The Statewide Ecosystem Assessment of Coastal and Aquatic Resources (SEACAR) - a program in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection (RCP) - is a collaborative process using current knowledge of coastal processes and scientific data obtained from inventory and monitoring programs around the state to provide the best available science to guide management, planning and restoration efforts. The project will provide status and trends reporting through web-based access to data and assessments and a tiered reporting format for a variety of audiences.
Cheryl received a bachelor of science degree in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology from Cedar Crest College and began her career in the field, conducting research in both upland and estuarine environments. In 2008, she accepted a position with Florida Department of Environmental Protection at Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve Office and in 2016, she transferred to Tallahassee to lead the SEACAR project. Cheryl works closely with the SEACAR Resource Assessment Teams and the Steering Team to ensure the project is being successfully implemented and providing the best available science to inform management and policy decisions.
Steve is a paleoecologist and conservation scientist, specializing in mollusks, especially the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). He started working for RCP in fall 2017 as a Science Policy Fellow and was hired as a Research Scientist in fall 2018. His research uses recent sedimentary and fossil records, often in combination with data on living organisms, to: 1) increase our understanding of long-term ecological patterns and processes and 2) provide longer-term historical perspectives on variables important to habitat management. As a member of the SEACAR team, Steve serves as a subject-matter-expert for the oyster habitat portion of the assessment and leads the Historical Oyster Body Size (HOBS) Project.
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