SOUTH BRINK WEIR REHABILITATION AT BLOSSOM BROOK

INITIAL PHASE REPORT

November 14, 2017

SUBMITTED TO: PETER PEDUZZI

PROJECT MANAGER SARASOTA COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS CAPITAL PROJECTS

1001 SARASOTA CENTER BLVD SARASOTA, FLORIDA 34240

941-861-0523 desk 941-650-5057 cell

ppeduzzi@scgov.net

PREPARED AND SUBMITTED BY: NATHAN P. BRENNAN, PH.D.

STAFF SCIENTIST FISHERIES ECOLOGY & ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM

MOTE MARINE LABORATORY 1600 KEN THOMPSON PARKWAY

SARASOTA, FL 34236 Tel. 941-388-4441 ext. 432

Fax 941-388-6461 nbrennan@mote.org

Mote Marine Laboratory Technical Report No. 19865      

Revision update 25 January 2018

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. OVERVIEW ………………………………………………..……………..………….…..PAGE 3 B. PROJECT SITE AND LOCATION…………………….……………………….……….……PAGE 3

Map of project site Map of Blossom Brook drainage area Map of Phillippi Creek drainage area Photo of Brink Weir

C. PROJECT MERIT…………………………………………………………………………..…PAGE 6 D. BROAD IMPACTS………………………………………………………….…………..…….PAGE 6 E. RATIONALLE AND JUSTIFICATION FOR REHABILITATION…………………….…...PAGE 6

Step Pool System serves to Reconnect Juvenile Habitats Juvenile Snook Habitat Use Snook as a Flagship Species for Coastal Habitat Restoration Juvenile Snook Growth and Movement within Nursery Habitats Graph of Dispersal Distance and Juvenile Snook Size

F. ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE WEIR REHABILITATION TO RESTORE

FISHERIES HABITAT CONNECTIVITY AND FISHERIES VITALITY FOR SARASOTA COMMUNITY…………………………….……………………..…...….PAGE 9 G. OTHER SOCIETAL VALUES………………………………………………………......……PAGE 9 H. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR BLOSSOM BROOK REHABILITATION

……………………………………………………………………………….………………PAGE 10 I. CANAL HABITAT DISCUSSION AND HABITAT MODIFICATION CONSIDERATIONS…………………………………………………………….………...…PAGE 11 J. DOCUMENT THE SUCCESS – BRINK WEIR REHABILITATION: A MODEL FOR URBAN RESTORATION OF HABIAT CONNECTIVITY………………….…....…PAGE 12 K. MOTES ROLE IN THE PROJECT…………………………………………..…...…………PAGE 14 L. SITE VISITS AND PROJECT MEETINGS …………..………………………………...…..PAGE 15 M. MOTE PILOT ASSESSMENT REPORT - BLOSSOM BROOK, 24 AUGUST 2017.........PAGE 17 N. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ………………………………………………….........PAGE 20 O. REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………….…....…PAGE 21 P. APPENDIX - EXAMPLE STEP POOL SYSTEM IN COSTA RICA ………...…........……PAGE 22

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A. OVERVIEW Brink Weir, located in Blossom Brook a tributary to Phillippi Creek in Sarasota County is undergoing repair and rehabilitation that began in 2016. Sarasota resource managers and engineers have been working with MML fishery biologists and SBEP biologists to include components of ecosystem engineering in the reconstruction designs designed to maximize fishery habitat use and recruitment potential in the rebuilt weir system while also maintaining the storm-water functionality. The reconstruction will include a series of step pools that allow for recruitment of valuable sport fish such as snook and will open access to additional rearing habitat, formerly blocked by the old weir structure. The weir rehabilitation is an example of synergistic proactive efforts by Sarasota County, Mote, DRMP Engineering, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, and community stakeholders that will bolster the fishery and estuarine production while also maintaining stormwater drainage functionality. This initial phase of the project provides justification and guidance and for the implementation of the novel fish ladder system that will expand natural habitat connectivity and also provide guidance towards monitoring the result and on upstream habitat enhancement. B. PROJECT SITE AND LOCATION The follow is an excerpt from the DRMP Technical Memorandum report prepared for Sarasota County in November 2017: “Under the Stormwater Contract (Agreement No. 2016-170), the County has tasked DRMP with investigating, designing and permitting the repair of a failing seawall and plan to construct a fish passage along Blossom Brook. An existing concrete weir structure within Blossom Brook is undermining and is in need of repair/replacement. Blossom Brook is a manmade channel which discharges into Philippi Creek. In addition, portions of the existing seawall on the north side of the channel are buckling and are also in need of repair/replacement. The project is located between properties at 2607 and 2631 South Brink Avenue within a 60’ canal right-of-way area on Philippi Creek Channel (Figures 1, 2, 3; Location Maps). The floodplain at the site is within Zone AE (approximate elevation 10 NAVD88) according to the 2016 FIRM 12115C0142F. Just downstream, Philippi Creek is a regulatory floodway. Sarasota County and Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP), in conjunction with the MOTE Marine Laboratory (MOTE) desire to incorporate a stair-step pool system into the channel near the existing weir. Stepping of the weir in approximate 6-inch to 8-inch vertical increments will allow fish to navigate upstream of the weir thereby providing environmental benefits. For purposes of this scope, the stepping of the weir will be referred to as a “fish passage”. The target species is juvenile snook.”

