Life – The lessons from SWFlorida Wilderness.

Sunset in mid summer on Bonita Beach in SWFL.

Wilderness health determines human health. Public wilderness health programs are needed to reduce pressure on the remaining wildlife and all other resources. We need to continue to develop new technologies that assist in adaptation to environmental changes without over demanding the resources. This is an essay combining physics and biology.

The featured image is the sun in hand near sunset. Please also see the previous post on Sand, wind, Water and Fire.

Energy and the second law of thermodynamics:

You can’t beat physics. Probably the most delimiting aspect of physics is thermodynamics. Life anywhere needs energy to live and reproduce. Ultimately the sun is the source of all power on earth. Cells, especially in plants, import the free energy from the sun and use nutrients and a complex chain of chemical reactions and specialized compartments to sustain life. This metabolic reaction, organized by DNA, supports internal organization, self maintenance and reproduction. This is net organization. It is an alternative to an increasingly chaotic environment. The unusable waste and heat is the entropic result of metabolism. The growth and storage of resources in organic molecules of plants plus reproduction are the valuable byproducts of life. Animals use a similar but more consumptive process in exchange for mobility and associated behaviors.

This schematic shows cell biology and the level of organization as the process of life proceeds. The ending relative degree of order falls below the start point because the cell uses energy and nutrients to create order in the cell. The resulting byproducts of metabolism are less ordered than the cell and less than the start point.

As long as the sun shines, and plants and animals consume less energy than the storage rate, the system is static or even increases order by creating a surplus of stored energy. Contrarily, if consumption is greater than the storage rate, energy is depleted and entropy increases. Currently humans are over consumptive. We are depleting the reserve energy resources with the untoward results of increased chaos. To cope with this we have some biologic tools that might help us. They are Darwinian in concept. These include four characteristics; genetic variance, species differentiation by inheritance, selection by survival of the fittest, and time. These tools can be used to adapt to the changing future. They are simple but require overwhelming cooperation.

Here is what we could do to change biology:

Preserve the genetic diversity of life. It will save time when we need life forms with special properties. Use or develop plants and animals which are survivalists for specific purposes. It is easier to maintain tough species forms rather than vulnerable species. Live in communities which are located in geologically and climatically stable environments. These areas demand less energy for maintenance.

To counteract the probable climate change and chronic over-demand, we could re-engineer plants and animals. If the rate of genetic mutation of selected genomes is increased and we environmentally promote inheritance by natural selection we could reset the consumptive rate then we could stop increasing chaos and rebalance the physics. Enhance species could replace those which cannot adapt to change. Effectively we could counteract our hyper-consumptive behavior and re-terraform Earth to promote survival of the wilderness. This would select for our survival and aim for survival of all. There are other helpful green power resources that are currently employed but they require substantial energy to build and deploy.

This is all a fantasy and another reality will probably develop. The power of the sun and the adaptive capacity of DNA are the two things that will not change. Change will happen. it is difficult to predict and it is impossible to prevent. One must plan for survival and learn to go with the changes.

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References:

Cell Thermodynamics and Energy Metabolism

Eukaryotic metabolism

Cell energy metabolism: An update

#sun #thermodynamics #genomic engineering #change #entropy

March 26, 2024

Feathered Friends Found on Our Tour of SWFL Preserves

We had an opportunity to explore three distinctly different areas in Southwest Florida. Discussion of these focused on upland systems that ranged from the interior of the Everglades to the Gulf of Mexico costal planes. The earlier posts described the geography and associated plants. Animals were also found. Here are some of the feathered vertebrate species: Avians. The animal classification will follow the previously posted bird Clades. The important lesson learned here is animals predate on each other and share the environment by mutual specialization. We will discuss the significance of this concept after we have a chance to see the animals. There are some general observations which may be time or seasonal related conditions. During exploration of the various locations the song birds were less frequently found in the flatwoods. Additionally, the waterfowl were never found in the pine or scrubby flatwoods. The raptors were found in all explored areas.

The featured image is a nesting American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) with chick. This very large nest is in a hardwood, upland Slash pine near a creek.

THE BIRDS:

There were three types of birds which I photographed. All of them are wonderous in their appearance, behavior, songs, and interactions with their surroundings. To really appreciate them you must go into the field, be patient, watch and listen. I could not photograph all I saw and this is not an encyclopedia of all that are present. The following posts are an opportunity to show what to expect to see when you are there. They will have more selected photographs of some of these magnificent animals.

Waterfowl:

Including: Spoonbill, Storks, Egret, Herron, Anhinga, Duck and others

This pair of Wood Storks were feeding deep in a swamp

Raptors:

Including: Hawk, Eagle, Falcon, Osprey, Owl and others

Red Shouldered Hawk has a nest in a hard wood upland portion of Corkscrew Swamp.

Songbirds:

Including: Cat bird, Cardinal, Blue Jay, Finch, Warbler and others.

Black and White Warbler eating insects found under Cyprus bark in Corkscrew Swamp

Some birds were out of range of the telephoto lens, some were covered by foliage, some were too fast or not in focus and some were not to be found because of seasonal changes. I did my best but we are not done. Further exploration will provide an opportunity to see more, enjoy the spectacle and photograph the events.

References:

Wood Stork

Red shouldered hawk

Black and White Striped Warbler

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#Florida birds #birds

March 16, 2024

Sand, Water, Wind and Fire – Interpreting Findings From Exploring SW Florida

The ancient Greeks believed that there were four elements that made up everything. These were earth, water, air, and fire. The powerful image of these are readily apparent when walking through our wilderness. They form a landscape which we call an ecosystem.

The feature image is a composite of the elements which make up the four elements of a world view that lasted for three thousand years of human civilization. This concept was not challenged until the 17th century, not questioned until the 18th century, not recodified until the 19th century and not defined until the 20th century. Yet, when walking through our wilderness, it is easy to see why the simplistic view was so persistent.

In previous posts you saw the following scenes during our explorations of southwest Florida. Notice that all observations were based on sand. The most frequently found life forms have been the plants. The Slash pines, Saw palmetto, Ferns and grasses. are the toughest most productive species. They may not be the first responders but they are always the last survivors. They may not be keystone but they may be the cornerstone species

Sand supports plants and animals even those emerging from the sea.

Together with the energy of the sun, water is the stuff of life on our blue planet.

Wind is the great mover of everything from sand and water to fire.

In the flats and the hummocks, fire is both the destroyer and creator.

There are commonalities among the ecosystems we have explored in SWFL. What we see are the four elements of water, sand, wind and fire. We looked at hardwood hummocks, flatwood pines and scrubs and beach pine ecosystems in SWFL. The dominant surface has been sand but this is a specific old sand that doesn’t stick together because of its blunt, rounded surfaces and corners. Water has also been a constant factor in all of these environments. It has ranged from swamps to marshes, streams and ponds of fresh water to high salinity coastal ocean water. The size and shapes of the sands and the plants which live in them has been shaped by wind and selectively cultivated by fire. In casual observation we may not be aware of it however, on a daily basis, they are all in constant flux.

Hardwood hummock generated by the survivors allowing angiosperms and animals to specialize.

A marsh is unable to support trees or dry soil dependent animals but is filled with saw palmetto and other survivors.

Flatwood pines and scrub work together to provide the canopy.

Costal flatwood stabilize the sand against flood, wind and fire.

Although geologically, climatically and biologically diverse, these observations are consistent with those made in other parts of the world including our exploration of the equatorial and central Africa, Central Europe, Central and South America, the subarctic tundras of Canada and central and costal China. They all have cornerstone species which are tough and prolific.

Our persistent global view of our environment is delusional. It seems constant and simple. This perception is in conflict with the reality of global changes that are revealed only with fact based uber-human insights. From discovery of subatomic structure and molecular biology to views of earth from outer space and massive data and computational power we see that our earlier concepts were so shortsighted. Geologic and fossil records suggest that life with RNA began 2 to 3 billion years ago. RNA/DNA is the ultimate survivor. It persists in its myriad forms and is the foundation of all life today. If we allow ourselves to have a humbling experience we can see that although humans are now the dominant animal species it is a fleeting, precarious existence where we are so vulnerable to extinction. The next most dominant animal species is insects. Unlike insects we use and abuse the resources with intention or without it. The insects with the plants which occupy this land have a remarkable vast history of slowly changing physiology and appearance. Over time, they mutate, procreate, selectively survive and change to meet the planet which in turn reciprocates the change. They are aware only of earth, water, wind and fire. Still, they will out survive us.

Time line for the universe, suggesting the early existence of an RNA world of living systems.*

In the enormous scale of time, animal species and angiosperms have frequently changed. Birds and mammals which we enjoy today have developed only in the recent 65 million years since the last extinction; hominoids only in the last 1 million. In SWFL these plants are generally angiosperms like saw palmetto, slash pine, ferns and grasses including palms. The plants are quick to recover from wind and fire but genetically are very slow to change. They are the ultimate survivors with predecessors that date back hundreds of millions or perhaps a billion years almost unchanged. Some animals are ancient too, like the reptiles, insects and many marine animals. Relative to these ancient plant and animal species, all that we see alive today including humans are invasive species with which the plants have accommodated. We are continually faced with our own changes and that of the world around us. Of the species that are with us today, in time, most will disappear. The survivalists on land, like insects, gymnosperms, and reptiles will persist.

Interpretative summary;

Change is inevitable. Those who are able to accommodate to change are survivors. If the speed of accommodation to change is insufficient then to avoid extinction, the ability to recover from stress is imperative . There are some unavoidable extinction events. If you don’t like them, try not to create them.

So what:

We should rethink our relationship to the environment. We need to assimilate and cooperate with the changes. Resistance is futile. In a following post we will explore a futurist view of what will eventually be done. Evolutionarily the agent acting against physics and thermodynamics has been life. Life has survived by accommodating to everything during the last 3.5 billion years. Using the free energy from the sun, DNA collects and stores information, builds resources of energy storage and construction materials. With these it generates and executes algorithms that protect and promote self replication. For our survival we will do the same. This process is in our genes; in fact it is our genes.

References:

*Molecular biology of the cell,. Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J, et al. York: Garland Science; 2002.

Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J, et al.

