Everglades Science Center

Audubon's Everglades Science Center (ESC) uses cutting-edge science and system-wide monitoring to protect and restore the Everglades.

ESC was established in the Florida Keys in 1939, by National Audubon's first Director of Research, Robert Porter Allen. Allen began a full-time study of the Roseate Spoonbill, living among them in a tent for weeks at a time. At the time, scientists would typically study birds’ eating habits by killing them and examining their stomach contents. However, the spoonbill was so scarce, Allen had to find another way to study them. His research changed how scientists studied birds and a legacy of more than 85 years of data investigating the spoonbill and its habitat. 

Today, Everglades Science Center researchers continue to study the behavior and nesting success of the iconic spoonbill, as well as the flow of fresh water into Florida Bay and the impacts that the diversion of water has had throughout the Everglades ecosystem. Our experiments link changes in freshwater flow to changes in plants growing under the water and subsequent loss of small fishes. These fish are vital parts of the ecosystem, making up the food base for many higher predators such as game fishes, crocodilians, wading birds, and birds of prey.