Florida Ecology
Florida Ecology
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Where is Florida on
the biome map?
Polar Zone
Arctic Circle 60° N
Temperate
Zone
Tropic of Cancer 23.5 ° N
Tropics
Coniferous Forests
in Northwest
Savanna in
“Heartland”
Major
Biomes in
the United
States
Deciduous Forests of
East and Northeast
Desert in
Southwest
Coniferous Forests in
Southeast (includes FL)
Florida’s Climate
• Florida is just north of the Tropic of Cancer
• Our weather depends on two cells of wind:
– Trade Winds (summer--heat, high humidity--tropical)
– Westerlies (winter--dry air, clear skies--temperate)
• Solar radiation shifts the wind cells
– Trade Winds dominate from May to October
– Westerlies dominate from November to April
Ecosystems are smaller than
biomes
• An ecosystem is a system
whose members benefit
from each other's
participation via symbiotic
relationships (positive sum
relationships).
• An ecosystem refers to
self-sustaining systems.
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Florida’s Environment
Biosphere
Eastern Coniferous Forest
Ecosystems
3 Upland Types
5 Wetland Types
Florida’s 8 Major Ecosystems
• Wetlands
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–
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–
–
Salt Marsh
Mangrove
Swamps
Freshwater Marsh
Lakes
• Uplands
– Pine Flatwoods & Dry
Prairies
– Scrub and High Pine
– Temperate Hardwood
Forests
Elevation Determines Ecosystem
Mangrove Swamp
& Saltwater Marsh
Coral
Reef
Pine Flatwoods
& Dry Prairies
Freshwater
Swamps, Marshes
and Lakes
Scrub & High
Pines
Aquatic Ecosystems = Wetlands
• Reference Section 34.4 (pgs. 758-761)
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Ponds & Lakes
Streams & Rivers
Estuaries
Coral Reefs
• Florida Examples
– Sink hole lakes
– Spring-fed rivers
– Salt marshes,
mangrove swamps
– Florida Keys-Coral Reef
– Florida Everglades
Spring Formation
Visit www.floridasprings.org
• Springs form where
groundwater is forced
through openings in the
ground.
• Most Florida springs
occur in the north-central
part of the state where
the aquifer is closest to
the surface.
• Springs may be
headwaters to rivers
Sinkholes
• Sinkholes are a window to
the aquifer.
• Pollution flowing into a
sinkhole contaminates
groundwater
• Contaminated groundwater=
contaminated spring water
Visit www.floridasprings.org
Florida Coral Reefs
• the most extensive
living coral reef in
North American
• third largest system in
the world
Visit http://floridakeys.noaa.gov
• only the Great Barrier
Reef of Australia and
the Belizian barrier
reef are bigger
Symbiotic Relationships
• Reference Section 35.4 (pg. 780)
• Symbiotic relationships – a close interaction
between species, in which one species lives in or
on the other. Three main types:
– Parasitism
– Mutualism
– Commensalism
Florida Examples
Parasitism: Mistletoe
and Trees
Ecosystem: Temperate Hard
Woods
Tree
Bark
Roots of
mistletoe
Layers
of wood
inside
tree
http://www.forestpathology.org/mistle.html
• Mistletoe penetrates
limbs of trees for
nutrients
• Seeds are sticky and
attach to trees
• Mistletoe roots
weaken tree limbs
Florida Examples
Mutualism: Zooxanthellae and corals
Ecosystem: Coral Reefs
•Zooxanthellae are tiny producers (they photosynthesize).
• Some corals cannot produce
their own food.
• These corals rely on
zooxanthellae to
photosynthesize “extra” food,
which the coral consumes
• The coral provides nutrients
to the zooxanthellae
http://www.biosbcc.net/ocean/marine
sci/prbenthon/crani.htm
Florida Examples
Commensalism: Gopher Tortoise Burrows
• Ecosystem: Scrub and High
Pine
• Some animals share burrows
with tortoises
• Others use abandoned
burrows
• Specific endangered Florida
species use tortoise burrows:
indigo snake, Florida mouse,
gopher frog
Ecological Succession
• Reference Section 35.5 (page 782)
• Ecological Succession: drastic change in a
community due to disturbance
– Primary succession: when a community arises in a
lifeless area that has no soils (e.g. new islands from
volcanic deposits)
– Secondary Succession: a disturbances has damaged
an existing community, leaving the soil intact. The
change that follows is secondary succession.
Florida Example
Primary Succession
• Typically does not happen
in Florida.
• Examples in other parts of
the country are glaciation
and volcanic lava flows.
Photo: http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/
vwdocs/Hopson/hopson1.html
Florida Example
Secondary Succession: Wild Fires
Ecosystem: Pine Flatwoods and Dry Prairies
• Longleaf pines depend on
periodic fires
• Flames do not the pines
• Fire kills off young hardwoods
that would shade out the pines
• Fire also adds nutrients to the
soil
Ecological Niche
• Reference Section 35.4 (page 778)
• A Niche is a species’ unique living
arrangement.
• Examples of niches are the organism’s
living place and food sources
Florida Example
Niche: Scrub Jays and Scrub Habitat
Ecosystem: Scrub and High Pine
• Habitat loss is the greatest
threat to Florida scrub jays.
• The high, dry scrub is rapidly
converted for human use.
• Fire suppression causes
habitat to be overgrown and
unsuitable for scrub jay use.
Feeding Relationships: Food Web
• Reference Section 36.1 (pages 788-791)
• Terms:
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–
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Trophic level
Producer
Consumer
Herbivore
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–
–
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Carnivore
Omnivore
Decomposer
Food web
Florida Example
Ecosystem: Mangrove Swamp to Open Zones
Food Chains and Food Webs
Producer
Consumer
Primary
Omnivore
Consumer
Secondary
Carnivore
Consumer
Tertiary
Carnivore
Consumer
Carnivore
End of Slide Show