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The contributing drainage area is approximately 549 acres of mostly residential development. See basin map provided by the County in Figures 2 and 3.

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LEGENDSouth Brink Ave Weir Drainage Area = 549 Acres

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Note: Contributing drainage area was derived fromthe Sarasota County ICPR Stormwater Model:PCM_Sept28_2016_NGVD29

Figure 2. Blossom Brook is an urbanized tributary to Phillippi Creek, located in the City of Sarasota

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South Brink Avenue Weir Drainage Area Location

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CIP PROJECT # 75832_5002

LEGENDSouth Brink Ave Weir Drainage Area - 549 Ac.

Phillippi Creek Basin - 35,692 Ac.

Sarasota County

Manatee County

Canals

Major Roads

Note: Contributing drainage area was derived fromthe Sarasota County ICPR Stormwater Model:PCM_Sept28_2016_NGVD29

Draft: For discussionpurposes only.

Figure 3. Blossom Brook drainage basin situated within the larger drainage basin of Phillippi Creek

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Below is a site photo of the existing weir during low flow conditions (Figure 4). The downstream water area in the photo is Phillippi Creek. The change in vertical elevation from the top of the weir overflow to the mean high tide level is approximately 1 meter. Therefore the step pool fish ladder requires that fish can traverse this 1 M vertical elevation increase.

Figure 4. The existing Brink Weir structure located at Blossom Brook’s inflow into Phillippi Creek. The photo was taken when water flow was minimal.

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C. PROJECT MERIT This project represents a novel rehabilitation of a dilapidated weir originally designed for upstream and downstream storm water flow control. The rehabilitation is to include a fish ladder step-pool system to allow fishery recruitment and enhanced use of formerly inaccessible habitat. The new system will meet the storm water management goals but also meet ecologically oriented goals to maximize fishery benefit, ecosystem function and further societal benefits. The project will provide documentation of marine sport fish recruitment (immigration and emigration for species such as common snook) into newly-available urbanized habitat. D. BROAD IMPACTS The project serves as an important example of beneficial habitat revitalization in urban settings. Much of the existing infrastructure relating to stormwater management was originally designed to minimize flooding but did not necessarily include considerations relating to ecosystem function and health, including sedimentation, nutrient management, and fisheries enhancement. Furthermore, waterway systems are inherently attractive to wildlife and humans, and this project will enhance these features and further beautify the City of Sarasota, improve property value, and engage the public in educational opportunities in sustainable ecosystems. From a fisheries perspective, rehabilitating Blossom Brook will make additional nursery habitat available for marine and freshwater species thus improving the value of the fishery. E. RATIONALE AND JUSTIFICATION FOR REHABILITATION Step Pool System serves to Reconnect Juvenile Habitats Rehabilitation of the Blossom Brook Brink Weir will include the integration of a fish ladder to improve connectivity between Phillippi Creek and the tributary canal systems of Blossom Brook. The fish ladder will enable marine sport fishes such as common snook to access many hectares of habitat that have previously not been accessible (or only intermittently accessible) to marine species. Many marine species such as common snook Centropomus undecimalis have high mortality during early life stages, but if suitable habitat is made available, recruitment will occur and this can positively influence subsequent survival and significantly increase the number surviving to adulthood. Fish species of high fecundity such as snook, are typically not limited by recruitment to habitat, but the availability of juvenile quality habitat and food can significantly increase survival through juvenile stages and adulthood. Thus, in the present situation, re-connecting upstream habitat of Blossom Brook to the marine estuary through a fish ladder could serve to substantially increase juvenile survival due to the increase in availability of nursery habitat and food. Snook use Coastal Habitat as Nursery Habitat Florida has one of the highest rates of human population increase in the United States With a high coast-to-land area ratio and the inherently attractive attributes of the coast, much associated activity and development is concentrated along Florida’s coast. Coastal urbanization has direct negative ecological effects on valuable fishery stocks (Bruger and Haddad, 1986, Lorenz, 1999; Lorenz and Sarafy, 2006) due to their dependence on coastal habitats for nursery production. In Sarasota, nursery habitats of high-value sportfish such as snook as well as their associated prey species are concentrated in tidal creeks and interconnected freshwater tributaries where development efforts are concentrated. Nursery habitats by definition, are places where natural production per-unit-area greatly exceeds (on the order of magnitude) that of other habitats (Beck et al., 2001). As such, nursery habitats are particularly important for targeted management, conservation and restoration efforts due to their disproportionately high impact on natural production.

