Transcript No Slide Title

ECOSYSTEMS AND WILDLIFE OF FLORIDA
ARE DEFINED BY THE STATE’S GEOLOGY
FLORIDA SITS ON A PLATFORM OF LIMESTONE,
FOSSIL REMAINS OF CORAL REEFS
LIMESTONE
OVERLAID BY
SAND
LIMESTONE
DISSOLVES OR
COLLAPSES,
CREATING
SINKHOLES
Limestone at surface near spring.
Mining limestone in south Florida.
SEA LEVEL CHANGES, WATER LOCKED IN
GLACIERS DURING ‘ICE AGES’
DURING INTERGLACIAL PERIODS, GLACIERS
MELTING AND SEA LEVELS RISING
20,000 YBP, SEA LEVELS 400 FEET LOWER
FLORIDA TWICE ITS PRESENT SIZE
GULF COAST CONNECTION
AT GLACIAL MINIMUM, FLORIDA
WAS A ONLY A CHAIN OF ISLANDS
Global warming and rising sea
levels are a major threat to Florida.
Topographic Relief
A 17-foot rise in sea level has major impact on Florida.
Rising sea levels are already killing cabbage palms
and other coastal trees at Waccasassa Bay State
Preserve, Levy County, FL.
WILDLIFE OF FLORIDA
PLEISTOCENE
Many similarities to today
LANDSCAPE AND VEGETATION
Generally similar
BIRD FAUNA SIMILAR
• Ibis
• Grebes
• Ducks
• Raptors
• Owls
• Woodpeckers
AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE FAUNA
ALMOST UNCHANGED
• Gopher tortoise
• Box turtle
• Soft-shelled turtles
• Snakes
• Lizards
Mammal community was completely different.
Tapir, llamas, giant ground sloth, mammoths.
Short-faced bear, glyptodonts, jaguar,
horses, sabertooth cats.
EARLY PLEISTOCENE: 300 MAMMAL SPECIES
END OF PLEISTOCENE, 10,000-12,000 YBP
MOST LARGE MAMMALS EXTINCT
FACTORS INFLUENCING FLORIDA’S FAUNA
 LATITUDE
 LONG, NARROW SHAPE
 HUMID CLIMATE
 PENINSULA
 HISTORIC CHANGE IN SIZE AND SHAPE
Peninsula Effect
Species diversity of breeding land birds in Florida
Reptiles and Amphibians:
108 species in north Florida, 48 of which are
not found in south Florida
Mammals:
53 native terrestrial species in north Florida,
10 of which are not found in south Florida
• If latitude was the only determinant,
Florida would be a desert.
• Peninsula
• Surrounded by subtropical oceans warm, humid climate.
HIGH BIODIVERSITY: RAINFALL, TEMPERATURE,
TEMPERATE-TROPICAL CONNECTIONS
HUMAN-ALTERED LANDSCAPES
PALEO-INDIANS: 10,000 YEARS OR
MORE
AGRICULTURE: 800 YEARS AGO
MAJOR IMPACTS BEGAN WITH
EUROPEAN COLONIZATION: LATE
1700’S
NE FLORIDA: TIMBER AND AGRICULTURE
CENTRAL FL: CONVERSION TO CITRUS
SOUTHERN FL: WATER CONTROL
AGRICULTURAL LANDS
COASTAL AREAS: PRIME REAL ESTATE
What’s coming: FL 2005 vs 2060 growth projections.