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# sand #water #wind #fire #interpretation #change #

March 9, 2024

Florida C.R.E.W. Hardwood Hummock – Part 2

This is a description of the grassy and herbaceous undergrowth of this small part of the C.R.E.W. Together with the Part 1 post, the purpose of this presentation is to reduce the confusion of seemingly random plants and to help you understand why you see the what and why of the plants you see when you explore this type of wilderness area.

The featured image shows the “American beauty berry” in the understory. It was found along the trail to the live oak hummock on the path in the C.R.E.W. Cyprus Dome Cypress Hummock. This is second of a two part presentation of this area. The part one has the GPS location, charts and maps and describes the walk-about of the Corkscrew Reserve Environmental Watershed.

Perhaps the best way to understand the hydrology and geology for an area is to look at the plants. They have adapted themselves to use the area without the need to follow the resources like the animals. In fact the animals seek out the plants for survival. In these two presentations you can see the variances in plant anatomy and physiology through a series of locations. The plant adaptations have taken eons to reach the characteristics that make them identifiable as genus and apecies. The plants have the ability to adapt to the changing environment using two tools. These include plant succession and genetic mutation. Succession occurs when an ecosystem changes gradually or even catastrophically. This may cause the plant climax species to expire. Opportunistic species then overtake an available environmental niche. Mutations are genetic changes that take place at a known rate and this may result in variations which are better adapted to survive in an ecosystem. These mutations can be cumulative and can be perpetuated in the genome of subsequent progeny by inheritance of the variance.

Two signs of animal activity. The bear has slashed through the outer surface of a palm to feast on the honey made by a nest of bees.

This is a view into the scrub before the pond. From this distance the green mid-growth seems to be mangroves.

Here is a scene off the path toward the marsh with reeds and sedges and other grasses.

Thorn apple bush (*Crataegus alabamensis*) with the thorns as an identifier.

Possible Florida alligator weed with changing colors

This view is in the periphery of the transition zone with no oaks but many palms and saw palmetto dominating the understory.

Coastal plain grass-leaved-goldenrod (*Euthamia* *caroliniana)* (I think)

Shiny blueberry (*Vaccinium myrsinites*)

Meadowsweet at the edge of the hardwood hummock. Identification of this would be better if the blooms were fresh.

This is a sample of plants in the late transition zone. Note the oak tree litter which acts as a plant inhibitor. Though the “beans” contain no caffeine, they can be roasted and consumed as a coffee-like beverage.*

Bull thistle (*Crisium vulgare*), Invasive

Rosary pea (*Abrus precatorius*), invasive, highly toxic.

Beauty berry *(Callicarpa americana)*. The berries are edible to humans, although should be consumed in small amounts. Raw berries are edible, but generally are used to make jellies and wines.**

Observation of a confined area environment is a complicated but fun puzzle. The area should be visited during multiples of seasons, time of day intervals and length of observation to begin to grasp a comprehensive understanding of the area and begin to understand the reasons for classification and to understand the interactions of the plants and animals. Even simple identification is difficult when the plants are not blooming or in leaf. From this first time visit it can be discerned that there is a progression of plant types and land elevations in this small area. At the end of this presentation there is a simplified map of the area under observation.

This image of the understory in the oak hummock canopy shows the more dense plant undergrowth. This may occur because the oak tree litter is less prevalent and because some plants are less susceptible to the shedding of oak allelopathogens..

This is a sample of plants in the late transition zone. Note the abundance of oak tree litter which acts as a plant inhibitor.

No oak tree litter here and hence no trees, however, there are many herbaceous plants. That is a Fritillary Butterfly.

This simplified chart shows the four major ground areas that were observed. The hardwood hummock is about ten inches higher than the scrub flats. The scrub flats are about two inches above the level of the pond water.

The undergrowth depends upon water, sunlight, soil minerals and a range of allelopathic inhibitors. Be sure that you check out part 1 of this series. This understory is very different from that found in the Estero River Scrub Preserve State Park. We will go there in the near future.

Here is a recommendation. Go out into the nearby wilderness area. Pick a quiet spot and try to identify the type of environment classification you see or identify the undergrowth plants. It can be a fun and an educational challenge! Share your experiences or photos in the comment box below.

Reference:

Wild Coffee1

Wild coffee 2

Wild Weeds – American Beautyberry

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#hummock #succession #mutation #climax species #herbaceous understory #CREW #allelopathic #oak hummock #scrub flats #hydrology #geology

February 13, 2024

Native and Invasive Plant Species in Local Area #2

This is a record of the observed plant life in Area #2 which is adjacent to Area #1. The purpose was to identify invasive species in a neighborhood wetland area. This allows us to compare the adjacent sites of Areas #1 and #2. The results show the unintended consequences of water managemant. The two observation sites are within ten feet from one another but are extraordinarily different.

The feature image is a view of the landscape of area #2

The observation location of Area #2 is shown in Fig 1. It is in the swamp beginning nine feet north of a junction of a cultivated butterfly garden and a wilderness swamp area. This swamp is part of the slough that runs through the community property joining Spring Creek to the Imperial River. The slough has been engineered to use this as a retention pond for excess water. Six observations were recorded because they are the sum of all the viable species in this two acre area. There were no viable native plants to be found.

Fig 1. This is a Google map illustrating the location Area #2. The black numbers indicate the observations. #22 is the site of Area #1 from the previous post.

METHOD:

Potentially invasive species were harboring in this neighborhood area. Visual observation of plant life was done. Observational data was gathered using the Epicollect5/Everglades Ark database.

Physical examination was done in a selected two acre area. It is a community property that is an extension of the swampy slough which transverses the community between the Imperial River and Spring Creek. This area was difficult to access as it required wading through the wilderness swamp area. The observations were made between the 3:00 and 5:00 PM, between rainstorms, on November 16, 2023. The water level was elevated because of the recent precipitation. The identification of plants was later confirmed by computer assisted photographic identification. The identity was confirmed by the agreement of at least three independent search results.

OBSERVATIONS:

The site #2 sample of Carolina Willow behavior.

Carolina Willow, native but spreads and alters environment

FINDINGS:

Observation data was extracted from the collection site as a cdf and placed into two “Excel” files designated as A. and B. Title numbers correlate the information from both spread sheets.

Survey and Catalogue Site #2 contains: Observation number, hyperlink of full plant image, quantity, date, time, GPS location, light exposure, environmental location, location risk level.
Plant-Identity Site #2 contains: growth levels, plant type, hyperlinks to all photographs of plant and details of flowers, fruit, stems, common and scientific names and observation notes.

Survey and Catalog File Site #2 Spread Sheet and Plant Identity Site #2 are spread sheets enclosed in the accompanying file with their respective names. Swipe laterally to see the full sheet. Click on the hyperlinks to see the plant images.

Survey and Catalog File Site #2:

created_at

title

1_Observation_

2_Cell_Photo

3_Camera_facing_dire

4_How_many_items

5_Date_default

6_Time_default

lat_7_GPS_point_observat

long_7_GPS_point_observat

accuracy_7_GPS_point_observat

8_Kingdom

9_Plant_Identity

137_Site_surface_con

138_Site_weather_con

139_Other_location_i

140_Risk_level_to_lo

141_Event_Note

142_Photo_or_Audio_o

144_Observer

2023-11-16T19:35:40.716Z

404

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=c2789940-7a8f-4a22-ab9a-b94b154df297_1700163199.jpg

11/16/2023

14:33:31

26.340419

-81.817153

Plant

Wet soil

Overcast

Swamp

Photo recording file with same Observation date

John Knapp

2023-11-16T19:28:50.961Z

403

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=9624a326-e90f-4471-90d9-ae535daa201e_1700162784.jpg

100

11/16/2023

14:26:35

26.340415

-81.817234

Plant

Dry soil

Overcast

Swamp

Invasive, Established, Non native

Photo recording file with same Observation date

John Knapp

2023-11-16T19:25:36.756Z

402

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=feb1d4ad-d9f7-48d4-abda-effaf50fe892_1700162538.jpg

11/16/2023

14:22:29

26.340417

-81.817278

Plant

In or on water

Overcast

Swamp

Established, Native, Non-Invasive

Photo recording file with same Observation date

John Knapp

2023-11-16T19:19:06.973Z

401

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=77f89e49-3b60-4798-a904-2d6d9eec8446_1700162191.jpg

11/16/2023

14:16:46

26.340481

-81.817328

Plant

In or on water

Overcast

Swamp

Native, Invasive, Range change

Photo recording file with same Observation date

John Knapp

2023-11-16T19:14:36.040Z

400

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=e481bade-4434-4fd7-9254-0a672f845895_1700161912.jpg

100

11/16/2023

14:12:02

26.340481

-81.817333

Plant

In or on water

Overcast

Swamp

Non native, Invasive, Range change, Introduced

John Knapp

2023-11-16T19:09:09.705Z

399

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=ef647515-46e6-4285-9343-1e440e094796_1700161625.jpg

100

11/16/2023

14:07:17

26.340482

-81.817376

Plant

Wet soil

Bright indirect sun

Swamp

Non native, Introduced, Invasive, Nuisance, Range change

Category I invasive climbing vine

John Knapp

Site survey, interactive spread sheet. Click on hyperlinks to see images.

