Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
The Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit was established in 1979 providing active cooperation in the advancement, organization, and conduct of scholarly research and training in the field of fish and wildlife sciences. This is accomplished primarily through graduate education and research at the University of Florida. In following its program directive, the Florida Unit has developed a research program that addresses various management issues from approaches spanning species to ecosystem perspectives. In doing so, the Unit has facilitated cooperation among numerous agencies, most notably the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Florida (UF) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC). This interaction stimulates continuing involvement of funding sources, provides for student contacts with potential employers and agency perspectives, and directs transfer and application of research results.
Since 1979 over 300 projects totaling more than $28 million were funded through the Unit. These projects covered a wide variety of fish, wildlife, and ecosystem subjects and have involved 48 line, affiliate, and adjunct faculty members as principal and co-principal investigators. Unit staff have their own research projects which accounted for about 1/3 of the total effort. Projects associated with the Unit have resulted in 317 publications, 82 technical reports, 64 theses and dissertations, and 25 presentations.
The mission of the Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is to conduct detailed investigations of wetlands and their component fish and wildlife resources, emphasizing the linkages with both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This charge will include research at a range of levels including population, community, and ecosystem, and will emphasize the interaction of biological populations with features of their habitats, both natural and those impacted by human activities.