Life on Land – In the World

Researchers in FIU’s Institute of Environment are leading the science behind one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects on the planet — the Florida Everglades. Designed to improve water quality and restore the hydrology and ecology of this iconic and imperiled ecosystem, restoration efforts stretch from Central Florida to Florida Bay, covering more than 18,000 square miles. 

For more than 40 years, our scientists have been conducting research on all aspects of the Everglades including ecosystem health, water quality, ecosystem function and services, biodiversity value, plant life, animal life and much more. Nearly 30 years ago, our scientists set the water quality standard by advising the restriction of phosphorous to 10 parts per billion for Everglades National Park — a standard incorporated into the federal Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and a standard that is still in place today. 

Currently, 102 FIU faculty, staff and students work in the Florida Everglades, guiding management, restoration and protection. The FIU Institute of Environment leads the NSF-supported Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research program, a network of 19 universities, 8 government agencies, two NGOs and one institute. In addition to solutions-focused research initiatives, the FCE-LTER has collected the most comprehensive and long-term data on the Everglades, providing a critical baseline for gauging effectiveness of current and future management strategies. 

And our scientists are always prepared and quick to engage when extreme events strike to further threaten the Everglades’ survival. This can include fast and unpredictable events like hurricanes, fires, cold snaps and droughts or more lingering threats such as saltwater intrusion. 

More than 8 million people rely on the Florida Everglades for their drinking water, and Florida’s thriving economy hinges on an abundant supply of freshwater. The Florida Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and has helped shape natural heritage, culture and economies. It is home to incredible biodiversity including many threatened and endangered species. At FIU, the Everglades is more than an ecosystem we care about. The Everglades is part of who we are.

Human impacts on the Amazonian Forest have long threatened this iconic and globally important ecosystem. Researchers from FIU’s Institute of Environment are leading efforts to assess the biodiversity of the Amazon including plants, insects, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. 

Our work in plant chemical defense has led to the most comprehensive chemical evaluation of any tree genus, which could help improve strategies for the discovery and development of novel medicines and pesticides and improve staple crops. 

Our herpetologists are researching new methods and strategies to help frogs and other amphibians survive on this changing planet. Their work has also led to the discovery of at least 45 new species of amphibians, along with 7 species of previously unknown reptiles, a diatom and a spider. 

Our bird and mammal conservation efforts combine in-the-field research and captive breeding programs to help secure futures for threatened and endangered Amazonian species. We are also using spatial modeling to help direct local conservation efforts to the most threatened areas.

Our biodiversity research goes beyond species counts. FIU scientists are studying trophic interactions among trees, fungi, earthworms, ants and spiders because they know there’s a strong association between the Amazon’s mightiest trees and its tiniest residents.

Since 1988, scientists from FIU’s Institute of Environment have studied the long-term effects of natural and human disturbances on tropical forests and streams in the Luquillo Experimental Forest — ranging from the peaks of the Luquillo Mountains to the coastal ecosystems of San Juan. This site is uniquely valuable as a forested mountainous landscape on a tropical island in the midst of a Caribbean biodiversity hotspot — a natural laboratory for understanding ecosystem change in the tropics. This NSF-supported Long-Term Ecological Research program focuses on the effects of disturbances, including hurricanes, landslides and drought, forest harvesting and long-term climate patterns within this landscape. 

The research conducted at this site has improved understanding of montane tropical forest ecosystems, and has reached the scientific community, policymakers and general public. It has also provided a foundation for complementary research efforts including the National Science Foundation’s Critical Zone Observatories and Urban Long Term Research Areas programs; the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water, Energy and Biogeochemical Budgets; and the Center for Tropical Forest Studies in its comparisons of tropical forests around the world.

From the Amazon Basin to East Africa, scientists from FIU’s Institute of Environment collaborate with global networks to understand freshwater systems including their social and ecological connections. They are leading collaborative research across the Amazon Basin to understand the dynamics of river flow and the human dependencies on river ecosystems. They are piloting low-cost remote sensors for sustainable water management in the Andes.

Our researchers also support efforts in Tanzania to inform water management practices and to further understanding of freshwater ecosystems and their connections to people. This includes kinship, reciprocity networks, sacred forests, traditional water management practices, and international cooperation – all knowledge that can be put to work for watershed management and conservation. 

In Ethiopia, FIU scientists are using hydrological modeling to identify new ways to safeguard the Nile River amid increasing pressure from climate change, deforestation and drought. These same scientists organized the 2020 International Conference on the Nile and Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, where scientists from six continents shared research and knowledge for improved management strategies. Since the 2020 conference, FIU has formed the Nile Talk Forums, a monthly online gathering of experts in Nile and other transboundary river issues that is open to the public.

