ABSTRACT
Shallow estuarine and coastal ecosystems are home to a diverse array of benthic communities that are important trophic components of their food web (Wilson and Fleeger 2012). These ecosystems are often located in close proximity to highly urbanized areas, which exposes their biological communities to frequent changes in water quality. The estuaries and coastal zones of the Greater Everglades ecosystem, in close proximity to the metropolitan Miami-Dade County, Florida (Fig. 1) experience these stressors. The inter-and intra-annual water quality changes and climate variability cause alterations to the structure of the benthic assemblages (species composition and abundance). Records of the historic changes in the structure of benthic assemblages preserved in lake and ocean sediments have been successfully used in reconstructions of past water quality conditions, habitat types, and climate patterns around the world (Pickerill and Brenchley 1991; Smol et al. 2001; Smol and Stoermer 2010).
