Natural Ecosystems and Native Species
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Transcript Natural Ecosystems and Native Species
Natural Ecosystems and
Native Species
Natural Ecosystems and Communities
Multiple populations
Natural
Interaction between populations
Pre-Columbian (Native)
Native
Pre-Columbian
Well-adapted
Survives on its own
Native Plants
Weeds: Grow quickly wherever they spread
Land erosion, felled trees, etc.
Habitat, food, and stabilize soil
Kept in check by natural enemies
Grown over by other native plants
Exotic Plants
Introduced to the area
Benign
Ornamental
Reproduction is easy to control
Invasive
Reproduction is not easy to control
Take over native species
Disrupt ecosystems
Exotic Pest Plant Council: Group that looks for invasives and reports them to state
agencies
Animals
Native, exotic, migratory
Migratory follow a predictable pattern of passing through or living in Florida for a
season
Migratory not invasive – Contribute meaningfully to Florida ecosystems
Florida’s Ecosystems
Classified
Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)
Tracks Florida’s natural lands and waters
Guidelines set by the Nature Conservancy in 1981
www.fnai.org
Guide to the Natural Communities of
Florida
69 ecosystems in the state of Florida in 6 categories
Interior
Uplands
Wetlands
Waters
Coastal
Uplands
Wetlands
Waters
Artificial Ecosystems
Theme parks, zoos, aquariums
Positive: economy and education
Negative: high-maintenance
Heat, air conditioning, water, mowing, weeding………
Not suited for local weather
Do not recover naturally when damaged
Depend on people
Hard on the natural environment
Consumes resources, instead of produces
Natural Ecosystems
Important for the economy and education
Produce resources, not consume
Low maintenance
Help humans
Stop floods, generate food, purify air and water
Populations adapted over time
Natural Ecosystems
May be damaged by extremes, but come back
Unnatural situations can permanently damage populations
Fire-dependent communities may lose populations without fire
Extreme pollution
Overfishing/overhunting
Invasive species
Climate warming or cooling
Extreme changes in water flow after geological events
Overall help regulate climate, gases, purify and move water, produce food
Altered Natural Areas
Beneficial altered areas
More pleasing, safer, or profitable
Provide benefits to the area
Examples:
Ecological timber production
Manmade lakes
Malignant altered areas
May be beneficial, but more negatives than positives
Examples
Single-species plantations
Abandoned areas taken over by forest
Unburned fire-dependent forests
Degraded Natural Areas
Parking lots and roads
Densely populated coastal areas
May require restoration
Florida’s Native Species
Florida’s Native Species
Species: A group of reproductively isolated organisms
Speciation: The process by with a new species arises
Categories of living things
Kingdom
(Animalia)
Phylum
(Chordata)
Class
(Mammalia)
Order
(Primata)
Family
(Hominidae)
Genus
(Homo)
Species
(Sapiens)
Names of Species
Both a scientific name and a common name
Example: Homo sapiens and human
Common names are agreed upon and designated
I googled humans of Florida and this is what come up.
Counting Florida’s Species
Land vertebrates: 700
Fish: 1000
Land invertebrates: 30000
Plants: 4000
Florida’s Endemic Species
Endemic: Native species in a limited geographic area
Species endemic to Florida are found only within Florida
Widely distributed: not endemic
Example: Live oak is found from Virginia to Texas
Limited to small areas: endemic
Example: Gopherwood tree is only found in North Florida and South Georgia
Florida’s Species Today
One of the highest numbers of endangered species in the country
Mostly due to destruction of habitats
Past: Species produced faster than they die out
Present: Species are becoming extinct at an accelerating rate!
Not yet endangered, but close…