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Florida’s recreational sport fishing industry is valued at $8.6 billion and easily out-values any other state in the USA (American Sportfishing Association, 2011). Florida is also known as the International Fishing Capital of the World also due to its accessibility and its high natural fishery production. Snook stocks are tightly linked to Florida’s recreational fishing industry and are among the most targeted species of recreational anglers because of their charismatic, challenging “suspicious” behavior, and their “belligerent” strike and fighting ability once on the line. Snook as a Flagship Species for Coastal Habitat Restoration As mentioned, Sarasota snook depend upon tidal creeks and shoreline habitat for early stage growth, and the quality, quantity and availability of nursery habitat strongly influences snook stock abundance. Because of their high economic value and because they are so tightly linked to expensive property, snook can serve as a flagship species coastal habitat restoration. Also this project, installation of a sequential step pool fish ladder system to reconnect practically isolated habitats within the heart of the City of Sarasota can serve as a high-visibility pioneer model for future ecosystem engineering of storm water system management in Florida. Demonstration of successful use and recruitment by snook of the newly connected habitats while continuing to provide storm water drainage services will provide impetus and support for similar future projects that have multifaceted societal and ecological benefits. Juvenile Snook Growth and Movement within Nursery Habitats - An understanding of the growth and migratory dynamics of common snook in Sarasota coastal habitats is important to understanding how this economically valuable species can be enhanced by the project. Common snook individuals can produce large numbers of larval progeny on the order of 200,000 to 2,000,000 (Taylor et al, 1996). Spawning usually occurs during summers in coastal estuarine passes. Newly spawned larvae are nektonic and subjected to water currents and tidal rhythms until they can recruit to shoreline habitat necessary for survival. Recruitment to nursery habit is the first major migratory event for snook is thought to occur during the first several days to two weeks of life (Peters et al. 1998) and the larvae use buoyancy control and vertical position within the water column to allow the tidal rhythms to deliver them to shoreline refugia where they grow (Norcross and Shaw 1984; Tolley et al., 1987) As mentioned, in Sarasota, tidal creeks and freshwater tributaries are paramount as juvenile snook nursery habitat (Brennan et al., 2006, 2008, Brennan, 2008) primarily due to the quality of refuge habitat that reduces mortality and provides food for growth. Generally in fish, predation threat and mortality are inversely linked to body size and predation threat is considered a primary driver of fish distribution and abundance (Walters and Martell, 2004). Movement outside of specific microhabitat refugia is highly risky for smaller fishes, but for species that grow to larger sizes, such as snook, movement and foraging also yields the benefit of body growth and a gradual reduction in predation risk. Thus as individual snook young-of-year (YOY) grow they can increasingly access additional foraging habitat due to gradually decreasing predation threat with increased body size. Thus, habitat utilization within nursery habitats is thought to gradually increase as an individual gains growth and body size advantages (Werner and Gilliam 1984). This was demonstrated with snook tag and release studies in Sarasota, Florida where larger sized individuals had increased movement within and among microhabitats of the tidal creeks (Figure 5; Brennan et al. 2005, 2006, 2008).

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Availability of quality juvenile habitat directly affects growth and survival of juvenile snook. This is important for the Blossom Brook project because the step pool system will provide connectivity and availability of new upstream habitat for the juveniles. This upstream habitat offers an excellent source of food for growth while also providing refuge, even if temporary for juvenile snook. Furthermore, juvenile snook that access the upstream site at Blossom Brook would probably experience a reduction in predation threat because this habitat is generally inaccessible to larger marine fishes and the habitat contains high density submerged plant species offering excellent refugia.

Figure 5. Mean dispersal distances (km) of stocked snook juveniles according to size-at-recapture (Graph A, recapture fork length [FL]) and size-at-release (Graph B, SAR mm FL). Error bars are standard error.

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F. ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE WEIR REHABILITATION TO RESTORE FISHERIES HABITAT CONNECTIVITY AND FISHERIES VITALITY FOR SARASOTA COMMUNITY: In 2010 the population of Sarasota and Manatee Counties was estimated at just over 700,000 people. Trends indicate continued population increases. Residents have a strong interest in marine and freshwater resources and a recent economic assessment indicated that Sarasota and Manatee County users of Sarasota Bay had a willingness to pay for related restoration work at about $11.8 billion. This included wetland restoration, oyster restoration, seagrass area increases, artificial reefs and ecological parks. The proposed fish ladder at Blossom Brook fits within these types of projects. Increasing the localized snook populations and fisheries also has an economic impact. Juvenile snook can recruit to fresh water habitats found in tributaries of Phillippi Creek and would very likely recruit into the Blossom Brook reconnected habitat. Snook are valuable component of Florida $8.6 billion recreational fishing industry. About 200,000 snook tags are sold in Florida at $10 each for a $2M value. There are well over 1 million snook-focused fishing trips on the Gulf alone. Supposing each trip costs about $25 then overall $25M would be generated, and this a very conservative estimate if you consider the cost of tackle and boats. While Sarasota represents a smaller fraction of this habitat, the fractional value is still considerable. Furthermore, these economic figures are based on a single year. Habitat modifications from this project would continue to pay off for taxpayers year after year and initial costs would be more than covered over time. Improving the water quality through plant filtration and eco-friendly stormwater drainage canal design of Blossom Brook can directly improve property values. A recent four year economic study by the Florida Association of Realtors (2015) found a significant economic impact resulting from improved water quality and clarity - Lee County’s aggregate property values increase by an estimated $541 million, while Martin County’s aggregate property values increase by an estimated $428 million. These increased property values also provide additional revenue for city and county governments. has over a mile of waterway upstream of the weir and is surrounded by urbanized residential houses. Increased property values from improvements in the canal habitat economically benefit the Sarasota community. Restoring ecosystem connectivity between Phillippi Creek and its Blossom Brook tributary will allow for dynamic passage of marine species into and out of the freshwater upstream habitat. Many other commercially valuable marine species that might benefit from the reconnected habitats include red drum Sciaenops ocellatus, striped mullet Mugil cephalus, blue crab Callinectes sapidus. Furthermore, addition of grazer species would be helpful in controlling algae blooms. The new fish ladder system will include a series of step pools with aquatic vegetation along the banks of the pools. These plants will assist in nutrient uptake and particle settling and aid in cleaning water as it moves downstream. The pool system will also assist in slowing and dissipating water flow and also reduce suspended sediment loads. G. OTHER SOCIETAL VALUES - The rehabilitated system will also be aesthetically pleasing and increase property value. Natural river and creek systems are inherently attractive to wildlife and human populations. Examples of completely transformed water systems that route through cities and urban areas are increasing worldwide. An excellent example of a transformed system is in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, Singapore, (https://www.asla.org/2016awards/169669.html) .The rehabilitation of Blossom Brook Brink Weir also provides an educational opportunity to encourage youth and leaders to engage in proactive eco-engineering that the community can benefit from. Blossom Brook residents appear willing and enthusiastic about potential restoration efforts.

