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We describe the first recorded association between fishes and nudibranchs in epipelagic waters. In situ observations and photographs of a juvenile spotted driftfish Ariomma regulus (Stromateiformes; Ariommatidae) swimming alongside the planktonic nudibranch Phylliroe lichtensteinii (Gastropoda; Phylliroidae) were made during blackwater scuba dives off Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America. In this paper, we describe this behavior, highlighting a previously undocumented zooplanktonic host used by fishes. This finding also demonstrates the importance of community science in advancing our understanding of the early life history of marine species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though tropical cyclone (TC) models have been routinely evaluated against track and intensity observations, little work has been performed to validate modeled TC wind fields over land. In this paper, we present a simple framework for evaluating simulated low‐level inland winds with in‐situ observations and existing TC structure theory. The Automated Surface Observing Systems, Florida Coastal Monitoring Program, and best track data are used to generate a theory‐predicted wind profile that reasonably represents the observed radial distribution of TC wind speeds. We quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated the modeled inland TC wind fields, and described the model performance with a set of simple indicators. The framework was used to examine the performance of a high‐resolution two‐way nested Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory model on recent U.S. landfalling TCs. Results demonstrate the capacity of using this framework to assess the modeled TC low‐level wind field in the absence of dense inland observations. Plain Language Summary: Some of the biggest human impacts of tropical cyclone (TC) winds come after the TC makes landfall. A skillful prediction of the radial distribution of winds is essential for forecasting TC‐induced inland hazards. However, the forecast skill of numerical hurricane models on inland TC wind fields has rarely been evaluated since it is challenging to collect wind observations during landfall, and the network of regular weather observations is too spread out to capture the strongest winds associated with a TC. This inhibits the improvement of forecast models and limits our understanding of the TC's inland evolution. Our work combines available inland in‐situ wind observations over the southeastern U.S. with existing TC structure theory, and presents a new "optimal" estimate of the post‐landfall winds. Our framework is found to be useful for evaluating the post‐landfall TC winds in hurricane forecast models. In addition, the new evaluation technique can intuitively demonstrate how well the model simulates TC intensity and structure. Key Points: We introduce a new framework for evaluating modeled inland tropical cyclone (TC) wind fields with observation‐based, theory‐predicted wind profilesThe theory‐predicted wind profile well represents the observed radial distribution of inland TC wind speedsWe propose simple indicators to summarize the model performance on inland wind field predictions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper presents case examples of one research team's use of social network analysis (SNA) with three different collaboratives in South Florida: (a) a Collective Impact initiative seeking to end youth homelessness, (b) a university collaborative of campus organizations working towards Black students' concerns, and (c) a movement network of local social justice organizations. The research team used SNA to assess the level of connectivity of three different community coalitions. While research questions were slightly different for each collaborative, each project asked about the frequency of communication between organizations to determine connectivity. Results vary between case examples. Both the Youth Homeless Collaboration and the Black Student Association used Gephi to analyze results, while The Community Partnership used R to measure network centrality. The paper concludes with a general discussion of challenges related to using SNA as an action research tool, as well as the role of power in organizational networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the trajectory, orbital, and radiometric characteristics of the bolide event occurring off the coast of southern Florida and the Grand Bahama Island on April 13, 2021. An object measuring about 1.3 m in diameter entered the atmosphere at approximately 02:16:40 UTC at a velocity of 16 km s−1. It took an almost due north course between Florida and Grand Bahama Island, terminating in the Atlantic Ocean. No fragments have been recovered up to the date of submission of this paper. We used a fragmentation model to infer the internal structure of the object. We found that the best fit to the light curve and height of the peak energy deposition is with a weak stony meteor, with a density of about 2000 kg m−3, that disrupted and fragmented quickly, over a time interval of 1.5 s, or over a distance of about 11 km in altitude, between 45 and 34 km. We find that the impactor had a preatmospheric mass of 2.5 ± 0.5 t, resulting in a diameter of about 1.34 ± 0.09 m. We performed a backward integration of the trajectory to determine an orbit and found that the impacting object was a Jupiter family comet with a semimajor axis of about 3.6 AU, and an inclination of 9°, which is consistent with our analysis from the fragmentation model. We could not find a suitable candidate for a parent body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Florida Everglades, the largest subtropical wetland in North America, is in the midst of one of the most comprehensive and expensive environmental restoration efforts in history. Over the past 150 years, the Everglades has suffered substantial degradation due to massive drainage projects, polluting agricultural practices, and urban population growth. Decades of scientific investigation have shown that phosphorus (P) pollution is a primary driver of this environmental decline. This paper reviews how and why specific P‐management goals and strategies have been adopted in support of Everglades restoration, focusing on the often‐contentious process for converting science into restoration policies and standards. We synthesize current P‐management successes, failures, and tradeoffs, including the challenge of balancing multiple hydrologic and water quality restoration goals with the priorities and values of a diverse group of stakeholders. We then highlight promising future directions for Everglades P policy and propose questions to help guide the discussion of future restoration priorities and research needs in this and other complex social–ecological systems. The overall goals of this review are thus twofold: (1) to support an in‐depth understanding of the past, present, and potential future of P management approaches in this globally unique social–ecological system; and (2) to provide a broader framework for understanding how the coevolution of science and policy can support or undermine large‐scale ecosystem restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong sea‐surface temperature (SST) gradient associated with the Gulf Stream (GS) is widely acknowledged to play an important role in shaping mid‐latitude weather and climate. Despite this, an index for the GS SST gradient has not yet been standardized in the literature. This paper introduces a monthly index for the large‐scale SST gradient across the separated GS based on