FIU scientists are also studying the effects of energy production and mineral exploration on conservation and advocating for indigenous peoples’ stewardship. At the same time, they are advocating for greater protections for tropical rivers worldwide because of their roles in sustaining ecologically important forests and the people who live near them.

Peat soil is the building block of the Florida Everglades, and it is in trouble. Peat soil collapse can trigger a vicious cycle of more severe storm surge, saltwater intrusion and decreased water quality. This could also mean the release of large amounts of carbon. FIU scientists are investigating the impacts of peat collapse, strategies for mitigating these impacts and strategies for stopping further collapse. Their research shows a loss in land elevation due to peat collapse in the Everglades, an area already at-risk to rising sea levels. But they’ve also identified a potential solution to intervene — improved delivery of freshwater to the Everglades to combat increased salinity. The researchers are also collecting data to identify and detect areas vulnerable to future collapse and inform management strategies.

Our researchers are studying an urgent concern facing coastal communities across the globe — land subsidence and sea level rise. This is a naturally occurring, very slow movement of the ground that happens through the accumulation of sediment from mud or volcanoes, as well the vertical movement of the earth’s crust. Few studies have examined subsidence in relation to sea level rise, yet subsidence information is critical to making more accurate flooding predictions. With Miami being ground zero for sea level rise, FIU scientists are leading research to inform management and identify long-term solutions.

Temperatures are increasing in the Arctic at more than double that of the global average. Shrubs are getting bigger. Plant populations are changing. Animals are changing their diets. We know this because scientists from every Arctic country in Europe, Asia and North America have been working together for 30 years, carrying out coordinated experiments to examine vegetation change across the tundra biome as part of the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). FIU scientists serve as the lead for North America ITEX. These researchers know better than most what a warming planet looks like.

Traditionally, plants in Arctic’s tundra region are low-lying and grow very slowly because of their very short growing season. But as temperatures warm, the growing season is beginning earlier. Some plants are moving into areas they did not occupy before, and species composition is changing. These changes have not been swift and easily could’ve gone unrecognized. But ITEX is doing what it was designed to do — documenting and providing understanding on the impacts of climate change to this vast, treeless region with its frozen subsoil. This research is informing the scientific community and policymakers about realized changes happening in the Arctic and what the world should expect for the future of the Arctic.

FIU scientists are leading an international effort to save the critically endangered mountain bongo antelope of Kenya. The Mountain Bongo Repatriation Project represents a rare milestone in wildlife conservation, aiming to restore a critically endangered flagship species to self-sustaining levels in the wild from captive U.S. stock. We are on the verge of restoring a sustainable wild bongo population in the Mt. Kenya World Heritage Site with the recent establishment of The Meru Bongo & Rhino Conservation Trust in Kenya. This effort is helping to protect Mt. Kenya and with it, the high-mountain ecosystem that supplies 80 percent of Kenya’s people with clean, fresh water.

In collaboration with Meru County Government, Ntimaka and Kamulu Community Forest Associations, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF) and Florida International University's Tropical Conservation Institute, the trust is coordinating recovery of both the Mountain Bongo Antelope and Black Rhinoceros. 

These critically endangered flagship species have disappeared from Mt. Kenya's forests, but now have renewed hope in the wild thanks to aggressive protection, proven conservation science and conservation breeding and effective population management. The trust will oversee a new sanctuary that will receive bongo antelope from RSCF, currently being bred in semi-wild conditions in Florida.

FIU is leading Operation Pangolin, an international collaboration to save the world’s most trafficked and largely unknown wild mammal. 

Many solutions to environmental degradation focus on “hotspots” and have failed to consider the complex drivers of biodiversity declines. Many solutions have also failed to achieve the necessary regional and global scale to make impactful and sustainable conservation gains. No group of species on the planet so perfectly embodies these failures as pangolins.

These evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered mammals are in dire need of urgent conservation action. Yet, scientists and policymakers lack sophisticated understanding about the pangolin scale and meat trafficking supply chains, which move an estimated 250,000 pangolins a year out of African and Asian forests to consumers in China, Vietnam, and even western Europe and the United States. The collateral impacts of trafficking on socio-environmental health compound the already significant species conservation ramifications and put the global human community at risk.

Pangolin range states and conservation governing bodies including CITES and IUCN have declared that developing pangolin-specific monitoring methods linked to anti-trafficking efforts is the highest conservation priority for pangolins.