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H. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR BLOSSOM BROOK REHABILITATION The single act of enhancing the habitat connectivity between Phillippi Creek and its tributary, Blossom Brook from a fisheries and ecological perspective has high value. Blossom Brook is located within the city of Sarasota and is comparatively limited because it was designed to basically remove storm water from the urbanized area and is situated along linear pathways between properties and roads little room for habitat enhancement modifications. The approximate one-mile stretch of upstream habitat is 100% channelized. Nonetheless, the benefits of improving just the habitat connectivity from an ecological and fisheries viewpoint are as follows: • Added Shoreline and in-stream plant habitat- The existing shoreline habitat of Blossom Brook is

basically composed of weedy vegetation comprised of plant species tolerant to high disturbance levels from flash flooding and associated erosion. Even so, the canal system is densely vegetated with submerged and emergent aquatic species that provide a complexity of refugia and food beneficial to small fishes as evidenced by the high numerical abundance of fishes. These plants are also and physically slowing water drawing in nutrients, trapping suspended sediments, producing oxygen, The concentration of birds along the canal system is further evidence of high fish and invertebrate abundance.

• Sportfish access to prey production- Blossom Brook has high abundance of small fishes and invertebrate species that are potential prey items for high value sportfish. While small fishes can migrate downstream over the existing weir, this prey fish contribution to Phillippi creek is much less than if the step pool system were installed. The primary reason for this is because prey species will not willingly leave their safe refugia and undergo high-risk migration. Installation of the step pools will allow small juvenile wild snook to migrate upstream and enter the Blossom Brook refuge habitat. Here they will benefit from direct access to the prey refuge habitat via feeding on the natural production of prey species.

• Added juvenile sportfish refuge habitat -Juvenile snook that have migrated upstream of the step pool system will benefit from the high density shoreline and instream plant habitat for increased refugia during this critical life stage. Whenever survival can be improved during these critical life stages, it has the potential to strongly influence a given cohort’s ultimate abundance. Over time, these effects will collectively contribute to the local snook population. that will ultimately bolster natural snook production. Furthermore the fish ladder step pool system will allow juveniles to move upstream and downstream between the main tidal creek and Blossom Brook tributary.

• As evidenced in Costa Rica, juvenile snook can successfully navigate upstream through the step pool system and gain access to the upstream habitat. Each individual step pool will provide additional habitat and prey and provide sequential resting habitats for migrating fishes such as snook.

• Ecologically “healthy” systems are more attractive.

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I. CANAL HABITAT DISCUSSION AND HABITAT MODIFICATION CONSIDERATIONS The upstream urbanized canals of Blossom Brook and its productive potential could benefit from some simple concept ecosystem engineering modifications. Discussion and recommendations are as follows: 1. Use available vertical space to create aquatic habitat pools - Accessible creek habitat could be

deepened in many locations throughout Blossom Brook to provide year-round pools that support fish and invertebrate stocks. Essentially these are sediment traps. Sediment traps have already demonstrated to successfully hold marine sportfish in other parts of the Phillippi Creek storm water canal systems (See Locascio et al., 2017). Addition of tree logs or boulders specifically situated to partially span the canal could be used to leverage water flow to self-score and maintain the holes. Also, at some sites within Blossom Brook, drainage pipes entering the canal produced scoured pools that appeared deep enough to maintain water pools annually (Figure 6). Slight modifications of flow and direction of existing water drainage from many of these pipes could proactively maximize self-scouring low maintenance fish pools that contain water year-round. Overwinter pool habitat could also be enhanced by creating suitable bank slopes and establishing emergent plants along the appropriate shorelines. Each year, once the rainy season returns, the remnant fish populations would reestablish themselves sooner if they had successfully overwintered.

2. Establish a sediment sump at the North Tributary confluence. The intersection where north and south tributaries drain into Blossom Brook contains deeper habitat and appears to be a good candidate site for a sediment sump because more area is available for restoration here, access for excavation is good, as is water flow. Interestingly, 3 days after the August 24 sampling event high rainfall caused the canals to fill with water to unusually high levels. However an existing 4’ diameter culvert that looks to drain into this site from the South, did not appear to have flowing water in either direction. Also, sediment was observed to have backed up at the downstream confluence of the south tributary to Blossom Brook which indicated that little or no downstream flow had occurred through culvert sourcing from the south. It is possible this is clogged and might need to be cleared. A component of this project could include a filter marsh that also serves as additional nursery habitat that could be located in the North tributary. Deep water habitat (sediment trap) connected to ample shallow water refugia habitat containing emergent plants are a good combination for fishery production and water filtering.

Figure 7. Southward view of culvert site in Blossom Brook, located between Sunnyside Place and Grove Street; a good candidate site for a sediment trap. The vegetation at the bottom right of the photo is where the North tributary converges. The area upstream of this could be designed as a nursery habitat and filtering marsh.

Figure 6. Example of a self-scoured pool that was created from water currents delivered by the culvert.

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3. Maintain a lush vegetative shoreline- Maintenance mowing along accessible sites of Blossom Brook shoreline could purposefully maintain an un-mowed shoreline barrier. Keeping a shoreline barrier would reduce erosion, provide continuous habitat refuge, and provide other ecosystem services such as nutrient absorption, slow water flow, trap suspended sediment, and oxygenate the water.

4. Reconnect Blossom Brook to Arlington Park Pond –In Sarasota, linking Blossom Brook to Arlington would lead to further expanded fishery production beyond what is expected from the restoration/reconstruction of the weir. Arlington lake is a long-time natural aquatic system with good depth water volume and is linked to a nearby wetland that contains excellent nursery fish habitat. While technically Blossom Brook and Arlington Pond represent different sub-drainage basins and the Arlington pond drains to Hudson Bayou, it is likely the two systems were once joined. Reconnecting the two systems would allow snook (and other fishes) sourced from Phillippi Creek to utilize Arlington Lake and would be another excellent step towards revitalizing urbanized habitat in Sarasota.

5. Engage the community in the restoration work- Neighbors along the Blossom Brook canal system were friendly appeared to embrace restoration. Apparently there was an effort in the North Tributary to install a “greenway” but funds were lacking and so project stopped. Residents were willing however. Joint efforts to seek supplementary funding by Mote, Sarasota County, DRMP, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and the community could be highly effective.

J. DOCUMENT THE SUCCESS – BRINK WEIR REHABILITATION: A MODEL FOR URBAN RESTORATION OF HABITAT CONNECTIVITY

• The rehabilitation of Blossom Brook Brink Weir provides a unique opportunity to use this project as a pioneer and innovative example of a marine fish ladder that expands fishery production, habitat connectivity, and enhances value to society.

• The rehabilitation of Blossom Brook Brink Weir provides a unique scientific opportunity to evaluate a proactive habitat enhancement to fishery and ecosystem.

• This project can serve as an example of proactive ecosystem engineering with multifaceted ecosystem services and benefits to society. As such, it is easy to understate the importance of documenting the results of this project from a fisheries perspective over time.

• This project represents an opportunity to demonstrate how ecosystem engineering can achieve stormwater management needs while also enhancing the fishery by reconnecting a decent amount of upstream habitat to a primary estuarine nursery habitat.

• The project is also a great opportunity also show how a once-dilapidated and aesthetically unimpressive system, can be transformed into an attractive and valuable demonstration site that the Sarasota (and larger) community can be proud of.

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• Documenting the effects of the weir rehabilitation would require multiple approaches involving a BACI (Before-After, Control-Impact) experimental design using standardized replicate seine sampling upstream and downstream of the weir before and after the rehabilitation, while concurrently monitoring other sites containing weir and non-weir systems. Experimental seine monitoring should be coupled with the use of electronic fish tag monitoring in-situ antenna systems located (a) upstream in Blossom Brook canal habitats, (b) within the step pools, (c) downstream of the pools. Currently there are nine functioning antenna PIT tag monitoring system already existing in Phillippi Creek. Two of these systems are located in the side branch waters of Phillippi creek surrounding the Blossom Brook tributary confluence (Figure 8). These would directly contribute to the experimental monitoring design. Standardized seine gear dimensions are 9.1 m x1m 3mm mesh nylon. At randomly chosen sites within each site-subsite-time combination, replicate hauls would be conducted at each seine site, fish would be identified to lowest practical taxa, counted, and the first 25 of each taxon will be measured for body length. Water depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and habitat features (vegetation and shoreline features) would be recorded at each site and time combination. Alternative design: Because the habitat can be highly diverse, an alternative ‘hopscotch’ fixed station sampling design could be used. With this design, fixed sampling stations are established at regularly spaced intervals throughout the upstream and downstream habitats for both control and treatment systems similar to that used by Brennan et al. (2008) in Sarasota tidal creeks.

• Comparing these results with existing data such as those generated from recent sampling

efforts elsewhere in the Phillippi Creek canal system (Locascio et al, 2017) would be beneficial.

• Securing additional/supplementary funding and leveraging this work with existing projects is key to being able to successfully document the biological and ecological dynamics of any related expansion and influx of marine species (especially charismatic species such as snook) of this valuable, synergistic and amazing project.

• Additional sampling considerations could include an upstream hydrological survey similar to Rosgen stream classification pre-, during, and post-construction periods.

Antenna

Antenna

Figure 8. Existing functioning in situ antenna systems located just upstream and downstream of the Blossom Brook confluence into Phillippi Creek.

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K. MOTES ROLE IN THE PROJECT In addition to the initial phase work, project support with Mote includes:

• Providing continued expertise and guidance of the Blossom Brook fish ladder step pool system as it is implemented and constructed. Guidance and expertise would also be provided for any upstream habitat modification improvement efforts.

