Download Natural Ecosystems and Native Species

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