Download Pine Rockland Species - Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition

Using Miami-Dade’s Endemic
Species to Teach Science
Jim Teas, Jorge Mas Canosa Middle
Based on “Getting to Know
Florida’s Pine Rockland Critters”
Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition
Written by: M. Belén Valladares
Illustrated by: Kim Heise
• One key to reaching science students is to show
relevance to their lives
• Some of the species mentioned here live only in South
Florida, some only in Miami-Dade County, and some
only in county pine rocklands.
• The handout (coloring book) has NGSSS standards and
a teacher guide with objectives, questions and ideas for
projects
– Plant and animal interactions
– Impact human activities and natural events on the environment
– How the environment changes allow some individuals to survive
and reproduce while others die or move to new locations.
What is a Pine Rockland?
• An ecosystem unique to south Florida, the
Bahamas, and Cuba
• Supports very specialized inhabitants.
What is a Pine Rockland?
• The substrate in Florida’s pine rocklands is
mostly limestone rock (very little soil)
• Formed from ancient seafloor formed over
millennia
• Made up of calcium carbonate
• Biome includes slash pine (Pinus ellioti
var. densa) and a multitude of animals
and plants
What is a Pine Rockland?
Pine rockland with slash pines and saw palmettos
Source: http://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/kidsyouth/pine-rocklands.htm
What is a Pine Rockland?
• Oolitic limestone has naturally occurring
crevices, like Swiss cheese
• Ideal homes for small creatures like the
tiny Rim Rock crowned snake
• Status: Less than 2% of original 18,000
acres remain (outside of Everglades
National Park)
Notes: habitat
A Flaming Environment
• