Post-Conference Workshop

You may register for the post-conference workshop through the conference registration form.

From the Daintree to Pambala-Chilaw Lagoon to the Florida Keys!

Please note: The MMM4 Workshop provides transportation from St. Augustine, FL to the Workshop Venue in Long Key, FL at the beginning of the workshop and transportation to the Miami airport (MIA) or the Orlando airport (MCO) at the conclusion of the workshop. If you are booking a return flight from the conference, for directly after the workshop, please arrange to fly out of Miami airport (MIA), 2 hours away by car, or Orlando airport (MCO), 7 hours away by car.

Maximum Capacity: 25

Workshop: $340
Transportation and Accommodations on the way to KML*: $100
Dormitory Accommodations**: $200

TOTAL: $640 plus additional personal expenses estimated at $250 (see below).

Unfortunately, no MMM4 conference funding is available to cover participation in the MMM4 Workshop.

Workshop Goals

The 2016 MMM4 Post-Conference Workshop will be held at the Florida Keys Marine Laboratory on Long Key in the Florida Keys, USA. Participants will travel by van/car from St. Augustine to Long Key, stopping along the way at interesting mangrove sites, with an overnight stay (at participant’s expense) in Fort Pierce, FL.The six-day workshop will focus on understanding the consequences of global environmental changes for mangrove ecosystems through brainstorming sessions around a conference table and during field trips to nearby mangrove forests. Our goal is to provide an up-to-date synthesis of the work that has been done on the consequences of the many components of global environmental change on mangroves and to indentify gaps in our knowledge.

There will be no oral or poster contributions in this workshop, rather lots of discussions, around the conference table and in the mangrove with everyone contributing ideas and taking on writing assignments. We encourage participation by a multidisciplinary group of mangrove ecologists at all career stages to discuss the relevance of global change for mangroves from many perspectives. First off, our aim is to develop a structured yet fluid outline that we can use as a framework and a working point for our discussions and ultimately our manuscript. As the week progresses, we will modify that outline as our ideas gel. By the end of the workshop, we hope to have the bare bones but specific plans for the essay. Over the following weeks and months, we will use online tools (e.g., Googledocs) to flesh out the manuscript. Individuals will take on specific sections depending on expertise. However, we will all be equally responsible for the manuscript as a whole. Skills that will be particularly important are: knowledge of latest papers; meta-analysis techniques; writing; and teamwork.

Workshop Publication

Previous MMM workshops have set high bars for us to emulate. If you recall, the 2012 MMM3 post-conference workshop in Sri Lanka at the Pambala-Chilaw Lagoon, organized by Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, led to a paper in Global Ecology and Biogeography (Lee et al. 2014); the 2006 MMM2 post-conference workshop in the Daintree, organised by Norman Duke, lead to a publication in Science (Duke et al. 2007). The paper that comes out of the MMM4 Workshop will be published in the Special Issue of the journal Hydrobiologia focused on the biology and ecology of mangrove ecosystems, scheduled to be published in July 2017.

Workshop Venue

The Florida Keys Marine Laboratory (KML)

The Keys Marine Laboratory (KML) is a full-service marine lab situated in the heart of the Florida Keys island chain on Long Key at mile marker 68.5. The facility offers a unique opportunity to study the only tropical marine ecosystems in the continental US, with nearby mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. It is an ideal location with easy access to Florida Bay, the Everglades, the Florida Current, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. KML offers an excellent base of operations for our workshop.

KML is operated jointly by the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, a unit of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Florida Institute of Oceanography, a consortium under the State University System. KML was established in 1987 as a full-service marine research and education center serving undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and researchers from the state, national and international scientific communities. KML, through FIO, is a member of the National Association of Marine Laboratories, Southern Association of Marine Laboratories, and the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean.

For more information, visit the KML website http://www.keysmarinelab.org/index.html.

Tentative Workshop Itinerary

Saturday 23 July 2016

Morning:

Vans depart St. Augustine early morning
Visit mangrove sites at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Black Point Drive
Lunch (at participant’s expense) at local restaurant en route

Afternoon:

Arrive in Fort Pierce
Guided visit of Florida Atlantic University/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Guided visit of Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce
Dinner at Candy Feller’s house: pizza and beer
Overnight at the Dockside Hotel in Fort Pierce (at participant’s expense)
Sunday 24 July 2016

Morning:

Breakfast at local restaurant (at participant’s expense)
Depart Fort Pierce early morning; drive south (approx. 3 hour drive to Key Largo)

Afternoon:

Lunch at local restaurant (at participant’s expense) in Key Largo (e.g., Buzzards Roost)
Stop at John Pennekamp SP on Key Largo to visit their mangrove boardwalk
Continue driving south

Evening:

Arrive at KML
Dinner at local restaurant (at participant’s expense); socialize, brainstorm
Monday 25 July 2016

Morning:

Breakfast at KML
Welcome; tour of KML; introductions
Discussions begin; define goals, objectives, tasks, research gaps; discuss joint fieldwork and publications
Lunch at KML

Afternoon:

