Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Location: Hawks Cay Resort, Duck Key, Florida
Time: 8:15am to 4:45pm
Fee: $100 full day, $50 half day
Included: Lunch (full day only) plus morning and afternoons breaks

If the instructor has provided a description, it is included below.

TUESDAY – AUGUST 26, 2025 – WORKSHOPS

8:15am – 4:45pm WORKSHOP 1: Lake (and Fish) Mapping with Consumer Sonar and BioBase: Survey Design, Analysis Tips and Tentative Field Demo. Ryan Sullivan, BioBase LLC

8:15am – 12:00pm WORKSHOP 2: General Aquatic Weed Control, Herbicide Resistance, Introduction Pathways, IPM and Biocontrol Insects. Lyn Gettys, Ph.D, University of Florida, IFAS

8:15am – 4:45pm WORKSHOP 3: From API Data Access to Multivariate EDA and Modeling in R. Dan Schmutz, Greenman Pederson, Inc. & Alex Manos, Pinellas County

12:45pm – 4:45pm WORKSHOP 4: Aquatic Plant ID Including Telling Apart Lookalikes and Propagation Tips for Natives. Lyn Gettys, Ph.D, University of Florida, IFAS (Does not require Workshop 2)

Click here to go to the registration page!

Workshop Descriptions

WORKSHOP 1: Lake (and Fish) Mapping with Consumer Sonar and BioBase: Survey Design, Analysis Tips and Tentative Field Demo

Workshop Instructor: Ryan Sullivan, BioBase LLC

Description: The automated cloud mapping platform BioBase (biobasemaps.com) is used by Lake Management researchers, professionals, and citizen scientists across the globe for a broad range of mapping needs ranging from storm water storage volume, to tracking invasive aquatic plant growth and management, AND NOW FISH ABUNDANCE AND SIZE! The classroom portion of the workshop will take users through the basics of how sonar is processed by BioBase algorithms, some survey design and analysis tips and tricks, and we’ll demo the new fish layer called EcoFish (slated for release in May 2025). Fortuitously, the conference center is on the water in Duck Key and thus we are planning a field demo. The field demo would be in the morning followed by an afternoon classroom session where we could review outputs collected during the field demo portion of the workshop.

Contact information: Ryan.Sullivan@biobasemaps.com 651-204-0640

WORKSHOP 2: General Aquatic Weed Control, Herbicide Resistance, Introduction Pathways, IPM and Biocontrol Insects

Workshop Instructor: Lyn Gettys, Ph.D., University of Florida IFAS

Description: This session will focus on introduction pathways for aquatic weeds and general concepts of aquatic weed control. Topics covered will include integrated management, maintenance management, using biocontrol agents, and how to reduce the development of herbicide resistance.

About the Instructor:

Dr. Lyn Gettys (Gettys rhymes with lettuce!) is an Associate Professor of Agronomy (Aquatic and Wetland Plant Science) and has been based at the University of Florida IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center in Davie since 2012. She holds a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in plant breeding from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in plant genetics from the University of Florida. Her research focuses on the biology and ecology of native and introduced aquatic and wetland plants, management of invasive aquatic plants, and developing methods to improve the success rate of aquatic habitat enhancement and restoration projects. Her Extension efforts include providing leadership for the UF/IFAS Aquatic Weed Control Short Course, which attracts more than 500 attendees every year, and serving as a subject matter expert and speaker on aquatic plant biology and control for stakeholders throughout Florida.

Workshop 3: From API Data Access to Multivariate EDA and Modeling in R

Workshop Instructors: Dan Schmutz, M.S., Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.
Alex Manos, M.S., Pinellas County Division of Environmental Management

Description: Environmental science and ecology have entered the realm of “big data” with many agencies providing public access to their databases. In this workshop we will introduce methods for remotely accessing public datasets. We will explain the concept of an API (Application Programming Interface) and how it can be used to access data from various providers such as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). We will use R to download, process, and analyze environmental datasets, demonstrating how to integrate API calls into research and decision-making workflows.

Large environmental datasets are multivariate by their nature, meaning that multiple environmental variables are measured simultaneously at each sample point, allowing researchers to analyze relationships between factors like water quality parameters, species abundance, and pollutant concentrations across different locations or time periods, providing deeper insight into complex environmental systems. A wide range of multivariate Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) and modeling techniques will be presented to provide assessment of species-environment relationships, including hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analysis, unconstrained ordination, and constrained ordination.

This class is ideal for users with some previous exposure to R, but beginners are welcome too. Teaching methods will touch on both concepts and techniques, with an emphasis on implementation in R. Prior to the workshop, we will send instructions for installing the free programs R and RStudio and required packages along with a link to a video and suggested practice exercises for beginners to get up to speed. Please bring a laptop, if possible, as the workshop will emphasize a hands-on approach to learning.

About the Instructors:

Dan Schmutz is the President of the Florida Lake Management Society and the Chief Environmental Scientist for Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI), a 1,900-person multidisciplinary consulting firm. He has over 25 years of experience developing and applying ecological and hydrological assessments, GIS, and data science techniques for addressing water resource questions. He earned a Master of Science degree in Zoology from the University of South Florida in 1997 and has been enjoying playing with data ever since.

Alex Manos is an Environmental Specialist with Pinellas County’s Division of Environmental Management specializing in water quality data analysis and visualization. He received his B.S. in Biology from Central Connecticut State University and his M.S. in Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences from the University of Florida. Alex has experience leveraging open-source software to automate workflows, develop dashboards, and enhance data accessibility.

WORKSHOP 4: Aquatic Plant ID (Does not require Workshop 2)

Workshop Instructor: Lyn Gettys, Ph.D, University of Florida, IFAS

Description: This session will introduce attendees to some of Florida’s native and introduced aquatic plants. Topics will include plant identification, telling apart lookalikes, management options for invasive plants, and propagation tips for native plants.