ● Expert in agronomic and horticultural production and marketing. ● Specialist in temperate and tropical environments with extensive knowledge of South Florida agriculture. ● Extensive knowledge of the history and progression of the drainage and water manage me nt in South Florida. ● Actively involved in educating the general public, policy makers, and visitors about the importance of the Florida agriculture to the county and state economy. ● Familiarity with and interacts closely with Southwest Florida County Ag Industry, the Hendry County Cattleman’s Association, the Gulf Citrus Association, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Florida Farm Bureau, USDA NRCS and USDA ARS, and many other groups.

Dr. Shelton Weeks 7

Dr. Weeks is the Lucas Professor of Real Estate in the Lutgert College of Business at FGCU. He received his PhD, MS, and BS degrees in finance from the University of Alabama. His research examines a wide range of topics in real estate with an emphasis on valuation and pedagogical issues.

Services provided: ● Estimation of property value impacts arising from issues relating to climate change. ● Evaluation of the effectiveness of financial incentives to shape property owner behavior. ● Evaluation of coastal evolution models and impact assessments. ● Coastal monitoring and research on tropical coastlines and ecosystems. ● Facilitating discussion between governing bodies and stakeholders involved in coastal management.

Dr. Felix Jose, Professor of Marine Science, The Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University, 239-590-1879 / fjose@fgcu.edu Felix Jose, a Physical Oceanographer with specialty in coastal and estuary circulation modeling and sediment transport, joined the Department of Marine Science at FGCU in Fall 2011. Waves and storm surge from hurricanes, as well as the geomorphologic evolution of low-lying sedimentstarved barrier islands in southwest Florida, are his current teaching and research interests. Jose recently worked on a multi- institutional NOAA study to quantify the erosion and overwash potential of barrier islands along the Collier County coast, as well as numerically evaluating their response to increased storminess and sea level rise under various RCP scenarios. The outcomes of the study would aid county officials in making educated decisions about future beach/foredune restoration projects.

Felix has mentored graduate and undergraduate students in their research endeavors througho ut his career, particularly in the fields of beach and barrier island morphodynamics and evaluating the environmental impact of borrowing sand from offshore transgressive sand shoals for barrier island reconstruction. He has developed a baroclinic circulation model for San Carlos Bay and validated using the RECON observation network. He also provided guidance to graduate students in model development and its calibration. He was given a Fulbright Specialist fellowship to visit India as a coastal modeler in the summer of 2022.

Services provided: • Developing hydrodynamic and sediment transport models for solving complex coastal processes, viz., ADCIRC, XBEACH, MIKE 21/3.

• Analyzing long-term stability of barrier islands using coastal LIDAR data.

• Training students and stakeholders in model applications for coastal solutions.

8

•

Engaging faculty and students from developing countries on addressing coastal problems in their regions.

Dr. Johane Dikgang Johane Dikgang is an Associate Professor of Environmental Economics at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) with primary appointment at the Department of Economics & Finance, and secondary appointment at the Water School. He is a Research Associate at Environmenta l Economics Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Cape Town and Visiting Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Commerce degree in Environmental Economics from Nelson Mandela University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cape Town.

Dr Dikgang’s research has focused on diverse areas of Environmental Economics and Policy, including economics of water management, environmenta l valuation, conservation economics, agricultural and food polices, climate economies, energy policies, and efficiency and productivity analysis, with secondary interests in applied microeconomics in general. His research appears in World Development, Ecological Economics, Food Policy, Environment and Developme nt Economics, Applied Economics, Journal of Applied Economics, Journal of Commodity Markets, and Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, other scholarly and popular periodicals, book chapters and reports.

Services provided: ● Tackle key water policy and management issues. ● Valuation of environmental goods and services. ● Evaluation of environmental policies. ● Estimation of costs and benefits of sustaining natural ecosystems. ● Quantification of the effects of climate change throughout the economy, includ ing everything from assessing impacts on agricultural productivity, energy use and natural disasters. ● Assess impacts of government policy proposals and/or implementation procedures on farmers, agribusiness and consumers. ● Explore perspectives on individuals and industrial demand for energy, energy supply and public policies affecting energy markets.

Dr. Jean Max Charles Dr. Charles is an Assistant Professor of Climate Change in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Studies within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School. He earned his Ph.D. in Global Sociocultural Studies with a particular focus on international development, disaster

9

studies, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from Florida International University. His scholarship reflects his concern with the fraught issues of disaster aid, development, and resilie nce.

This is the focus of his work in a manuscript titled The Catastrophe of Disaster Aid: PostEarthquake Haiti and New Vulnerabilities. His current research draws attention to the social and economic impacts of climate change, including the increasing frequency and magnitude of natural disasters, economic disruption, and migration.

Services provided: • Monitoring and evaluating NGO projects.

• Design and implementation of disaster management plans.

• Expertise in international development.

• Expertise in building disaster-resilient communities.

Dr. Mary I. Abercrombie, Environmental Geology Program Coordinator, Marine and Earth Sciences Department, The Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University 239-590-7187 / mabercrombie@fgcu.edu Dr. Mary Abercrombie is an Instructor II in the Marine and Earth Sciences Department within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School where she also serves as the Program Coordinator for the B.S. Environmental Geology degree. She earned her M.S. in Geology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, focusing on the detection of mercury in Lake Chapala, Mexico, and its resulting bioaccumulation in women living in the indigenous communities surrounding the lake.

She then went on to earn her Ph.D. in Marine Chemistry at the University of South Florida, working on the detection of petroleum in the marine environment following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. She has been a faculty member at FGCU since 2015 where she currently teaches courses in environmental chemistry as well as in physical and environmental geology. She has integrated both sustainability and on-campus fieldwork into many of her courses at FGCU. Her current research interests include the anthropogenic alteration of natural geo cycles as well as the detection of waterborne contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and the resulting impacts on both humans and ecosystems. She is also actively engaged in efforts to increase the diversity, equity, and inclusion of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ students in the geosciences.

Services provided: • Sampling and analysis of surface water to analyze and interpret potential sources and fate of nutrients and beneficial metals (e.g., nitrogen, phosphate, calcium, iron).

• Interpretation of human impact on natural cycling of mercury in freshwater environme nts and of petroleum in the marine environment.

• Community discussions concerning the importance of the integration of sustainability into our everyday lives.

10

Dr. David Fugate, Professor of Physical Oceanography, The Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University 239-590-7136 / dfugate@fgcu.edu David Fugate joined the Marine Science faculty at Florida Gulf Coast University in the Spring of 2006. His field of interest in sediment transport and hydrodynamics in estuaries spans physical, morphological, and ecological aspects of the environment. After completing his doctoral degree at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in 2002, studying particle aggregation dynamics, he continued as a postdoctoral researcher estimating residence time in a shallow coastal lagoon using a 2D QUODDY type numerical model coupled with a particle tracking model. Subsequently, he was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. There he examined near bottom stresses in the Navesink R., NJ, settling velocities of storm water overflow in Flushing Bay, NY, and the transport of contaminated sediment in the Passaic R., NJ. His work also involved the development of a numerical bedload model of juvenile bivalves that incorporated data from laboratory and field experiments. His research at FGCU includes analyzing the dynamics of the turbidity maximum in the Calooshatchee River, FL, and the relative importance of freshwater discharge and tidal energy to vertical mixing and hypoxia in the river, wave impacts on resuspension over seagrass beds, and particle dynamics in the Everglades agricultural region. Other research interests include the hydrodynamics and associated sediment transport during the inverse estuarine conditions that frequently occur in South Florida, and the effects of bivalves on water flow around oyster reefs and above clam beds. Dr. Fugate teaches classes in physical oceanography, sediment transport, general oceanography, and earth science.

Vanaja Kankarla, PhD, Assistant Professor – Soil Science, The Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University 239-590-1259 / vkankarla@fgcu.edu Dr. Vanaja Kankarla is a soil scientist in the Department of Marine and Earth Sciences at the Water School in Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). She has a terminal degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences from New Mexico State University and a postdoctoral award from Texas A & M University. She is currently teaching Environmental, Earth and Soil Science courses at FGCU. Basically, she is an Agronomist and works with food and forage crops, plant nutrients and soil fertility, crop-weed nitrogen and phosphorous competition, soil and irrigation water salinity, regenerative agriculture, developing decision support tools and other precision agriculture technologies. She plans to expand her research areas from land to marine ecosystems involving sediment soil, eutrophication, greenhouse gases and impacts of climate change.

Services provided: ● Organizing talks and lectures on understanding our soils, soil nutrient composition, and problem soils in Southwest Florida.

11

● Demonstrating best soil and nutrient management practices for growing food and horticultural crops. ● Organizing meetings and workshops to educate local communities about sustainab le agriculture practices. ● Community outreach activities to disseminate research findings on the impacts of climate change on Southwest Florida cropping systems.

12