• Conducting an environmental study focused on impacts of the rehabilitation to the localized fishery (as in Section J). This will involve conducting quantitative sampling of the fish communities upstream and downstream of the rehabilitated system. A Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) scientific design will be used to quantify the effect. Thus, sampling will occur upstream and downstream of the project site and at an additional similar site that is not undergoing habitat rehabilitation (control site). The design also requires that each site be sampled before and after the implementation of the project. If funds are available sampling will be repeated over time after the rehabilitation to demonstrate the potential repeated benefits of the rehabilitated system on the habitats and fish communities. Mote would also be responsible for presenting any of these results at public hearings.

• The project also has potential to collaborate with and existing snook stock enhancement study that is currently being conducted in Phillippi Creek. This study is using remote frequency ID (RFID) technology to sample tagged snook in various habitats downstream of the weir system. This RFID technology has underwater antenna systems powered by solar that monitor for tagged animals continuously. Installation of such RFID systems upstream and downstream of the weir could help support evidence for new recruitment of important marine species into the newly connected upstream habitats. Furthermore coupling this monitoring system to actual releases of tagged hatchery-reared common snook would help in understanding how snook respond to such habitat enhancements.

• Mote would assist with accruing supplementary or cost-sharing grants that would directly and indirectly contribute to the project as a whole.

.

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L. SITE VISITS AND PROJECT MEETINGS SARASOTA COUNTY STAFF, DRMP PROJECT ENGINEERS AND SARASOTA BAY ESTUARY PROGRAM STAFF. • Site visit at Blossom Brook S.Weir, Friday, March 11, 2016

Attendees: Nate Brennan (Mote Marine Lab), John Ryan (Sarasota County), Ben Quartermine (Sarasota County), Mirko Soko (Sarasota County), Mark Alderson (Sarasota Bay Estuary Program). Discussed concepts of step pool design. N. Brennan provided site-specific concept diagrams.

Figure 9. Concept schematics by N. Brennan during site visit on March 11, of step pool fish ladder system proposed for project. The step pool system will enable fish passage upstream into Blossom Brook. From a perspecitive of a fish moving upstream, each sequential pool will increase in eleavation by about 6-8 inches until the upstream elevation is achieved. Ideally, each pool will be about 15-20 feet in diameter but situated in a staggered left-to-right meandering overlapping layout (see plan view schematic, left) spanning the existing area Weir Canal (from Phillippi Creek to the Brink Avenue bridge, about 115 feet long x 40 feet wide). Each sequential pool will be large enough to accommodate resting habitat with relatively lower flow (i.e. backwater eddies) and plant structural refugia.

Figure 10. Schematic drawing of Costa Rica step pool system

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• Kick-off Meeting, Tuesday Dec. 6, 2016 2:30-4:45 PM at Sarasota County . Attendees: Peter Peduzzi, Project Manager (Sarasota County), Harold Roebuck III, Sarasota County, John Ryan, Sarasota County, Nate Brennan, MOTE, Jimmy Jackson, Terracon, Scott Garth, Project Manager (DRMP), Ken Kniel, DRMP, Pavan Paiavula, DRMP, Chris Wild, DRMP, Mike Albano, DRMP (via telephone). Discussed South Brink Weir Rehabilitation Project including design details. Brennan provided concept diagrams. Discussed step pool arrangement and water flow dynamics, details of elevation change between step pools, discussed materials for the step pool walls height. Provided information on snook migration patterns observed in Costa Rica step pool system, and characteristics of juvenile snook behavior relating to their movement up step pools. Provided pictures and design details from Costa Rica step pool system.

• South Brink Review Meeting 27 June 2017. Attendees: Peter Peduzzi (Sarasota County), Ben Quartermine, Sarasota County, Scott Garth, Project Manager (DRMP), Ken Kniel, DRMP, Pavan Paiavula, DRMP, Chris Wild, DRMP. Reviewed progress on project. DRUM presented a progress report Discussions involved location of sediment sump upstream or downstream of Brink bridge, reconsidered pool wall design and anchoring systems, discussed rock sizes for pool, discussed dilapidated sea wall and plan designs for wall rebuild.

Figure 11. Step pool schematic discussed during the meeting.

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M. MOTE PILOT ASSESSMENT REPORT - BLOSSOM BROOK, 24 AUGUST 2017

Participants: Nate Brennan (MML staff), Stacy Trackenberg (MML student intern), John Ryan (Sarasota County Staff), Nicole Iadevaia (Sarasota County staff).

Conditions were clear and sunny. Participants met at 10 am and moved upstream of Brink Road Bridge to collect seine and water quality data. The sampling team walked several sections of Blossom Brook collecting information including seine samples, fish species assemblages, water quality, sediment observations, shoreline vegetation, bank slope, culvert pipes, tributary influx and sediment and shoreline erosion patterns. Two seine hauls occurred. The first seine was immediately upstream of Brink Road bridge in 28cm water depth. The seine sampled both banks of the stream and covered about 35m2. Total catch of fish was 1209 individuals comprised of nine species, two of which were exotic speices

(Table 1). Average fish size was small, at 30 mm total length (±10 mm SD). Remarkably, fish density was extremely high at about 24-25 fish per m2 indicating high availability of prey species in these upstream habitats.

