Audubon's Western Everglades Research Center is located at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, FL. We conduct ecological monitoring and research within the Sanctuary to detect and track change over time and throughout the Western Everglades to answer questions necessary to guide conservation and restoration policy. We work closely with research partners throughout our region and the state, including Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Lee County Conservation 20/20, Florida Gulf Coast University, Southwest Florida CISMA (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area), USDA-ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, Atlanta Botanical Garden, and University of Florida, among others. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctaury facilitates field research within the Sanctuary by visiting scientists throughout the year (click here for more information).

CONTACT US: Western Everglades Research Center, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 375 Sanctuary Road West, Naples, FL 34119; (239) 354-4469

SHAWN E. CLEM, PH.D., Research Manager, SW Region

sclem@audubon.org

As a community ecologist, Dr. Clem's focus is on connections between organisms, especially as they relate to ecosystem perturbations (natural and anthropogenic). She received a B.S. in Marine Science from Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL) and a Ph.D. from Florida International University (Miami, FL) where she examined impacts of altered hydroperiod and nutrients on Everglades food webs and has since conducted research throughout the Greater Everglades. Outside the Corkscrew watershed, key projects have focused on issues like impacts of non-native fishes in Everglades National Park, links between hydrology and aquatic animal communities in Big Cypress National Preserve, and the decline of bonefish in Florida Bay. Dr. Clem is adjunct graduate faculty at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and a Research Affiliate of FGCU's Everglades Wetland Research Park.

Science Advisory Committee:

Michael Duever, Ph.D., President, Natural Ecosystems, LLC

Jerome J. Lorenz, Ph.D., State Research Director, Audubon Florida

William F. Loftus, Ph.D., President, Aquatic Research & Communication, LLC

Brad Cornell, Southwest Florida Policy Associate, Audubon of the Western Everglades/Audubon Florida

Lisa Korte, Ph.D., Director, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary