Dr. Len Scinto - Research Philosophy and Interests:

During most of Earth’s history ecological systems developed under conditions where life evolved to cope with relatively slow-changing physicochemical conditions (barring catastrophic mass extinction events).  However, the rise of the human population, coupled with expanding resource utilization, has caused changes in the biosphere at rates greatly exceeding the evolutionary past.  Unfortunately, Ecology has come to not only mean “how do the biotic and abiotic compartments of a system interact” but to mean “how do these compartments interact under anthropogenic influences”.  This situation imparts an urgency and responsibility to those interested in ecological research.  My research focus is mostly on the biogeochemistry of freshwater wetlands, especially the cycling and impacts of anthropogenic nutrients. As an ecologist in the broad sense, and a biogeochemist by specialization, I strive to understand processes in natural systems, to determine how these processes have been affected by anthropogenic influences, and see if natural processes can be applied to diminish negative effects of the “human footprint”.  Biogeochemistry is by nature an interdisciplinary science that often integrates the results of several reductionist disciplines to form working conceptual and simulation models. Although I am not a computational modeler per se I incorporate a Systems Ecology approach in the study of biogeochemistry because I believe it provides a useful framework for linking numerous processes, functions, and structures. My research involves collaborations with geologists, hydrologists, agricultural engineers, soil scientists, modelers, organic geochemists, microbial ecologists, limnologists, and land-use planners.  The juxtaposition of extensive environmental resources such as Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades, the coastal zone, and Florida Bay to the large urban and agricultural landscape of Central and Southern Florida has provided an exceptional example of anthropogenic and natural systems influencing and being influenced by one another.  My research is principally concerned with these interactions and varies in scale from microbial processes in periphyton mats to regional characterization of the effects of human impacts. I am particularly interested in physicochemical changes brought about by photosynthesis and respiration of cyanobacterial mats and the effects these changes have on the geochemistry of surface water. I have applied stoichiometric analysis to resource allocation in nutrient impacted and unimpacted wetlands.  I am concerned with the mechanisms by which impaction (P enrichment) influences microbial processes (enzyme activities, increased heterotrophy) causing changes in ecosystem structure and function.  I recently broadened my geographic scope to include microbial processes in Bahamian mangrove, seagrass, and sand flat soils/sediments to determine correlations between microbial activity and system productivity. In addition to producing knowledge that serves the scholarly community in the form of published articles, my research provides useful information that can be applied to the management of environmental resources.  Most of my funding to date has come from agencies concerned with environmental management and conservation including the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), St. John’s River Water Management District (SJRWMD), the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), and Everglades National Park (ENP).