Plant Identity Site #2:

uploaded_at

title

10_Observation_

11_Choose_best_PLANT

13_If_CULTIVATED_or_

28_If_FERN_which_ord

29_Which_growth_stag

36_Which_fern_specie

43_If_Climbing_which

44_Which_plant_growt

45_Flower_present

46_Flower_photo

47_Seed_present

49_Leaf_or_Stem_pres

50_Leaf_stem_photo

51_Bark_present

52_Bark_photo

53_Common_Name_

54_Observation_notes

55_Scientific_Name

2023-11-16T20:05:38.000Z

Cultivated or herbaceous

404

Cultivated or herbaceous

Swamp understory

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=0846278e-45d7-41f0-b2d7-b614fe483de1_1700163273.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=0846278e-45d7-41f0-b2d7-b614fe483de1_1700163295.jpg

Great Bougainvillea

Very large spreading, sharp thorns

Bougainvillea spectabilis

2023-11-16T20:12:17.000Z

Cultivated or herbaceous

403

Cultivated or herbaceous

Swamp understory

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=3423cf53-590f-4087-91e1-e237a1b4b3bc_1700162844.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=3423cf53-590f-4087-91e1-e237a1b4b3bc_1700162886.jpg

Tropical Whiteweed

Ageratum conyzoides

2023-11-16T19:52:25.000Z

Fern (POLYPODIOPSIDA)

402

Fern (POLYPODIOPSIDA)

Polypodialis

Sporophyte

Giant Leather Fern

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=e247ff50-daa9-48d3-afa2-ee21f9a08426_1700162687.jpg

Leather fern

Acrostichum danaeifolium

2023-11-16T22:00:21.000Z

Woody

401

Woody

Overgrowth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=fd1b96e3-8a57-4d2b-97d8-66052782d7c2_1700162282.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=fd1b96e3-8a57-4d2b-97d8-66052782d7c2_1700162298.jpg

Carolina or Costal plane willow

Salix caroliniana Michx

2023-11-16T22:07:48.000Z

Cultivated or herbaceous

400

Cultivated or herbaceous

Swamp understory

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=4d6cdf14-85cd-4224-974f-ee276600930f_1700161978.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=4d6cdf14-85cd-4224-974f-ee276600930f_1700162023.jpg

Bitter melon

No fruit at this time

Momordica charantia

2023-11-16T22:17:30.000Z

Climbing

399

Climbing

Twinning, Tendrilll shoots

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=aaa74fb5-767c-4994-9fc7-d7598f0fe2df_1700161705.jpg

Arrowhead

Syngonium podophyllum

Plant identification, interactive spread sheet. Click on hyperlinks to see images.

All of the master data file can be found on the Epicollect5/Evergladesark web site.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS:

Risk level to local environment, statistical analysis:

Descriptive Level of Risk	COUNT	PERCENT of 6
Native	2	33
Non-native	4	66
Highly invasive	5	83
Rapidly spread	4	66
Non-native subject to high range change	1	17
Native subject to high range change	1	17
Non-native subject to high range change, nuisance, noxious?	1	17

Tabel 1. Listing level of risk, the number of plants in the group of six, the percentage of the the six plant types

RESULTS:

Within 100 feet of one another, multiple examples of 6 species of herbaceous plants and trees were identified. These were the only species of green plants in the area. There were no other observable viable plants.
The remainder of the vegetative remains were brown and appeared to be non-vital. This is consistent with the observations made during the year after hurricane Ian.
The relative percent of non-native to native plants is very high when compared with the distribution of plant types in the State of Florida.
It appears that the native population is less capable of regeneration when compared to the native species.
Range change represents the capability of plants to spread into neighboring areas either actively or passively. This seems to be the dominant criteria to include in the invasive status by most authorities.
One plant is native, capable of great range change, and is classified as capable of changing the environment. It is observation #401. The name is Costal Willow (). It is not classified as noxious nor invasive.
One plant is non-native, introduced, invasive, nuisance, range change capable. It is the arrowhead, observation #399

DISCUSSION:

This narrow range of species was difficult to observe in this poorly defined space. Walking into the swamp was problematic. A larger observation area resulted in very different findings. The sample was not biased. A continuing limitation in this study was to measure the percentage of the individual plant species mass relative to the totality mass of the vegetation.

Site #2 is significantly different from site #1. Site #2 has a significantly high percentage of brown and brittle plant remnants which have been unchanged in the last year. One year ago, hurricane Ian’s flood surge covered everything in site #2 with 15 feet of salty ocean water. This resulted in the death of most of the plants in this spot. The community has 24-inch deficiency of standard rainfall. The observed area #2 has not experienced a dilution of the salt because of the relative drought and the lack of water circulation. Although the native plant species are reputed to be more salt tolerant this does not appear to be seen here. The Carolina willows are 25 to 30 feet high and are therefore mature. The fallen limbs of these trees are generating new sprouts. The herbaceous plants may be spread from areas in higher ground from runoff and from wind dissemination. Contrarily, area #1 stands on higher ground, is plumbed for irrigation and is, in part, a tended garden.

There is considerable difference of opinion in assigning local environment risk levels to plants. The assignment of risk may not be current. The Carolina willow is a native plant species and is a good example of good things gone bad as a result of mismanagement by unintended consequence. Seedlings and small saplings cannot survive variable water levels in marshes with alternating conditions of dry and wet. However, once plants become larger, willows can survive droughts and tolerate floods and are very difficult to eradicate. Stable water levels created by water management projects allow the Carolina Willow to spread and thrive. As a result, the Willow thickets use tremendous amounts of water, leaving less available for wildlife. They also block out other plant species and thus by changing the environment are regionally classified an invasive species.

This is also a practical application of the Epicollect5/Evergladesark data file.

CONCLUSIONS:

It was relatively difficult to observe the variety of plants in this uncontrolled area. This detailed experience helped to increase awareness of the lack of variety of plant species in a larger sample area. The numbers of invasive species in this small area were surprising. The extent of apparently dead vegetation was distressing and the fact that the only viable organisms were invasive species suggests that the future native plant population for replacement of the dead plants is not promising. These plants will continue to seed or spread to all of the surrounding local gardens. Wholesale extermination of the invasive species, removal of the non-viable plant remnants and replanting of the area with salt tolerant native species seems to be the only alternative to the existing condition.

For comparison Check out Area #1 I n the previous post.

References: Some of the sources used to assist in the identification of the observed plants.

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#invasive plants #swamp #slough #Carolina willow

November 20, 2023

NATIVE AND INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES IN LOCAL AREA #1

This post describes one location in Bonita Springs, Florida, with interest in identifying native and invasive species this neighborhood area. The featured image shows Area #1. It was made November 3, 2023 at 8:30 AM. The trees variably shade the garden throughout most of the day.

Figure 1. Google map of location of observation site showing 21 observations centered in Area #1. Numbers indicate observation titles with lines leading to observation site.

The observation location is shown in Google map as the central light lavender spot in Fig 1. It is at the junction of a cultivated butterfly garden and a wilderness swamp area. Twenty-one observations were made at this point.

METHOD: Physical examination was done in a selected 40m² area of a private easily accessible residential garden including a back yard intended to attract butterflies. This back yard also abutted a community wilderness swamp area. The identification of plants was facilitated by computer assisted-photographic identification. The identity of the plants was confirmed by the agreement of at least three independent search results. (See References)

OBSERVATIONS: Site #1, where observations were recorded, is pictured in two photographs. The first photograph is the feature image. It pictures the northward view of landscape showing the butterfly garden in the foreground. On the same day the second photo, is shown in Fig 2. This was photographed at 9:00 AM and shows that the proximating swamp area has greater light penetration. Considering the cotton mouth snake sightings, boot protection in this area is recommended.

Figure 2. Northward view of swamp wilderness in Site #1 at the terminal edge of the butterfly garden

PLANT OBSERVATIONS: Attached are two Excel pages which show two data files of the observations described in table1.

SITE SURVEY Excel file	PLANT IDENTITY Excel file
Observation #	Observation #
Cell Photo	Plant description
Camera facing direction	Site surface conditions
How many items	Site weather conditions
Date	Risk level to local environment
Time	Photo or Audio High resolution recording
GPS point
Observer name

Table 1. This summarizes the variables assembled from observations and entered into the database.

Observation data are assembled and listed into two “Numbers” files designated as A. and B. To correlate the information from both spread sheets use title numbers.

Survey and Catalogue Site #1 contains: Observation number, hyperlink of full plant image, quantity, date, time, GPS location, light exposure, environmental location, location risk level.
Plant-Identity Site #1 contains: growth levels, plant type, hyperlinks to all photographs of plant and details of flowers, fruit, stems, common and scientific names, and observation notes A.

A. Survey and Catalog File Site #1 Spread Sheet. To view the full spread sheet use the slider at the bottom of the sheet to scroll laterally. To open the image file click once on the hyperlink text to choose open option; click again in the option text box to view images. For simplicity don’t click on-open-in-new-tab. To return, just click on the back button in your browser.

created_at

title

Cell_Photo Link

Camera_facing_dire

Count

Date

Time

lat_7_GPS_point

long_7_GPS_point

accuracy

Kingdom

Site_surface

Site_weather

location

Risk_level

Note

Photo_or_Audio_o

Observer

2023-11-09T13:33:51.056Z

398

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b50b9d4d-7662-4916-b544-42c861152a90_1699536650.jpg

11/9/23

8:31:05

26.340219

-81.816556

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Native, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:30:06.397Z

397

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=4ae134fd-9fb5-4138-bcfb-078c6637d8a3_1699536425.jpg

11/9/23

8:27:13

26.340232

-81.816515

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Native

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:25:20.193Z

396

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=1973a3e7-cb39-4f73-819f-64ce09a5e55e_1699536164.jpg

11/9/23

8:22:58

26.340257

-81.816372

Plant

Dry soil

Bright indirect sun

Yard, private

Native, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:21:59.365Z

395

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=fe5c7aac-7736-43ab-b7b1-8fb33b2e1ff2_1699535961.jpg

N, D

11/9/23

8:19:34

26.340278

-81.816342

Plant

Wet soil

Bright indirect sun

Yard, private

Non Native,Introduced, Range change, Invasive

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:17:33.768Z

394

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=8f16d8f9-16c0-4177-bebd-3759f259de55_1699535640.jpg

11/9/23

8:14:09

26.340263

-81.816428

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Native

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:12:07.799Z

393

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=5ddea960-0ffb-4d75-a3fc-be5c1535a36c_1699535367.jpg

11/9/23

8:09:37

26.340296

-81.816571

Plant

Wet soil

Bright sun

Swamp

Native, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:08:25.983Z

392

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=e546245c-4d5c-4997-8819-274c3134676f_1699535146.jpg

11/9/23

8:05:56

26.340265

-81.816539

Plant

Dry soil

Bright indirect sun

Yard, private

Non-nartive,Invasive, Introduced, Nuisance

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:03:34.910Z

391

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=c6c6c182-6c3c-43d2-a12b-db7db08fb7b9_1699534860.jpg