Visit mangroves in Long Key State Park and boardwalk; brainstorming and discussions continue

Evening:

Cook-out dinner at KML; continue discussions to define the research gaps; brainstorming
Tuesday 26 July 2016

Morning:

Breakfast at KML
Visit mangroves at Fossil Reef State Park; kayaking/snorkeling opportunities
Picnic lunch at the park

Afternoon:

Brainstorming in groups

Evening:

Dinner at local restaurant (at participant’s expense); followed by brainstorming sessions at KML
Wednesday 27 July 2016

Morning:

Breakfast at KML
Visit Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge on Big Pine Key
Picnic lunch at the Refuge

Afternoon:

Brainstorming in groups at KML

Evening:

Dinner at local restaurant (at participant’s expense); discussions continue
Thursday 28 July 2016

Morning:

Breakfast at KML
Brainstorming in groups

Afternoon:

Lunch at KML
Brainstorming in groups; mangrove walk; discussions continue

Evening:

Dinner at local restaurant (at participant’s expense); discussions continue
Friday 29 July 2016

Morning:

Breakfast at KML
Wrap-up of the workshop
Definition of tasks and writing assignments for the weeks to come

Afternoon:

Lunch at KML
Brainstorming in groups; mangrove walk; discussions continue

Evening:

Cook-out dinner at KML
Continued discussions, brainstorming; socializing
Saturday 30 July 2016
Breakfast at KML
Transportation to airports (TBD)

Workshop Costs

Workshop: $340
Transportation and Accommodations on the way to KML*: $100
Dormitory Accommodations**: $200

TOTAL: $640

Unfortunately, no MMM4 conference funding is available to cover participation in the MMM4 Workshop.

What is included for the Workshop fee?

  • access to the workshop venues and facilities at the KML
  • breakfast, lunch, and transportation during the workshop
  • two cookout dinners; and
  • transportation back to MIA or MCO airports.

What is included for the Transportation and Accommodations on the way to KML fee?

  • transportation by van or car from the MMM4 Conference venue in St. Augustine to the MMM4 Workshop venue at the Keys Marine Lab (KML) on Long Key
  • guided tours in Fort Pierce on Saturday 23 July; and
  • accommodations at the Dockside Inn in Fort Pierce on Saturday 23 July.

What is included for the Dormitory Accommodations fee?

If you choose to stay at the dormitory, which is recommended for easy access to the workshop venue, your dormitory fee of $200 covers shared dorm room accommodations at KML from Sunday 24 July 2016 until Saturday 30 July 2016 (and access to the common room and kitchen facilities there).

Additional Costs that participants MUST PAY ON OWN:

Additional meals and individual expenses to be paid directly by each participate will include:

  • Food at restaurants en route from St. Augustine to KML (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
  • Dinners while at KML at local restaurant (except for the cookout nights)
  • Kayak rentals/snorkel trips at commercial vendors
  • Personal purchases
  • Hotel room if you opt to stay in a local hotel rather than at the KML dorm**

*If you prefer not to travel to the workshop with other participants, stopping at mangrove sites along the way, you may meet us at the KML, and the cost of transportation and accommodations on Saturday 23 July will be deducted from your registration fee.

**If you prefer hotel accommodations rather than sharing a dorm room with a few other people, there are nearby hotels where you can make reservations. If you choose this option, the cost of the dorm room will be deducted from your registration fee. See below for a list of local hotels.

If you need to get back to St. Augustine from the workshop, please contact Candy Feller at felleri@si.edu to make special arrangements. Please make every effort to book your return flight to depart from MIA (in Miami) or MCO (in Orlando).

Estimated Personal Expenses

  • Restaurant meals en route to KML from St. Augustine $50
  • Restaurant dinners throughout the week $100
  • Kayak rentals/snorkel trips $50
  • Personal purchases $50

Total estimated additional costs to be paid on own $250

Please Note: These numbers are estimates. Actual personal expenses on this trip may vary.

Local Hotels

Please Note: If you do not have your own transportation, it is strongly recommended that you stay at the KML dorms or at Lime Tree Bay Resort right next door. Transportation to and from the workshop each day will not be provided.

Lime Tree Bay Resort, Long Key

This hotel is immediately next door to KML and would be the most convenient for the workshop.

Edgewater Lodge, Long Key

This hotel is 2.7 miles (4.3 km) from KML, on Long Key

Bay View Inn and Marina,

This hotel is on Conch Key, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south of KML

Little Conch Key Cottages*, 12 km south KML

This hotel is on Conch Key, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of KML


You may register for the post-conference workshop through the conference registration form.




About MMM4

MMM4 stands for the 4th Mangrove and Macrobenthos Meeting. This meeting is an international discussion on the causes and consequences of mangrove ecosystem expansion in an ever-changing climate. Join us this year in St. Augustine, FL on the historic grounds of Flagler College.

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Get in Touch

  • Phone:
    (352) 392-5930
  • Email:
    tamar@ufl.edu
  • Address:
    2311 Mowry Road, Bldg. 78
    PO Box 110750
    Gainesville, FL 32611