The knowledge and data gaps have prevented the design of robust monitoring and management programs for wild pangolin populations and interventions for combating wildlife crime. Operation Pangolin capitalizes on the latest advances in technology machine-learning, big data, and interdisciplinary team science to develop cost-effective solutions to the global pangolin crisis. This project is taking pangolin conservation from a veritable dark age for cryptic species conservation to having the knowledge to inform appropriate conservation interventions and evidence-informed international policy implementation, all while ensuring the human and technical capacity to manage wildlife populations and their habitats. 

We are focused on reducing the extinction-risk and laying the groundwork for population growth in pangolins and other critically endangered species of global concern. Under Operation Pangolin’s global umbrella, we are ensuring the synergistic benefits of collaboration, data generation, and information sharing give the world’s eight pangolin species the best chance of survival.

Scientists from FIU’s Institute of Environment are going to the far corners of the world and the highest reaches of the Andes Mountains to study and protect frogs in their natural environments and commercially managed areas. Our research teams are also searching for biodiversity, identifying new species of amphibians in previously unexplored parts of the Amazon. One researcher alone has accounted for the discovery of 45 new species of amphibians, along with 7 species of previously unknown reptiles, a diatom and a spider. These discoveries are a critical first step for conservation of species previously unknown to scientists and policymakers. 

Recently, these same scientists were also part of an international collaboration to expedite the establishment of nine new protected areas in Peru within the Amazonian lowlands and Andean foothills bordering Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. 

As an increasing number of frog species are threatened with extinction, this work is becoming ever-more critical in helping protect the frogs we know should populate certain areas as well as the ones we don't yet know exist. This research is helping to guide conservation strategies all across the tropics.

FIU researchers are working to restore populations of two species of slender-snouted crocodiles in Africa. Long thought to be one species, these crocodiles were considered one of the most endangered crocodiles on the entire continent. But while conducting DNA research as part of routine conservation work, the scientists discovered the critically endangered population was actually comprised of two distinct species — the West African slender-snouted crocodile and the newly identified Central African slender-snouted crocodile, the first new living crocodile species to be defined and named in nearly 85 years. 

Efforts are now focusing on captive breeding and reintroduction programs to help save these crocodiles from extinction. The scientists are researching national parks and forest reserves that could serve as reintroduction sites along the Ivory Coast. And in recent years, a breeding colony of 34 West African slender-snouted crocodile adults produced 42 hatchlings, a sign of hope for these critically endangered reptiles.

FIU’s Tropical Conservation Institute (TCI) is involved in an array of parrot conservation efforts in South America and the Caribbean to protect this threatened and highly trafficked taxa. The Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, under the direction of a top conservation biologist and FIU research scientist, has led a 30-year captive-breeding program for the Red-browed parrot — South America’s most endangered Amazon parrot — and maintains the only breeding group in North America. Starting with 11 birds 30 years ago, these scientists have helped produce a self-sustaining captive population and integrated recovery techniques and methods with Brazilian partners. The Red-brow is now recovering in the wild.

On Dominica, this same team is engaging local NGOs and Forestry Division personnel to reinstate the longstanding Wildlife Conservation Partnership that, for the past 26 years, supported protection of Dominica’s national bird — the Imperial Parrot. Recently, TCI was approached by an indigenous Kalinago graduate student from the University of the West Indies to advise and co-develop Imperial parrot population surveys.

On St. Vincent, TCI provided supplies and support following the devastating eruption of the Soufriere volcano. We are now working with the Vincentian government to monitor parrots, offer capacity building opportunities to their Forestry personnel and train students in wildlife monitoring methods.

Researchers from FIU’s International Center for Tropical Botany are investigating the impacts of climate change on rare and threatened species, how to conserve heavily exploited plant species, and the role of biotic interactions in population persistence and expansion. From South Florida to southern China, their work is conducted in tropical communities all across the world. They are also working on rare plant restoration of endangered orchids and serve as part of the IUCN SSC Orchid Specialist Group and the wild orchid trade subgroup. These researchers are also investigating violations of CITES protection for wild orchids in Asia and fighting to close policy gaps that only prioritize animals. Their research continues to inform conservation strategies and management of some of the world’s rarest plants.

Florida's subtropical forests were once dripping with tree snails that National Geographic referred to as "living jewels." Predation by invasive species, along with existing and historical pressures on tree snails, is continuing to accelerate the decline of tree snail populations and may lead to local extirpation. FIU scientists are working to preserve native snails' and restore their status as iconic South Florida fauna. They monitor the populations of both tree snails and their invasive predators to understand their interactions and conservation needs. 