11/9/23

8:01:09

26.340312

-81.816554

Plant

Dry soil

Bright indirect sun

Yard, private

Native, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-09T13:00:10.003Z

390

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=559ec205-9403-4f2a-9784-5f4bac64b68c_1699534651.jpg

11/9/23

7:57:40

26.340253

-81.816512

Plant

Dry soil

Bright indirect sun

Yard, private

Native, Range change, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-09T12:53:16.476Z

389

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=6a4d6e88-72fc-48a4-b3cd-ae126f455369_1699534249.jpg

11/9/23

7:50:59

26.340281

-81.816519

Plant

Dry soil

Bright indirect sun

Yard, private

Non-native, Introduced, Established, Non-Invasive

is cycad

Photo recording file with same Observation date

John Knapp

2023-11-09T12:48:41.595Z

388

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=16acef45-5bda-45bf-a3bf-6d4e4f4cb0df_1699533949.jpg

E, N

11/9/23

7:46:02

26.340271

-81.816443

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Non-native, Introduced, Non-Invasive, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-09T12:44:47.546Z

387

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=4158a7a0-74a8-4799-ad5b-e5e0148e2a9e_1699533639.jpg

11/9/23

7:40:56

26.340245

-81.816503

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Native, Range change, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-09T12:40:00.085Z

386

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=fac7eb63-d3ee-42da-a3ec-3b9330a3079d_1699533379.jpg

11/9/23

7:36:34

26.340251

-81.816526

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Non-Invasive, Established, Native

John Knapp

2023-11-09T12:35:48.963Z

385

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=c93f6fb8-dffe-45ac-b9be-94a2cb52d3b1_1699533143.jpg

11/9/23

7:32:48

26.340248

-81.816527

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Native, Established, Invasive, Range change

John Knapp

2023-11-09T12:31:57.623Z

384

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=80d5b289-3b53-4a59-ba0c-94f805513282_1699532984.jpg

1000

11/9/23

7:29:59

26.340245

-81.816568

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Native, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-08T16:28:27.773Z

383

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=25624154-1326-48f1-ba5d-9b723444733e_1699460497.jpg

11/8/23

11:22:13

26.340282

-81.816625

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Nuisance, Native, Range change, Non-Invasive

noxious

Photo recording file with same Observation date

John Knapp

2023-11-08T16:20:27.765Z

382

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=800e9bac-7b78-4047-9883-4c065f25612d_1699460233.jpg

11/8/23

11:17:28

26.340289

-81.816569

Plant

Dry soil

Bright sun

Yard, private

Non-native, Range change, Non-Invasive, Introduced

John Knapp

2023-11-08T16:15:29.398Z

381

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=c28478a1-7218-4bb4-9b8b-704633888534_1699459863.jpg

11/8/23

11:11:14

26.340306

-81.816509

Plant

Wet soil

Shaded

Yard, private

Native, Range change

John Knapp

2023-11-08T16:07:48.223Z

380

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=f04af210-63bf-40fe-8741-4bfd8d9fb0b5_1699459406.jpg

11/8/23

11:03:43

26.340304

-81.816517

Plant

Wet soil

Shaded

Yard, private

Nuisance, Native, Range change

John Knapp

2023-11-08T16:02:13.715Z

379

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=ba056828-954a-4140-b50c-6a9ecd0e577b_1699459130.jpg

11/8/23

10:59:02

26.340319

-81.8165

Plant

Wet soil

Shaded

Yard, private

Native, Range change, Non-Invasive, Established

John Knapp

2023-11-08T15:57:45.801Z

378

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=c69b186c-5093-490d-83c1-bb61773aafe6_1699458838.jpg

11/8/23

10:54:12

26.340317

-81.816488

Plant

Wet soil

Deeply shaded

Yard, private

Non-native, Invasive

John Knapp

Sheet A. Survey and Catalog table.

B. Plant-Identity Site #1 Spread Sheet. To view the full spread scroll laterally. To open the image file click once on the hyperlink text to choose open option; click again in the option text box to view images. For simplicity don’t click on view in separate tab. To return, just click on the back button in your browser.

created_at

title

10_Choose_best_PLANT

12_If_Herbacious

If_WOODY

FERN_which_ord

Which_plant_growth

Flower

Flower_photo link

Seed_present

Seed_photo link

Leaf_or_Stem

Leaf_stem_photo link

Bark

Bark_photo Link

Common_Name

Notes

Scientific_Name

2023-11-09T13:33:20.329Z

398

Palm

Other

Overgrowth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=d1d7ab41-444f-4b97-8b6a-9c5c349bb723_1699536750.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=d1d7ab41-444f-4b97-8b6a-9c5c349bb723_1699536772.jpg

Cuban Royal Palm

Roystonea regia

2023-11-09T13:29:30.180Z

397

Woody

Leaf (Angiosperm)

Overgrowth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=35f06672-1b50-48ac-989c-58cb3a1ddc7b_1699536527.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=35f06672-1b50-48ac-989c-58cb3a1ddc7b_1699536552.jpg

Live Oak

Quercus agrifolia

2023-11-09T13:24:48.228Z

396

herbaceous

Under growth

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=8f8f386f-e032-42da-8e2e-e5d7f6d72d7c_1699536219.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=8f8f386f-e032-42da-8e2e-e5d7f6d72d7c_1699536279.jpg

Periwinkle

Catharanthus roseus

2023-11-09T13:21:24.237Z

395

herbaceous

Garden bed

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=e09b44c6-e82a-453b-b2db-cfc8e24e9443_1699536023.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=e09b44c6-e82a-453b-b2db-cfc8e24e9443_1699536069.jpg

Hill Glory Bower

Clerodendrum paniculatum

2023-11-09T13:16:28.554Z

394

Woody

Leaf (Angiosperm)

Overgrowth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b16b9df4-9cc8-4846-bb7b-ca23f5a0409d_1699535751.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b16b9df4-9cc8-4846-bb7b-ca23f5a0409d_1699535776.jpg

Bluejack oak

Quercus incana

2023-11-09T13:11:18.562Z

393

Palm

Palm (grass like tree)

Overgrowth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=361acf41-37c5-428b-942e-7289bdc029e4_1699535458.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=361acf41-37c5-428b-942e-7289bdc029e4_1699535471.jpg

Cabbage palm

Sabal palmetto

2023-11-09T13:07:57.697Z

392

Epiphyte (Air Plant)

Garden bed

Mid growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=9e58fe06-2906-41ef-9ce3-d8e1fc5cca18_1699535222.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=9e58fe06-2906-41ef-9ce3-d8e1fc5cca18_1699535270.jpg

Dwarf umbrella tree

Heptapleurum arboricola

Heplapleurium arboricole

2023-11-09T13:02:55.916Z

391

Cultivated or herbaceous

Swamp understory

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=0c7c700b-86c8-475e-aecc-5b1ecb059995_1699534922.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=0c7c700b-86c8-475e-aecc-5b1ecb059995_1699534967.jpg

Scorpions tail

Heliotropium angiospermum

2023-11-09T12:59:39.492Z

390

Woody

Swamp understory

Mid growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=17e195ee-705c-492a-ae78-99cd62abcd2c_1699534706.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=17e195ee-705c-492a-ae78-99cd62abcd2c_1699534754.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=17e195ee-705c-492a-ae78-99cd62abcd2c_1699534769.jpg

Scarlet bush

Hamelia patens

2023-11-09T12:52:42.464Z

389

Palm

Palm (grass like tree)

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=da525ad4-9f19-407b-9379-7c8d36c41be6_1699534348.jpg

Cardboard palm

Firm leaf breaks on bending

Zamia furfuracea

2023-11-09T12:48:10.306Z

388

Woody

Leaf (Angiosperm)

Mid growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=e6c44f47-94ab-40ff-b1dd-cca3a36bf2ff_1699534009.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=e6c44f47-94ab-40ff-b1dd-cca3a36bf2ff_1699534038.jpg

Hibiscus

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

2023-11-09T12:44:11.053Z

387

Fern (POLYPODIOPSIDA)

Polypodiineae

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b80af39c-696d-4ab9-a0a0-6f2e74d3b348_1699533795.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b80af39c-696d-4ab9-a0a0-6f2e74d3b348_1699533842.jpg

Sword fern

Nephrolepis exaltata

2023-11-09T12:39:26.169Z

386

Fern (POLYPODIOPSIDA)

Polypodiineae

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=df98de5d-52ae-48a6-9aa4-c6d08fabc9b8_1699533557.jpg

Christmas Fern

No sporangium on leaf

Polystichum acrostichoides

2023-11-09T12:35:16.762Z

385

herbaceous

Swamp understory

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=15a475fb-22fd-486c-9ec5-25478ba7dac6_1699533266.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=15a475fb-22fd-486c-9ec5-25478ba7dac6_1699533295.jpg

Porter weed

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis

2023-11-09T12:31:18.377Z

384

herbaceous

Under growth

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=1c632d7f-ecda-41e1-aa35-fbfb011a2d0f_1699533043.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=1c632d7f-ecda-41e1-aa35-fbfb011a2d0f_1699533069.jpg

Beach sunflower

Helianthus debilis

2023-11-08T16:27:14.503Z

383

herbaceous

Mid growth

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=89712a46-ae79-465b-9fd1-7d4a1ef7f461_1699460616.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=89712a46-ae79-465b-9fd1-7d4a1ef7f461_1699460703.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=89712a46-ae79-465b-9fd1-7d4a1ef7f461_1699460756.jpg

Yes

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=89712a46-ae79-465b-9fd1-7d4a1ef7f461_1699460789.jpg

Poke weed

Phytolacca americana

2023-11-08T16:19:36.146Z

382

herbaceous

Growing on another

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=d25a8359-2831-4425-bfa7-80ccb4aeddb9_1699460291.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=d25a8359-2831-4425-bfa7-80ccb4aeddb9_1699460348.jpg

Bleeding heart vine

Clerodendrum thomsoniae

2023-11-08T16:14:48.621Z

381

herbaceous

Overgrowth

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b0c393a3-06ef-43f0-9859-a1a520b49811_1699459915.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b0c393a3-06ef-43f0-9859-a1a520b49811_1699459957.jpg

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b0c393a3-06ef-43f0-9859-a1a520b49811_1699460006.jpg

Creeping cucumber

Melothria pendula

2023-11-08T16:05:30.943Z

380

herbaceous

Growing on another

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=1c760315-1769-4350-970f-93d44c7511b2_1699459476.jpg

Pepper vine, cow itch

Ampelopsis arborea

2023-11-08T16:01:22.212Z

379

herbaceous

Growing on another

YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=a2af38bc-a609-4bc9-84e0-0071d934ea79_1699459221.jpg

Muscadine grape

Vitis rotundafolia

2023-11-08T15:56:55.723Z

378

herbaceous

Under growth

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YES

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YES

https://five.epicollect.net/api/media/everglades-ark?type=photo&format=entry_original&name=b9537a1d-e69d-4281-82bb-1bee35259e6f_1699458963.jpg

Sweet scent camphor weed

Interesting odor

Pluchea odorata

Sheet B. Survey and Catalog table.