the time‐varying GS position detected from sea‐surface height. Analysis suggests that the variations in the monthly average SST gradient throughout the year result primarily from SST variability to the north of the GS, with little contribution from SST to the south. The index exhibits a weak periodicity at ∼2 years. Sea level pressure and turbulent heat flux patterns suggest that variability in the large‐scale SST gradient is related to atmospheric (rather than oceanic) forcing. Ocean‐to‐atmosphere feedback does not persist throughout the year, but there is some evidence of wintertime feedback. Plain Language Summary: The Gulf Stream is a narrow and fast‐flowing oceanic boundary current that transports warm tropical water north along the coast of Florida and out into the North Atlantic past Cape Hatteras. It is a region where sea‐surface temperatures (SSTs) change dramatically over very short distances with much cooler temperatures on one side of the Gulf Stream (GS) (to the north) and warmer temperatures on the other side (to the south). This strong change in SST across the GS is important for weather systems that propagate in the Euro‐Atlantic sector. Here, an index that measures how much the SSTs change with distance from month‐to‐month across the GS once it separates past Cape Hatteras is developed for the first time. It is found that variability in the index primarily results from SST variations to the north of the separated GS, which themselves are influenced by the atmosphere. There is evidence however that the SST variability represented by the index can also exert an influence on the atmosphere in wintertime. Additionally, the value of the index at any given time seemingly provides some information about the state of the index several years into the future. Key Points: A monthly index for the large‐scale sea‐surface temperature gradient of the separated Gulf Stream is presentedVariations in the index throughout the year are related to atmospheric forcingEvidence of ocean‐atmosphere feedback in the index is only apparent in wintertime [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. South Atlantic region has many long‐standing data needs and limited data collection resources for federally managed marine fish stocks. Much of the harvest is dominated by recreational fisheries, where data are limited, especially during historic time periods. FISHstory, a pilot project developed through the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Citizen Science Program, developed a standardized protocol for archiving and analyzing historic photos from the 1940s to 1970s from a for‐hire fleet based in Florida. These photos document the beginnings of the South Atlantic for‐hire fishery and are potentially an untapped source of data that can help recreate information on catch and length composition prior to when dedicated fishery dependent surveys began. Many careful steps were taken in the design of FISHstory to ensure data collected would be fit for purpose and useful to management. This paper highlights these steps and describes lessons learned through project development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this viewpoint and critique is to provide theoretical considerations as to why virtual court may exacerbate the existing disadvantages of intimate partner violence victims in child removal cases. As a backdrop, this paper uses a report of an unnamed but actual victim of intimate partner abuse and her experience in a child removal case in Florida. Key points for the family court community: There are numerous barriers for victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the Child Protective Services (CPS) systemVirtual court may be another psychological barrier for female IPV victims in CPS cases [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the earth's climate changes, the ability of breeders to select for traits within forage species that impart adaptability to these changes will be critical for the maintenance of grassland agricultural systems. Temperate ‐ tropical climate transition zones (between 27 and 31° N and S latitude) have proven to be ideal zones for breeding species with variable climate adaptation. Programs located in these regions have the advantage of exposure to alternating extreme warm and cold temperatures, drought and flood conditions, and a multitude of biotic pests including fungi, viruses, insects and nematodes. In this paper we will present examples of how forage breeding programs in north‐central Florida have capitalized on these distinct advantages for selection of cultivars with resiliency to changing climate variables. Breeding programs in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) will be discussed as examples for moving cool season species into warmer climates. Species attributes that contribute to climate resiliency will be identified and described. The ability to identify small changes in genetic photoperiod responses in these regions, are illustrated as an advantage when the objective is development of earlier or later maturity. Transition zones also provide suitable environments for biotic stresses, from both tropical and temperate areas, including fungal diseases, nematodes, and insects, offering desirable field environments for screening and genetic improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to create a new hybrid ensemble data mining model to predict the Salmonella presence in agricultural surface waters based on the combination of heterogeneous ensemble approach for feature selection, clustering, regression, and classification algorithms. The data set for this study was collected from six agricultural ponds in Central Florida consisting of 23 features with 540 instances (26 Salmonella positive and 514 Salmonella negative). The model consisted of three stages. Initially, a heterogeneous ensemble feature selection (HEFS) approach was applied to select top features. Then, the k‐means clustering algorithm was implemented to remove misclassified cases from the data set. Finally, classification and regression algorithms, including support vector machine (SVM), Naïve Bayes (NB), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Random Forest (RF) with soft voting approach were applied to the preprocessed data set to predict the Salmonella presence in agricultural surface waters with the amount of test set (20%). These algorithms were combined in 10 different ensemble models through the soft voting approach. The performance of these hybrid ensemble models was also evaluated. The ensemble ANN + RF model achieved the highest performance and outperformed all other single and ensemble models based on Area under the ROC Curve (AUC) (0.98) and prediction accuracy (94.9%). The findings emphasize the validity of our hybrid ensemble model which encourages researchers to predict Salmonella presence in agricultural surface waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local governments react to one another in expenditure. However, the existing literature concerning these reactions suffer from one of three problems: timing dynamics, county behaviour, or over aggregation. City‐to‐city interaction estimates are shown to shrink up to 50% when appropriately dealing with dynamics and county behaviour using a dynamic spatial Durbin model with a maximum likelihood estimator. Expenditure disaggregation shows that the majority of categories have no spillover. One category, general government expenditure, is responsible for nearly all of the variation. This finding does not fit well with the existing theories for spatial interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]