9.5.2. The Audubon Society 
The National Audubon Society (NAS) has maintained a science center in Tavernier on Plantation 
Key since 1939. This was the first NAS field science station. NAS scientists at this facility 
have conducted ecological research in Florida Bay, the terrestrial Florida Keys, and the 
southern Everglades. Research areas and topics include wading bird ecology, migratory bird 
conservation, seagrass ecology, fish ecology, habitat conservation, forest ecology, marine 
geology, and the ecological effects of altered freshwater inflow in the Florida Bay-Everglades 
ecotone. These studies were conducted by Allen (roseate spoonbills and other research projects 
involving Florida Bay), Bancroft (white-crowned pigeon breeding and foraging ecology, overall 
Keys ecology), Bjork (roseate spoonbills nesting and feeding ecology, and effects of reduced 
water flows to Florida Bay and to the C-111 Basin), Hoffman (vegetational composition of 
Florida Bay key berms and the relationships with white-crowned Pigeons and hammock tree 
species), Lorenz (influece of freshwater inflow patterns and salinity fluctuations on fish 
assemblages in the Florida Bay - Everglades ecotone), Meeder (geological studies on Florida Bay 
sediments and bedrock), Morrison (seasonal and longer-term patterns in benthic macrophyte 
communities in Florida Bay along upper Keys, influece of freshwater inflow patterns and 
salinity fluctuations on benthic macrophyte and invertebrate assemblages in the Florida Bay 
-Everglades ecotone), Paul (reddish egrets in Florida Bay and other projects), Powell (great 
white herons studies, roseate spoonbill studies, sea grass studies, nutrient studies, coral 
studies, and others), Ross (habitat characterization study of Florida Keys, effects of Hurricane 
Andrew on upper Keys forest structure), Sprunt (wading bird studies in Florida Bay, research 
study of bald eagles, white-crowned pigeons in Florida Bay and the Bahamas), and others. 
10. OTHER EVENTS 
10.1. Mercury levels in Everglades 
Increasing Hg contamination in the Everglades has been noted in the literature (Rood et al., 
1993; Barkay et al., 1994; Guentzel et ai, 1994; Rood et al., 1994; and others). Newspapers 
and magazines have been actively reporting on this problem, attributing the Hg contamination to 
smoke stacks (Staff, Miami Herald, 1993; Zaneski, 1993; and others). Further efforts to 
understand the Hg problem continue. 
10.2. Lead in gasoline ban 
Use of alkyl lead in gasoline began after 1940 and ended in the early 1970s. 
Shen and Boyle (1987) used a sample of the coral Monastrea annularis collected 1 km from 
shore at 4 m depth at the Hens and Chickens Reef in 1978 and 1983 respectively to reconstruct 
historical industrial Pb fluxes to the ocean surface. Samples were also collected at other sites 
worldwide. This survey of stable Pb and Pb isotopes in corals from four major ocean basins 
confirms (by independent means) the previously-inferred anthropogenic dominance of Pb found 
throughout the surface ocean today, and over the past century. Shen and Boyle (1987) found 
that the Florida Keys maintained a surface water concentration of 38 pM Pb until about 1930, 
which was probably supported by shelf/resuspended Pb inputs. Levels grew gradually to a peak 
of 190 pM in 1977, followed by a decline to 142 pM in 1982. Relative to the Bermuda records, 
the Florida coral lacks a strong industrial revolution signal and exhibits a moderated post-World 
War II Pb increase and muted maximum. These patterns reflect dilution of US Pb sources and 
delayed response due to long-range horizontal transport. 
10.3. DDT and other pesticides 
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