To see the full data display follow this link: Epicollect5/Everglades Ark and view observation “Title” numbered 377 through 398.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, RISK LEVEL OF OBSERVED PLANTS TO LOCAL ENVIRONMENT :

TYPE	COUNT	PERCENT of 21
Native	13	62
Non-native	8	38
Highly invasive	4	19
Rapidly spread	9	43
Non-native subject to high range change	3	63
Native subject to high range change	6	29
Native subject to high range change, nuisance, noxious?	1	5

Table 2 The percentage of the described plant type was determined relative to the total count.

RESULTS:

In Area #1, within 60 feet of one another, 21 species of herbaceous plants and trees were identified.
The relative percent of non-native to native plants is consistent with the distribution of plant types in the State of Florida.
Range change represents the capability of plants to spread into neighboring areas either actively or passively. This seems to be the dominant criteria to include in the invasive status by most authorities.
One plant is native, capable of great range change, and is classified as a nuisance. It is observation #380. The name is pepper vine (Ampelopsis arborea). It is not classified as noxious nor invasive.

DISCUSSION: The wide range of species was easy to observe in this defined space. There was sufficient space to allow for some freedom of movement. Walking into the swamp would have been more problematic. The sample is biased due to the more controlled cultivation of plants directly adjacent to the uncontrolled swamp. The cultivation of part of the study area may have selectively altered the usual development of variety in the mix of plants. A larger observation area might result in an alternative finding. Another limitation in this study was to measure the percentage of the individual plant species mass relative to the totality mass of the vegetation. There is considerable difference of opinion in assigning local environment risk levels to plants. The assignment of risk may not be current.

CONCLUSION: It was relatively easy to observe the wide variety of plants in this controlled area. This detailed experience helped to increase awareness of the variety of plant species in a very small sample area. The numbers of invasive species in this small area were surprising. Perhaps a more localized region may wish to determine the level of invasivity of local plants.

References: Some of the sources used to assist in the identification of the observed plants.

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#invasive plants #native plants #statistical analysis #observations #spread sheet #Epicollect5 #data

November 11, 2023

Epicollect 5 / Everglades Ark Version 2.0

The Everglades Ark data site on Epicollect5 has been significantly upgraded. There were two objectives in this upgrade. The first is to increase the speed and efficiency of the data collection process on the site. This was in response to the request for reduction in fields viewed to allow more convenient data collection. The second is a significant expansion of the Animal Kingdom using the latest DNA method of classification of clades.

Contained in this posting is the data map of the revised site. From this you can view the content categories of topics and the data entry points. This will continue to grow as time permits.

The Data Map of the site Epicollect5 – Everglades Ark is extensive but available to you on this site. Click and scroll down to expand the following 24 pages.

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References:

Citizen scientists Build Everglades Ark

#Epicollect5 #data collection #V.2 #faster #efficient

November 3, 2023

Dark Dwellers: Ferns of the Corkscrew Cyprus Swamp Preserve

In the steamy, shadowed recesses of the Corkscrew canopy grow the dwellers of the dark. They seem oblivious of the surrounding giants. The crowns of Cyprus trees tower 10 stories overhead. They struggle for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years seeking the light. The ferns are old too but not as individuals. Their species far outstrips the antiquity of the Cyprus species. They have been around for 350 million years. They are more than twice as old as Cyprus.*

The featured image shows two fern varieties. In the dark of the swamp these are easily identified by the two types of fronds. One is the shiny surface of the Giant Leather (Acrostichum danaeifolium) and the other is the non-branching Long Strap (Campyloneyrum phyllitidis).

There are at least 25 fern varieties in Florida. What we see here is only a fraction of the diversity of the fern. It is estimated that globally there are 10500 living species. That is four times the combined number of gymnosperms and lycophytes. They are second in variety only to the angiosperms. They are important because they are very efficient at carbon fixation and soil stabilization. The carbon-based energy industry of today is based almost exclusively on the deadfall of millions of years of fern life cycles. These plants lived and died in the anoxic swamps of the Permian (250 mya) and Cretaceous (135 mya) periods. In the Cretaceous period giant, angiosperm-dominated rainforests that developed in the tropical environments. Ferns were able to successfully exploit and diversify in these new ecosystems without competing with the flowering plants. This is probably why today most species of ferns grow in the tropics. When walking through the Corkscrew Preserve in SWFL you should imagine yourself walking in a Cretaceous period swamp. The only thing missing would be the giant reptilian dinosaurs of which we have only two small versions remaining in Florida, the alligator and crocodile.

There is another more basic reason for the swamp ferns to prefer the damp environment. The gametophyte stage of their reproduction depends on water to transport the sperm to the egg to produce cells of new plants outside of the parent fern plant. The sporophyte stage part is easy to see and feel. In this essay we will pay careful attention to just sporulating portion of fern reproduction. For a reference to the full cycle please look at the illustration at the end of this posting.

In this most primitive of all plants the fern vascular system is seen in this micrograph. They have chloroplasts and functional stoma. The veins, however, have no nodes nor interconnecting networks. (~100X optical, 10x digital)

This photomicrograph shows that ferns have spores not seeds. These spores are very small (20 to 50 microns) and are haploid. They will undergo a metamorphosis in the reproduction process.

There are two commonalities running through all of the ferns. They are chlorophyl metabolism based, non-seed-bearing plants with true vascular systems and they have a two stage reproduction cycle. Ferns are very primitive plants with complex reproductive cycles. There are two methods. One is through budding and the other is through sporulating. Budding is simple asexual reproduction. Sporulating is a much more interesting method and this essay will pay some attention to the early steps of this second method.

Unlike angiosperm or gymnosperm plants, ferns do not use flowers or seeds for reproduction. As a refresher, please recall that flowering plants use sexual reproduction methods with pollen and ova. (See previous essay on Bauhinia Trees). Ferns use a two-step process for reproduction. The large green plants that are seen with fronds of leaves are the first stage of reproduction called a sporophyte. This stage has a full complement of DNA and is therefore a sporophyte diploid plant. The first stage produces spores that may be either male or female. Spores must land on a suitable surface, such as a moist protected area to germinate and grow into gametophytes. The gametophyte grows into a small plant about a half inch square area. The gametophyte makes sperm and eggs which join together on wet surfaces to generate a new sporophyte. In this essay we will pay most attention to just the sporulating portion of fern reproduction. They may be either male of female.

While walking through the understory of the Florida preserve areas one could easily see and feel many ferns of at least 24 types. Three of these are demonstrated here, the Long Strap fern, Wart fern, and the Southern Sword fern. These are not easily identifiable, however, using the University of Florida plant identification web site.*** I found the best ID match.

Long Strap Fern (Campyloneurum phyllitidis)

Dorsal surface of Long Strap fern

Ventral surface of Long Strap fern with hundreds of very mature sorus, holding thousands of sporangia and holding tens of thousands of spores.

Sorus (~3.5mm dia) are conglomerations of reproductive organelles containing sporangia which are starting to rupture.

Sporangia detail (~300 micron die)The annulus acts like a spring to help throw the spores away from the frond as the sporangium ruptures.

Wart fern (Microsorum scolopendrium)

Ventral surface of Wart fern frond showing the warts on the surface. Each wart corresponds to a sorus on the ventral surface.

The evenly spaced pattern of the orange sorus makes this a visually interesting frond

One well defined Sorus filled with sporangium (~4mm dia). From Wart fern.

Southern Sword Fern (Nephrolepis biserrata)

Southern Sword fern ventral side with sporangium only along the edges.

Sporangium (~300 micron dia.) filled with spores from Southern Sword fern.

Spore (~30 microns) released from sporangium of Southern Sword fern..

Spore print of Southern Sword fern frond showing adjacent spore print. Lying frond, spore side down and waiting 4 hours, results in print of spores dropped on the right side on graph paper.

Covering, over the sporangium of Southern Sword fern, called an operculum.

It is easy to recognize the similarities in these plants. They all have a chloroplasts, circulatory system, sporangium, and spores and a common two stage reproduction method.

There are parallels with other plants. The microsporangia of the angiosperm flowers develop in the anther of the stamen. For them, microspores produced within the microsporangia (stamen) of which there is usually four per anther, eventually develop into pollen grains. Fungi, horsetails, mosses, worts and ferns all produce spores. It is complicated but it works.

Ferns are beautiful and intriguing. If the ferns had been very important for food or industry, they might have been exploited like the threatened Florida bald Cyprus. Be sure to see the previous publication, Earth’s Axial Tilt Determines Forest Winners. Watch for the future posting on gametophyte portion of fern life.

As Nick, one of our followers, stated “May the Forest Be With You”. To that I add “Welcome to the Dark Side of the Forest.”

References:

“Distribution of living Cupressaceae reflects the breakup of Pangea” by Kangshan Mao, Richard I. Milne, Libing Zhang, Yanling Peng, Jianquan Liu, Philip Thomas, Robert R. Mill and Susanne S. Renner, 1 May 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1114319109

**About Ferns, Pinson J,

*** University of Florida Plant identification UF/IFAS

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#Cyprus #Wart fern #sorus #frond #Long Strap fern #annulus #operculum #fern #sporangium #spore #vascular bundle #Giant Leather fern #stoma #sporophyte #gametophyte

June 27, 2023

Earth’s Axial Tilt Determines Forest Winners

The ancient giants are here and they rule their worlds. They are big and conquer their territory with power. They use so much that they choke out almost anything else. They make offspring that spread to make more giants. They become hundreds or even thousands of years old and can survive almost any natural calamities. They are of course, old growth trees.