In addition, we are collaborating with local stakeholders, from government agencies to private landowners, to develop measures that directly protect tree snails from predation by invasive species — specifically, several invasive species of snail-eating land planarians that have rapidly spread across South Florida and other tropical regions, causing both snail population decline and extinction events.

Researchers in FIU’s Institute of Environment are leading the science behind one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects on the planet — the Florida Everglades. Designed to improve water quality and restore the hydrology and ecology of this iconic and imperiled ecosystem, restoration efforts stretch from Central Florida to Florida Bay, covering more than 18,000 square miles. 

For more than 40 years, our scientists have been conducting research on all aspects of the Everglades including ecosystem health, water quality, ecosystem function and services, biodiversity value, plant life, animal life and much more. Nearly 30 years ago, our scientists set the water quality standard by advising the restriction of phosphorous to 10 parts per billion for Everglades National Park — a standard incorporated into the federal Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and a standard that is still in place today. 

Currently, 102 FIU faculty, staff and students work in the Florida Everglades, guiding management, restoration and protection. The FIU Institute of Environment leads the NSF-supported Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research program, a network of 19 universities, 8 government agencies, two NGOs and one institute. In addition to solutions-focused research initiatives, the FCE-LTER has collected the most comprehensive and long-term data on the Everglades, providing a critical baseline for gauging effectiveness of current and future management strategies. 

And our scientists are always prepared and quick to engage when extreme events strike to further threaten the Everglades’ survival. This can include fast and unpredictable events like hurricanes, fires, cold snaps and droughts or more lingering threats such as saltwater intrusion. 

More than 8 million people rely on the Florida Everglades for their drinking water, and Florida’s thriving economy hinges on an abundant supply of freshwater. The Florida Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and has helped shape natural heritage, culture and economies. It is home to incredible biodiversity including many threatened and endangered species.

FIU herpetologists helped gather the critical information needed to expedite the establishment of nine new protected areas in one of the most biologically diverse regions of Peru. As part of an international team focused on biological rapid inventory of amphibians and reptiles, their efforts helped quadruple the previous number of protected areas in Loreto, an expanse of Amazonian lowlands and Andean foothills bordering Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. More than just scientists, FIU researchers are working all across the world to advocate for protected areas to help secure a future for the planet’s biodiversity.

Nosy Be Island, off the northwest coast of mainland Madagascar, is a wildlife hotspot and tourist destination. The clearing of most of the Island’s forests for agriculture, and the unsustainable use of its coastal waters is threatening many of the unique and endangered wildlife that inhabits it.

Our scientists are monitoring the status, and identifying the factors affecting the abundance and distribution of marine and terrestrial flagship species on Nosy Be Island. This long-term project uses an island approach and focuses on species listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, including Humpback dolphins, Hawksbill turtles , Nosy Be’s Sportive lemur, Claire’s Mouse lemur and Black lemurs.

As part of FIU’s International Water Program in the Institute of Environment, scientists developed a Biodiversity Action Plan for the Wakal Basin in India. Terrestrial biodiversity is thought to be high in several parts of the area, including the Phulwari Moll Reserve, which harbors hundreds of species of plants and was declared one of India’s Important Bird Areas by Bird Life International. Little is known about aquatic biodiversity there, as few collections have been made from the basin’s surface water resources. However, as one of the last bodies to contain water late into the dry season, the Wakal River is thought to serve as a refuge area for aquatic biota, especially during drought periods. FIU scientists worked with local ecologists to document aquatic biodiversity and develop strategic actions for protecting biodiversity in the basin.

The illegal trafficking of wildlife and overexploitation of plant and animal species represent a major threat to biodiversity. Our scientists are actively involved in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, supporting efforts to protect species through science and advocacy. FIU’s Tropical Conservation Institute and Global Forensic and Justice Center have also partnered to develop new detection methods and intervention strategies to disrupt the illegal pet trade, trafficking of endangered species, and the market for endangered animal parts. To date, our researchers have developed rapid, in-field DNA detection kits that can be used at ports of entry to identify illegally trafficked species and to also identify their points of origin. We are providing this information to government officials for investigating and prosecution of traffickers.

FIU is leading Operation Pangolin, an international collaboration to save the world’s most trafficked wild mammal. 

These evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered mammals are in dire need of urgent conservation action. Yet, scientists and policymakers lack sophisticated understanding about the pangolin scale and meat trafficking supply chains, which move an estimated 250,000 pangolins a year out of African and Asian forests to consumers in China, Vietnam, and even western Europe and the United States. The collateral impacts of trafficking on socio-environmental health compound the already significant species conservation ramifications and put the global human community at risk. Pangolin range states and conservation governing bodies including CITES and IUCN have declared that developing pangolin-specific monitoring methods linked to anti-trafficking efforts is the highest conservation priority for pangolins.

The knowledge and data gaps have prevented the design of robust monitoring and management programs for wild pangolin populations and interventions for combating wildlife crime. Operation Pangolin capitalizes on the latest advances in technology machine-learning, big data, and interdisciplinary team science to develop cost-effective solutions to the global pangolin crisis.

Deforestation and poaching are plaguing the world’s primate populations and the pet trade is a particular problem for some of the world’s smallest monkeys. 

Our captive-breeding and management efforts are part of a broad conservation network that helps ensure a future for tamarins and pygmy marmosets. FIU research scientists have participated in the international Lion Tamarin Conservation Program for more than 25 years. This program works closely with agencies in Brazil to protect wild populations and expand protected areas. Our efforts in small primate conservation also benefit the pygmy marmoset, a monkey so small it fits in the palm of a human hand. The Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, a partner of FIU’s Tropical Conversation Institute, is led by FIU scientists and maintains North America’s largest pygmy marmoset colony.

Using a rapid DNA testing toolkit developed by FIU researchers, Colombian officials recently stopped an illegal shipment of 2,200 Matamata turtles and returned them to the Orinoco river basin. A team of Colombian scientists and authorities at the International Airport Alfredo Vásquez Cobo in Leticia first identified the suspicious shipment of freshwater baby turtles.

Matamata turtles are native to South America and are most recognizable by their rough, knobby shell and snorkel-like snout. It is illegal to trade Matamata turtles in Colombia, where they are currently listed as a near threatened species. But each year, thousands of these bizarre-looking animals end up in the hands of traffickers and end up in foreign pet markets where they can be legally sold, sometimes costing upwards of $300.

When the shipment of bizarre-looking turtles turned up in Leticia, customs officials knew immediately they were looking at a protected species. What they didn’t know is what species of Matamata they were looking at. 

Originally thought to be a single species, a recent discovery revealed there are actually two genetically distinct species of Matamata turtles. Virtually identical in appearance, one species exclusively resides in the Orinoco river basin and the other in the Amazon River basin. Quick identification is important so recovered turtles can be returned to their correct river basin. Introducing an Orinoco turtle to the Amazon River basin — or vice versa — could have negative effects that would ripple throughout that entire native turtle population, affecting evolutionary processes and genetic health.

In the past, customs officials would transport a few confiscated turtles to a lab for DNA testing. While they would wait for results, they were also trying to keep thousands of turtles alive. This time, they decided to give the FIU DNA toolkit a try. Originally developed to identify endangered species in the shark fin trade, the toolkit can be used to identify any animal or animal part being trafficked through international ports. Colombian officials were able to determine the correct species of Matamata turtle on-site in less than two hours and then transport them to their correct river basin, giving them the best chance of survival. The cost for the test is about $1 per sample.

The demand for orchids could be driving wild orchids to extinction in southern China. Our researchers are trying to reverse this trend. They led the first-ever study of the wild orchid trade in southern China, and found illegal activity is more widespread than originally believed. It’s also reaching into other countries. Many species found in the markets weren’t native, but from neighboring countries including Laos, Burma and Vietnam. Currently, the wild orchid trade in China is unregulated. While all 29,000 orchid species are listed by CITES, only animals listed on that register are automatically protected under Chinese law. This has created a policy gap that can only be closed with concrete evidence. This study sounded the alarm, providing officials with the information to inform policy changes.

FIU’s International Center for Tropical Botany at the Kampong is providing the science to inform conservation strategies, management policies and planning for botanical resources in tropical regions. FIU scientists are developing research, education and outreach programs that integrate three key research themes — tropical plant diversity; conservation and management of threatened tropical plant species and habitats; and products and services generated by tropical plants, including foods, fibers, fuels and medicines. 

The International Center for Tropical Botany is located in Coconut Grove, Florida, adjacent to The Kampong, one of five gardens that make up the National Tropical Botanical Garden. The Kampong is where famed botanist David Fairchild lived and performed much of his research, and where many of his historical plant collections still exist today, making it an ideal location to further botanical research and train the next generation of botanists.