Water quality was typical of upstream freshwater canals during August in Florida (Table 2): Water temperature was about 27oC, dissolved oxygen levels were just below 3 mg/l, salinity was 0ppt, and turbidity was measured at 6.7 Formazine Nephelometric Units (FNU). Water turbidity was noticeably higher at the confluence of the north tributary (located between Shade Ave. and East Avenue) and the murky was sourced from the West drainage leading from US41. At the first seine site, bank slop was measured at about 0.62 (rise/run, or 27o), water flow at about 8-9cm/s and stream width 5.7m (Table 2).

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Many plant species were encountered along the shoreline banks and submerged in high density. Of these 16 were identified (Table 3). Generally, Blossom Brook was well populated with submerged plant species such as Elodea and unidentified grasses that offered excellent refuge habitat and food for small prey fish species.

Another notable feature was the presence of a population of native eel grass Vallisneria americana located at the existing weir structure (Figure 12). Eelgrass patches are considered excellent fish habitat and because the species requires specific amounts of light and clean water, the presence of eelgrass is widely considered a healthy ecosystem indicator.

Figure 12. Eel grass Vallisneria americana located at the upstream side of the wier structure

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Overall, the canal system was very shaded numerous species of shoreline trees. Many charismatic bird species were also noticed during the assessment day and this is generally considered a sign of abundant fish and prey species (Table 4).

Although not captured in seine samples, it is possible that predatory species in Blossom Brook would include largemouth bass Micropterous salmoides, and Florida Gar Lepisosteus platyrhincus, common native piscine predators found in other parts of Phillippi Creek canals. Evidence of high prey species abundance coupled with the high aggregation of predatory birds might be an indication that piscivorous predators are not very abundant in Blossom Brook. Moreover, the system is currently blocked by a 5-foot high weir, and its drainage basin is unusual in that the basin is somewhat isolated from the other drainage basins because it is located west of Phillippi Creek in highly urbanized habitat. Isolated and urbanized basins will have less fisheries recruitment from upstream habitats. Restoring habitat connectivity in Blossom Brook would likely improve fisheries recruitment.

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N. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This project involves the rehabilitation of Brink Weir to include a fish ladder step-pool system to allow fishery recruitment and enhanced use of upstream habitat formerly inaccessible. The new system will meet the storm water management goals but also meet ecologically oriented goals to maximize fishery benefit, ecosystem function and further societal benefits. Enhancing the localized fishery improves societal value and furthermore by restoring ecological function the rehabilitation will be improved esthetically. On a broader level, this project serves as an important example of beneficial habitat revitalization in urban settings and appears to represent a current paradigm shift in wastewater management. Much of the existing infrastructure relating to stormwater management was originally designed to minimize flooding but did not necessarily include considerations relating to ecosystem function and health, including sedimentation, nutrient management, fisheries movement and habitat connectivity. Furthermore, waterway systems are inherently attractive to wildlife and humans, and this project will enhance these features and further beautify the City of Sarasota, improve property value, and engage the public in educational opportunities in sustainable ecosystems. From a fisheries perspective, rehabilitating Blossom Brook will make additional nursery habitat available for marine and freshwater species thus improving the value of the fishery. The project will provide documentation of marine sport fish recruitment (immigration and emigration for species such as common snook) into the newly-available urbanized habitat via the rehabilitation. Specific conclusions about the importance of the project are as follows: (1) The rehabilitation of Blossom Brook Brink Weir provides a unique opportunity to use this project as a pioneer and innovative example of a marine fish ladder that expands fishery production, habitat connectivity, and enhances value to society. (2) The rehabilitation of Blossom Brook Brink Weir provides a unique scientific opportunity to evaluate a proactive habitat enhancement to fishery and ecosystem. (3) This project can serve as an example of proactive ecosystem engineering with multifaceted ecosystem services and benefits to society. As such, it is easy to understate the importance of documenting the results of this project from a fisheries perspective over time. (4) This project represents an opportunity to demonstrate how ecosystem engineering can achieve stormwater management needs while also enhancing the fishery by reconnecting a decent amount of upstream habitat to a primary estuarine nursery habitat. (5) The project is also a great opportunity also show how a once-dilapidated and aesthetically unimpressive system, can be transformed into an attractive and valuable demonstration site that the Sarasota (and larger) community can be proud of.

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O. REFERENCES American Sportfishing Association, 2013. More habitat means more fish. http://asafishing.org/facts-

figures/sportfishing-economics/more-habitat-means-more-fish/ Beck, M.W., Heck, K.L. Jr., Able, K.W., Childers, D.L., Eggleston, D.B., Gillanders, B.M., Halpern, B,

Hays, C.G., Hoshino, K., Minello, T.J., Orth, R.J., Sheridan, P.F., Weinstein,M.P., 2001. The identification, conservation, and management of estuarine and marine nurseries for fish and invertebrates. Bioscience 51 (8), 633-641.

Brennan, N.P., Leber, K.M., Blankenship, H.L., Ransier, J.M., DeBruler Jr., R., 2005. An evaluation of coded wire and elastomer tag performance in juvenile common snook under field and laboratory conditions. N. Am. J. Fish. Manage. 25, 437-445.

Brennan, N.P., Darcy, M.C., Leber, K.M., 2006. Predator-free enclosures improve post-release survival of stocked common snook. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 335 (2), 302-311.