When visiting old growth forests most people look up to see and admire the majestic canopy that shades the floor. The umbrella could be either gymnosperm (pine) or angiosperm (leaf) or some mixture of these trees. Today’s post is a comparison of two climax forests that have developed in marshy wetland areas. The Corkscrew Swamp is in SW Florida (SWFL) and Maybury State Park is in SE Michigan (SEMI). I have resided in and explored both types of forested wetlands and we can see the similarities and differences in juxtaposition.

At first look, some things were evident. The Michigan canopy is a result of the leafy foliage of angiosperm trees. There were pine trees in this forest but because of plant succession, the forest now is heavily populated with hard wood trees of hickory, four types of oak, iron wood, two types of maple, beech, birch and a scattering of others. Among the 1000 acres of parkland there were only a handful of pine trees which were obviously intentionally planted as ornaments for the holiday season.

The Floridian Corkscrew Preserve canopy is the result of needle foliage of gymnosperm trees of two types of Cyprus, slash pines mixed with some hardwood trees Red Maples, Live Oaks and Cabbage Palms and a few Royal Palms.

Another remarkable difference was the water flow. Corkscrew Preserve is 18 feet above MSL Maybury Park is 300 feet above MGLL. This is of minimal significance. Michigan is experiencing a drought. In this park area with the three creeks, some ponds and two lakes all are nearly devoid of water. What were swamps are now meadows. The soil was cool and dry. There has been little or no water inflow from creeks, springs, and no rain in two months. Weather forecast for Michigan shown no predictable relief from the drought conditions. The Florida swamp is seasonally relatively dry but it was still moist or boggy with a slow sheet water flow of the Everglades. The rainy season is just beginning.

Maybery Park understory with very little light and a leafy canopy

Corkscrew understory with substantial understory growth and a canopy of soft Cyprus needles

What was a pond with fish in Maybery Park is now a swamp with white tail deer.

Cat tails in the dried lake bed of Maybury Park. No ferns were found.

Two of several varieties off ferns at Corkscrew park.

Understory of Maybury Park. Very low minimal plant growth mostly nettles, poison ivy, balsam and wood sanicle

Understory of Corkscrew Preserve. Highly varigated height and diverse varieties. Many Ferns.

I searched for several plant and animal species. The ferns in the Corkscrew were abundant. There were no ferns in the Maybury Park. This was a real surprise because they were present 5 years ago. They are probably still present in the deep swamp in areas. Flowering plants in the Corkscrew Preserve were abundant and colorful and deserve another posting. The featured image is a wild hibiscus from Corkscrew Preserve, Florida. Flowers in the Maybury Park were herbaceous, minimal, and small. The most common were fleabane, thistle, and dandelion.

These two old growth forested areas are remarkably different. The differences arise from geographic position in latitude which alters the range of temperatures, the length of the day’s sun exposure, the period of below freezing temperatures. Corkscrew is a mature cyprus forest in the tropics at the 18^th parallel while Maybury is mature hardwood forest at the 44^th parallel. It is only 22 degrees south of the artic polar circle. Longitudinally they nearly identical. The rotation of the earth on its axis results in two very different climates. Because of the axis of rotation of the Earth, SEMI can experience wide ranges of temperature varying in a high to low range of 125^o F with months of sub-freezing temperatures. The range of high to low temperatures in SWFL is closer to 50^o F with no freezing temperatures. These climatic changes result in vastly different biologizes. The summer temperatures are nearly identical with hot sultry weather. For two weeks around the 4th of July, the daily high temperature in SEMI can be higher than Florida with over 100^O F .

The solar rotation of the earth and the 23.5 degree off axis tilt of the rotation of the earth results in these two very different climates. Michigan daylight hours at the summer solstice are two hours longer than Florida and at the winter solstice two hours shorter than Florida. At the 44th parallel summer solstice days are 6 hours longer than the winter days six months later. The prolific mid-summer biologic activity of the Michigan forests must compensate for the 5 months of cold weather where there is very limited or no metabolic activity. The broad leaves of the angiosperm tree leaves must manufacture all the products of growth, reproduction, and metabolism. The Floridian forest metabolism simply continues all year long.

Fig 1. Location of the two sites, Maybury and Corkscrew, on the summer solstice graphic. See how close Maybury is to the line of the Midnight sun. It is halfway to the North Pole. Only 22 degrees from the Arctic circle. Corkscrew Preserve is 18 degrees from the Equator. The dotted blue line is the axis of rotation.

The giant trees are the winners because they grow taller than all others, collect more energy by photosynthesis from the sun, store energy when the light is not available and produce more seeds for reproduction. There are alternatives to big tree success. These are the dwellers in the dark. A more extensive discussion regarding fern spore production in Corkscrew Preserve will follow.

The Floridian ecosystem has the potential for more diverse life forms. It favors plants and animals that prefer a more stability in weather and climate. Michigan ecosystems favor a tougher collection of plants and animals which can be prolific in summer climate and store reserves for surviving deep winter climate. It is very understandable to see the survival value in animal migration. Many of the animals follow the cyclical greening of America from Michigan to Florida in the winter and the reverse in the summer.

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#solstice #tilt of earth #wetland #Corkscrew #Maybury #photosynthesis #trees #angiosperm #gymnosperm #water #light

June 23, 2023

Fresh Water Systems in Southwest Florida: Part 1 Community Water

RAINWATER DISPOSITION IN THE BONITA BAY COMMUNITY (BBC); PART OF THE WATERSHED OF THE CITY OF BONITA SPRINGS

Introduction:

Rain is the result of precipitation from cloud water droplets which condense in the atmosphere. When these water droplets get too heavy to stay suspended in the cloud they fall to Earth. Management of this precipitation is critical to survival of individuals and communities in SWFL. The example presented here is similar to most of the west coast SWFL communities except for an interesting variant called a slough. The dominant measures used in this water control are nearly 70 retention ponds, strategic use of the marsh land, and proximity of the two rivers. This monograph provides a description of a typical residence (Fig 1) in the Bonita Bay Community. Rain on the roof flows through a mandated roof line gutter system down to an underground water diversion system and then to the neighborhood community retention pond at the back of the house. Street gutters also flow to sewers that are connected to the retention pond. The pond is a constructed extension of the central slough marsh. At the northern terminis of the pond there is a weir that controls overflow from the pond to the slough. The slough is a natural part of the otherwise engineered water system of the Bonita Bay Community. In this specific neighborhood, the water in the slough flows southward 450 ft through a volume-controlled water weir to the Imperial River. This river flows west to Fish Trap Bay which in turn is part of the Estero Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The following maps show the property boundaries and water flow through the Bonita Bay community. Maps are from the EPA

The featured image is a view of a portion of the slough connecting the Imperial River and Spring creek. It is not picturesque however it is important. This is the status 10 months after the flood surge of hurricane Ian. The photo was made viewing south of the image shown in Fig 8 of this posting. It seems to show more damage than the opposite view. This may be the result of salt water standing longer in this area which is the water is very slow moving perhaps because it is trapped from flowing to the south at at the Imperial river and it is a long distance to flow to the north to Spring Creek.

Figure 1 Residence with roofline gutter system and downspouts

Cartography:

Fig 2 shows an overview of a portion of the city of Bonita Springs. This area is bounded by the Imperial River to the south, Spring creek to the north, highway 41 to the east and Estero Bay to the west.

Figure 2 Highlighted in yellow are Spring Creek to north, Imperial River to south, 41 to east and Estero bay to west. Red square is the approximate property line.

In addition to the rivers bounding the property there are additional features which are part of the water flow as seen in Fig 3. Note the centrally located non-tidal marsh slough that is oriented north to south connecting the two rivers. This slow-moving marsh water is a naturally occurring body that is an often ignored but dominant and important feature in the community.

Figure 3 Water flow system of the Bonita Bay Community. The red square is the approximate property line.

The location of the residence relative to the nearby Imperial River is seen in Fig 4. The distance of the residence to the river is 450 feet. The house is directly on the east side of the water retention pond.

Figure 4 Flow-ways proximate to the residence. Red dot is the residence location.

The water flow is shown in Fig 5 for this neighborhood portion of the BBC of the City of Bonita Springs. Note that the residence is not only near the Imperial River, but also the water retention pond. The pond is also part of the central, non-tidal, slough that transepts the whole Bonita Bay community.

Figure 5 House location relative to Imperial River. Red dot is the residence location. Blue line shows direction of water flow

The water retention pond with a weir on the northwest end is seen in Fig 6. Another weir is at the river. Water is normally lost from the retention pond through transevaporation. When water in the pond is high the overflow is directed to the slough through the overflow weir.

Figure 6 From: Lee County GIS Shows property locations. The red dot is the location of the typical residence. The elevation contour lines show that the buildings are at 10 ft +MSL

Fid 7 Shows the weir at north end of retention pond. Left is slough side. Right is pond side.

The slough is a marsh with reeds and sedges compromising most of the plant life and supports birds, reptiles and mammals. The entire slough and land close to the rivers and the Estero bay were completely covered by approximately 5 feet of oceanic sea water. All of the soil is still ladened with salt residue. There has been less than 6 inches of rainfall in the last 9 months. During that time there have been only three days of rain sufficient to cause some runoff through the local weir. Hopefully the seasonal rain water will dilute some of the salt every year and it will be carried back to the ocean.

Fig 8. The slough from mid BBC property looking north. Coordinates: 26.34857° N, 81.82047° W. The main community road is roughly 500 feet to the south of this vantage point. This is the opposite view of the featured image.

The relative elevations of the Bonita Bay Community in Bonita Springs are seen in Fig 9. The legend indicates that most of the community is at 5 ft +MSL. Note the approximate watershed divide.

