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Archbold Biological Station, a privately endowed research facility established in 1941
and located in south-central Florida, is devoted to long-term ecological research and
conservation (see http://www.archbold-station.org, and also the enclosed 1997-98
Biennial Report). The facilities incorporate a library, laboratories, reference
collections, computer networks, plus dining and housing. Staff and visiting scientists
conduct research on the unique scrub habitats of the Lake Wales Ridge and environs.
The Station owns and manages a 2,000-ha natural preserve, a relict sand dune habitat
with one of the highest concentrations of threatened and endangered species in the
USA. Study and management of endangered species and communities form dominant
research themes. Ecological research programs are also conducted in other scrub
ecosystems regionally, and intensive conservation activities have been focused on
the establishment of protected areas throughout the Lake Wales Ridge. Educational
programs emphasize research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students,
providing facilities for teaching field ecology to visiting classes, and environmental
instruction for schoolchildren. A major division of Archbold Biological Station is
the MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center (the Ranch), a 4,170-ha working cattle
ranch and citrus grove, managed at commercial production levels for research
purposes. The Ranch provides staff and visiting scientists an opportunity to
measure and monitor ecological effects of agricultural practices at real world
scales of space and numbers. The primary mission is to conduct long-term research
on ecological patterns and processes, and associated economic factors in the
working landscape of a Florida cattle ranch.
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