Brennan, N.P., Walters, C.J., Leber, K.M., 2008. Manipulations of stocking magnitude: addressing density-dependence in a juvenile cohort of common snook Centropomus undecimalis. Rev. Fish. Sci. 16(1-3), 215-227.

Brennan, N.P., 2008. Habitat- and density-mediated influences on snook ecology: lessons learned from manipulative release experiments with hatchery-reared juvenile snook. Doctoral Dissertation, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida. 183 pages.

Bruger, G.E., Haddad, K.D., 1986. Management of tarpon, bonefish, and snook in Florida. Stroud, R.H. (Ed.). Multi-jurisdictional management of marine fishes. National Coalition for Marine Conservation, Inc., Savannah, Georgia, 53-57.

Florida Association of Realtors, 2015. The Impact of Water Quality on Florida’s Home Values. https://www.floridarealtors.org/ResearchAndStatistics/Other-Research-Reports/upload/FR_WaterQuality_Final_Mar2015.pdf

Locascio, J., N. Brennan, and G. Babbe, 2017. Fish Communities and Habitat of Upper Phillippi Creek and Associated Storm Water Canals of Sarasota, Florida. Final Report. Mote Marine Laboratory Technical Report #3006, 47 pages.

Lorenz, J.J., 1999. The response of fishes to physicochemical changes in the mangroves of northeast Florida Bay. Estuaries 22(2B), 500-517.

Lorenz, J.J., Sarafy, J.E., 2006. Subtroprical wetland fish assemblages and changing salinity regimes: Implications for everglades restoration. Hydrobiologia 569, 401-422.

NOAA Fisheries. 2012. River Restoration Results in Record Fish Runs. http://www.habitat. noaa.gov/highlights/herringrestoration.html

Norcross, B.L., and R.F. Shaw, 1984. Oceanic and estuarine transport of fish eggs and larvae - a review. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 113 (2), 153-165.

Peters, K.M., Matheson, Jr., R.E., Taylor, R.G., 1998a. Reproduction and early life history of common snook, Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch), in Florida. B. Mar.Sci. 62 (2), 509-529.

Taylor, R.G, Grier, H.J., Whittington, J.A., 1998. Spawning rhythms of common snook in Florida. J. Fish Biol. 53 (3), 502-520.Walters, C. J., Martell, S.J.D., 2004. Fisheries ecology and management. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, USA.

Tolley, S.G., Dohner, E.T., Peebles, E.B., 1987. Occurrence of larval snook, Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch), in Naples Bay, Florida. Florida. Sci. 50 (1), 34-38.

Werner, E.E., Gilliam, J.F., 1984. The ontogenetic niche and species interactions in size-structured populations. An. Rev. Ecol. Systemat. 15, 393-425.

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APPENDIX EXAMPLE STEP POOL SYSTEM IN COSTA RICA Enhancing habitat connectivity has multiplicative benefits ecologically. This concept was exemplified through a project that Dr. Leber and Dr. Brennan currently work on in Costa Rica. The project system represents proactive ecosystem engineering that has proven to be extremely productive from a fisheries standpoint. The Costa Rica system contains an upstream man-made lake habitat connected to the coastal marine habitats via a step pool system designed by Dr. Dave Rosgen, and Leber and Brennan and other project collaborators (Figure A1, Figure A2, Figure A3). As evidenced in Costa Rica, juvenile snook have demonstrated to successfully navigate upstream through the manmade step pool system that ascends approximately 20’ in elevation. The juvenile snook then gained access to a high-quality lake habitat rich in prey food and refugia. (Figure A4)

Figure A1. Photo of step pools located in Costa Rica that allowed snook and other prey species to access upstream lake habitat. The elevation gain from the lowest step pool to the upstream lake is approximately 20 feet.

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Figure A2. Additional photos of step pool system in Costa Rica

Figure A3. Left Photo: Macrobrachium shrimp crawling upstream into a culvert pipe that leads into the upstream Costa Rica Lake. Right photo: Juvenile black snook Centropomus nigrescens captured in step pool (fish below ruler). Individual step pools provide sequential resting habitats for migrating fishes such as juvenile snook and prey species.

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The Costa Rica lake system is a 50-acre freshwater lake designed as a trophy fishery that mostly contains wild adult snook (Centropomus nigrescens and Centropomus viridis). The lake is supplied with freshwater from a nearby stream with a downstream step pool outlet containing a bar gate to keep the large snook in the lake. Wild adult snook were translocated, all tagged, then stocked into the lake. However, during the last fisheries assessment the majority of snook captured in samples were untagged smaller fish that, most likely, naturally recruited up the step pools from downstream marine habitats because snook are catadromous and require salt water to successfully reproduce. This system is remarkable because 6 years ago the area where the lake now exists was a cattle pasture. As it is now, the lake is supporting natural recruitment of wild snook and many other prey species (e.g. Macrobrachium shrimp, mojarras, striped mullet, shad) via the step pools into habitat that once was non-existent. In addition to black snook, many other species, including native species are recruiting to the lake from upstream freshwater sources (e.g. tetras) and marine habitats (e.g shrimp, snook, pacific sleeper and, mojarra).

Figure A4. 50-acre freshwater lake that the step pools provide a natural recruitment of age-0 snook into. The lake is managed as a high-catch rate, trophy fishery containing large snook, snapper, corvina and tarpon species.