Figure 9 Elevation of BB community. The purple horizontal line indicates the approximate north/south property watershed divide line. This is roughly parallel to the main community road

Discussion:

The water flow is generally toward the sea. The river and creek are tidal therefore it is bi-directional depending on the tides, rainfall, storm surges and other upstream water flow. The non-engineered mean elevation of the community is 5 ft +MSL. There are four water sources for the BBC that include, freshwater brought by the city to the community, grey water brought to the Community for irrigation, and rainwater during the rainy season and salt water during storm surge. The community looses water through three methods. these include transevaporation, runoff and sewage. Sewage water from residences exits through sanitary sewage lines to the central water treatment plant. The central high ground is the location of the club house. The purple line drawn horizontally through the high ground indicates the approximate north/south watershed divide. The average elevation of the property is less than two feet above the sea level where salt water begins to invade the low-level properties or displace the less dense freshwater. The property was designed more than 35 years ago and has worked well. Since then, hydraulic pressure from the rising waters of the sea have increased. Fresh rainwater is a valuable resource. Considering our changing sea water level perhaps some questions should be addressed. Do we need to rethink the water flow design? Should we consider an alternative method for disposition of rainwater through different conservation measures? Can we conserve fresh water and delay ingress of salt water?

Conclusion:

The rainwater may be distributed up-stream and down-stream once it meets the estuary/river, but generally it flows down to the Gulf of Mexico. The low elevation of the property and other weather factors determine the rate, volume and direction of flow.

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#slough #waterflow #watershed #marsh #creek #river #rain #transevaporation #seawater #

June 5, 2023

Costal Wetlands Ecosystems of SWFL, Part 4, Turtle Nest and Gender Assignment

While walking along a very low traffic area on the southern end shoreline of Fort Myers beach, turtle activity was easily seen. The nest was two meters inside of the bird restricted area. A closer investigation was ill advised. The turtle traveled about 40 meters from the shore in the early morning to lay her eggs, bury them and then returned to the sea. There was no sign of other human traffic in the area. The picture was made at approximately 9:00 AM.

The Green sea turtle in the feature image was made in the Caribbean in a reef system 5 miles off of the coast of Belize.

For a more comprehensive description of instrumentation see the previous posting on Soil Thermometer Exploration. Also see Costal Wetlands in SWFL Part 2

Path from shore to nest appears to be from a green turtle. There is no center tail track between the fin marks.

Soil temperature 26.4 C, 3 meters from nest at 20 cm depth.

Green Sea Turtle 80 feet under water, in reef 5 miles off the coast of Belize.

Using my foot print in the sand as a reference you can see that the path is little wider than one meter (~120 cm). Turtle fin prints have an alternating step pattern and there is no central groove in the sand in the center of the track between the fin prints. The more common turtle here would be the Logger Head. The markings of this track suggests that this was made by a Green Sea Turtle. Considering the activity, the distance from the water, the opening a hole in the sand, the laying of estimated 80 eggs, the covering of the eggs with sand and the returning to the water, this experience must have taken at least two hours. There were no other predator foot prints on the sand.

Proposed research:

Observation: Sea turtles and apparently many reptiles exhibit temperature dependent sex determination (TDSD)*. A sufficient level of research on TDSD has been done. My recordings over the last two days in nearby sand areas at various times suggest that the sand temperature should rise from the noted 26.4 C to a higher temperature between 29 C and 31 C by mid day. If the average temperatures remain in that range or lower during the entire day, there should be significantly more than 20% male offspring. With the knowledge from previous research the more appropriate prediction would be at least 80% female hatchlings.

There is a problem with failure to have gender diversity from turtle hatchlings on the beaches of Florida***. Findings in Florida beaches show abnormally high percentage of female hatchlings. This is apparently the result of average higher temperatures. It is also projected that with rising temperatures the shortfall in the male population will result in a colony population insufficient to sustain its current level. I suggest a simple attempt to reverse the gender trend. Here is a pilot project proposal:

Purpose: Is it possible to control sand temperature thereby controling the gender of turtle hatchlings at the beach?

The null hypothesis: The sand temperature at a depth equal to or greater than 20 cm would rise to 30 C or more for a significant period during the day regardless of attempts to stabilize it.

Method: Measure the change in sand temperature in a specific location of costal beach. It should be continuously recorded relative to change in time consistent with a projected egg incubation period. Include the variables of a specified period of the year and selected location. Test an interventional variable such as application of a controlled volume of sea water to the surface of the sand in the test location. The water volume should be less than the absorptive capacity and capillary action of the sand below 10 cm.

Discussion: If the null hypothesis is disproven and data revealed a regular pattern of temperature stabilization within a specific range at a depth of 20 cm, one should be able to predict the male / female ratio of the expected hatchings**. If this research shows a favorable result there may be a remedy for the diversity shortfall. Proactively, the genetic population of the nest might be regulated by cooling the nest through the timely addition of a controlled volume of water. The effect of the water would be immediate cooling of the surface and a delayed effect resulting from water evaporation. If this is effective it would thwart the risk of having an excess of female turtles or an insufficiency of male turtles. If this pilot study shows benefit this may be applied to a larger area such as selected nests along several miles of beach. A volunteer effort could support this type of effort. Please read the thought provoking references below.

If you are interested in the effort to support gender diversity in the turtle populations please share your comments.

References:

*TDSD via STAT phosphorylation at the warmer, female-producing temperature

**Figuring out the genes that let reptiles use temperature to determine sex

***Hotter summers mean Florida’s turtles are mostly born female

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#turtles #nest #temperature #reptile #gender #TDGD #sand #beach #thermometer #eggs #reptile #population

May 21, 2023

Costal Wetlands Ecosystems of SWFL. Part 3, Shore Birds

In a two-hour walk along the southern coast of Fort Myers Beach hundreds of birds were readily observed. The photos show just a few of the birds present and this posting doesn’t really capture a full catalogue of all of the possible birds in this group. These observations were made from 8:15 to 9:30 AM. The area is not restored after the Hurricane Ian floods. The shore was relatively flat with the sea and as I was leaving the waters were rising with the tide. Except for the Osprey, the birds in this posting belong to the Aequornitornathes as discussed in our post on Calling Birds by Clades. Shore birds seem to be a frequently undervalued group. This is somewhat understandable because they are relatively small, fast flying, limited in chroma, difficult to access and seasonal.

26.405637, -81.896622

The GPS location for these observations.

Some of the birds found in this area are at risk and some are endangered. This is a State and the Audubon Society designated sanctuary. Others birds are routinely found throughout the shore area. This is nesting, mating and hatching time for these birds and large areas are marked off-limits to all to prevent damage to the nests, eggs and mating behaviors of the birds. The photos were all made from outside of these restricted areas.

The title photo is a flock of Black Skimmers roosting on the 10 to 12 inch high dune about 200 meters from the shore line using the 400 mm lens. This is fairly representative of the terrain and accessibility for observation. All of the birds were very busy in their mating and nesting behaviors. Nearby there are numerous empty multistory condominium buildings ruined by the storm. Additionally there is considerable construction work on those damaged sites.

Black Skimmer *Rynchops niger,* scavenging along the shore

Ruddy Turnstone *Arenaria interpres* along the shore

American Oystercatcher at work along the shore

American Oystercatcher *Haematopus palliatus*

Osprey, carrying fish captured from the Gulf of Mexico, flying to its nest on a perch on Fort Meyers Beach tree line.

Summary:

Nine bird species were identified. Here are a few important lessons to be learned from this first trip. The area is a State protected site and you cannot approach the birds closer than 100 meters. Available birds are seasonal and their activity is somewhat predictable. The birds listed here usually flock in species. The food resource comes from the sea. They mate, nest, lay eggs and hatch on the beach during spring season. For better images some combination of extra effort should be applied. This includes: patience and better understanding of the bird behaviors, more stealth and closer approach if allowed by the Audubon Bird Naturalist who is on site daily. Use a lens with focal length greater than 400 mm and a tripod.

These small shore birds are generally at risk for flock survival. Some are endangered, some are threatened. As you would expect the usual culprits are warming, environmental squeeze*, loss of habitat, and a relatively new threat. The recent increased threat is an avian viral infection N1H1 which has globally decimated the poultry and wild bird population. This variant of H1N1 is highly contagious and the domesticated populations together with the wild populations have cross contaminated one another. This cross contamination makes the control of the disease extremely difficult because the wild group is an untreatable reservoir. The hope is that, in the wild population, the disease will burn itself out by killing the susceptible animals while the resistant survivors repopulate the species. With small populations such as the snowy plover, this may result in their extinction. The domesticated population must be kept highly quarantined and a vaccination needs to be developed and deployed. Bird flu may jump species to other farm animals and to humans.

* Environmental squeeze is the loss of beach habitat from human encroachment and rising water.

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#Osprey #Plover #Sand Piper #Tern #Turnstone #Skimmer #Oystercatcher #environmental squeeze #avian flu #H1N1

May 20, 2023

Costal Wetland Ecosystems in SW Florida. Part 2

Project goal: Develop a database for data organization of observations of Coastal Ecosystem

These are the early results of a trial project for data collection by citizen scientists using a custom designed cell phone application. Look for part one of this series of postings at Costal Wetlands Part 1.

The feature image is a typical seascape of our beautiful western shore coast line of South West Florida (SWFL).

Project description and outcomes:

Sand is the foundation of our civilization. It is the most heavily mined material on Earth. This Investigation of the Costal Systems of SWFL is based on this foundational material. The null hypothesis was to refute the idea that all local beach sands were identical. The goal was two-fold. The first goal was to develop an app for data collection which would take the data from observations and submit them to a cloud-based database for later evaluation. The second goal was to use the beach sand to act as a unifying substrate upon which adjacent observations could be related. The objective was to allow investigation and comparison between and among sample locations and to a standard model. The method used included an interested but untrained group of citizen scientists to observe, collect, test, and record the beach sand and adjacent materials and its contents in a wide variety of locations. A custom designed cell phone app was made and downloaded by 5 participants. Sample bags were distributed. Observers worked at sites along 80 miles of SWFL shoreline of their own choice. All samples were examined microscopically. 16,800 data points including images were collected. Data in the relational database was sorted and correlated in IOS Numbers spread sheet. Assessment of the samples revealed a significant diversity of the beach sands. The null hypothesis was refuted. The novice team behaved in a coherent, cohesive fashion. The software was comprehensive, self-explanatory and reproducible. The data has been published and is freely available on the World Wide Web through Epicpollect5 . Analysis was easy and diverse in capability. Accomplishments: Teamwork was effective, software was the cohesive agent, early conclusions are evidence-based Analysis of information can lead to confident understanding and could lead to thoughtful decisions about SWFL costal ecosystems.

These are early reports of preliminary findings:

Area of SW Florida. 40 colored dots are observation locations

Plastic package with sand sample. Label shows observation number. Photograph shows pack placed over actual size image for scale.

These images are copied from the database and show a typical costal observation point.

Wide view of beach

Close proximity to beach

One meter square observation area

Photomicrographs show images of observation samples viewed with 5x magnification.

Transilluminated

Dark field direct illumination

Transilluminated polarized light

Sand sample stored in plastic bag. Label number attached. Photographed against background scale. Photographed. Portion of sample examined microscopically. Sample filed.

The Costal shore was examined grossly with findings and comments gathered by the application then uploaded to the database. The gross examination was gathered visually and tactilely from he beach. Additionally, near adjacent findings were recorded such as larger objects, proximity to landmarks, level and proximity to the shore, vital or devital, time and date, identity of plants and animals and any other significant details. All of these details were captured photographically and by sampling.

Details and data from the observations are available at the site epicollect5 . The site provides maps, data files and graphic files.

The data was filtered and statistically summed and averaged using MS Excel spread sheet. Correlations were not made because there is relatively little data.

Here are some of the findings. Please understand that the sample size is small. Reported results are not definitive.

Gross examination

Observations were made in daylight hours
Tides were generally rising on all observations
95% of the costal areas were sandy beaches
30% of the beaches were remediated with imported sand after storm Ian
5% was the average beach profile
Life forms were concentrated along the water line and dune/upland areas

Close examination (Typical)

Sand particle size was <3 mm
All beaches had 30% to 100% quartz
Most beach sand was an aggregate of quartz and shell or reef fragments
No other mineral was found
Plastics and salts were not identified

Microscopic sand sample composition findings summarized from excel assessment from 33/40 completed data files reported from 40 observations

Observation	Sample Ratio Aspect	Findings
Texture, Fineness	10/33 Fine and Medium fine 13/33 Medium Coarse and Coarse	50% Fine, 50% coarse
Homogeneity	20/33 Well and Very Well 4/33 Poor	Most are Highly Homogeneous
Particle shape	7/33 Well rounded and Rounded 23/33 Some what Round to Angular	All showed roundedness
Source	17/33 Quartz 9/33 Quartz and Shell	High fraction of Quartz and Shell
Ratio of Quartz to Other	11/33 80 to 100% 9/33 60 to 680%	All sand had moderate to high fraction to quartz
Quartz particle size	11/33 0.5 to 1,0 mm 7/33 0.35 to 2.0 mm	Quartz particles had a high variance in 0.25 to 2.0 mm range
Other particle size	11/33 2 to 6 8/33 0.75 to 2	Non Quartz had High variance in the 0.75 to 6.0 mm

This table summarizes the microscopic anatomy of the sand found at all complete reported sites

SWFL Costal Ecosystems are based on sand. The SWFL sand is really complex with many things still to be discovered. Plastic micro particles need further exploration, minerals from shore-side water trapped in sand should be better defined, costal areas with silt overlay has not yet been discussed. The mollusks and birds of this system have been observed and need to be further explored. The data collection and database application trial was successful in data capture and facilitation of the data analysis using spread sheet software technology.

Be sure to click here to see the database on the Epicollect5 web site

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#sand #observation #texture #homogeneity #particle shape #source #size #ratio 3photomicrographs #microscope #costal ecosystem #database

May 18, 2023

Thermometer Exploration

The temperature of the soil or water has a great influence on the behavior of the indwelling plants and animals. Florida is a great place to follow the behavior of the plants and animals that dwell in or on these substrates. As an example, the temperature of the soil determines the percentage of male/female hatchlings from eggs buried by turtles in the costal regions.

This is called temperature-dependent sex determination TSD. Researchers found that if a turtle’s eggs are incubated below 27.7° C (81.86° F), the turtle hatchling populations will be predominantly male. If the eggs incubate above 31° C (88.8° F), the hatchlings will be predominantly female.

This instrument, added to our tool kit, may disclose new findings. Questions regarding change in temperature might include: the temperature differential at various depths, how does the temperature change over time, exposure to direct sun, proximity to bodies of water, consistencies and composition of the soil. The secondary effects might show other effects on the plants and animals life, presence of species at depth, rates of growth, other gender or morphology changes. The interactions and permutations of this would be extensive.

I have devised a method of measuring temperature at depth of up to 50 mm. This could be extended to greater profundity if the results show promise. The instrument consists of three parts; an aluminum arrow shaft (8.6 mm dia.) with an aluminum field point at the down end and a wooden ball at the up end; a length thermocouple sensor wire that can be threaded through the ball end to the length of the probe and temperature can be measured with a Fluke 52 electronic thermometer with a scale -328F (-200C) to +1400F (+760C) accurate to 1/2 degrees. (John Fluke Mfg. Co. Inc. Everett, WA),

The instrument was calibrated at zero degrees C in ice water. It is pictured below. The depth of penetration was dependent upon the hard pack of the soil. Where necessary, a steel shaft of similar diameter could be driven to depth which a mallet prior to insertion of the thermometer.

The assembled thermometer showing yellow bands at 10 cm intervals.

Thermometer ambient air temperature at 12:00 PM

Early readings of beach sand between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM.

At water line 10 cm, 26.4 C
Mid beach 10 cm, 27.9 C
Berm 10 cm, 27.8 C
Veg line 20 cm, 27.3 C
Remed. sand 50 cm, 28.2 C

Conclusions would require much more investigation to confirm my suspicions. I found that, except for the water line reading these recordings show a remarkable similarity. The average of the last four is 27.8 (+/- 0.4 C/0.5C). It is especially notable to see that the remediation sand which is stacked to 10 ft high was easily penetrated to 50 cm depth at the 4 ft level and was only +0.4 degrees from the average temperature. All of the sand temperature readings were significantly lower than the ambient air temperature.

The implication of these finding suggests that turtle egg hatched in these samples of sand would result in a population predominantly of males. Additionally, the remediation sand behaves similar to the un-remediated beach sand in its ability to moderate the results of direct sun or ambient air temperature fluctuations. This does not consider very important variables such as time, duration, season, weather, moisture, distance away from water line and other factors.

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#thermometer #sand #beach #temperature dependent #probe

May 14, 2023

Coastal Wetlands Part I, Microscopy Imaging Intro

Microscopic examination of the soil samples from the beaches of the Southwest Florida coastal wetlands is foundational to the understanding of this part of the State. The use of microscopy aids in determining particle size, surface roughness, percentage of constituents, homogeneity of particle size and reaction to chemicals. Much of this is silica sand called quartz. This naturally occurring glass is an enormous part of our civilization. Sand is used for construction of concrete structures like streets and highways, buildings, and infrastructure such as dams, oil fracking and park benches. It is also the basis of our communications and computer systems from silicone chips, monitor screens and fiberoptic cables. It is the window through which we look and the lens we use to see the far reaches of our universe.

The featured image is an excellent example of a grain of high quality quartz sand. It is shown as seen under microscopic examination illuminated by transmitted polarized light. It is a sample of the standard to which other samples are compared.

This is an introduction to the assessment of samples that appear through microscopic examination of these natural building blocks. The samples shown here were collected from the surface of the beaches along a few miles north of Naples, Florida’s west facing coast. They were collected and recorded in the database found at Beaches of Southwest Florida

This posting is intended to assist you in interpreting the reported results of observations made.

This square meter of costal hinterland is packed with information. It is site #87 in the Costal Database. The following micrografs were made with just a pinch of the surface soil.

Through the microscope, several light sources were used that include incident flash white light, transmitted white light, transmitted polarized white light, occasional combinations of these sources, transmitted ultra blue light for fluorescence and selected color filtered light. These images will be identified by observation number as shown in the database.

#87, Fig 1. Sample showing clear quartz and transparent quartz particles with white transmitted light

#87, Fig 2. Sample showing colorful quartz and transparent quartz particles using polarized transmitted light

#87, Fig 3. Sand sample 5x polarized transmitted and flash light. Note the rounded corners of the quartz sand grains when compared to the wharf edges of the cover picture.

#87, Fig 4. same sample but added vinegar. Spherical bubbles are easily identified forming during the test process. See video below.

#87, Fig 5. This movie clip shows the off gassing of carbon dioxide from a fragment of mollusk shell as it goes into solution. Note the developmental striations in the shell sample.

These findings are reported in the database as a ‘1’ in the response choice.

Other characteristics are also recorded as shown in the following chart extracted from the database site. Where homogeneity ranges from poor to very well, size ranges from coarse to very fine, shape ranges from sharp to well rounded, source is by mineral composition, quartz ratio is in percentage by count of particles in the field of view X3, particle size can be measured down to .035 mm. Further sizing of smaller dimension is by micrometer.

Chart sample of finding characteristics of observation #87

The quartz portion of the sand is the common building block of most beaches. Under polarized light it behaves like a prism and is polychromatic. This feature is readily identifiable as a distinguishing feature. The non quartz particles may be of other ingredients such as stone, fossil, coral, plastic resin, or other salts. When vinegar is added to the sample a chemical reaction transpires where calcium carbonate reacts with the weak acid and goes into solution releasing the carbon dioxide as a gas in bubble form. This is seen in the video micrograph. The non quartz shell findings can also be distinguished by the repetitive pattern of growth and development lines in the fragments.

I hope that you find this useful when you check out our new database link Beaches of SWFL

#photomicrograph #quartz #sand #videomicrograph #polarized light #database #beaches #Southwest Florida #SWFL #transmitted light #reflected direct light #costal ecosystems

The microscope used is referenced on an earlier posting

April 27, 2023

Category: Science

Life – The lessons from SWFlorida Wilderness.

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Thermometer Exploration

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Coastal Wetlands Part I, Microscopy Imaging Intro

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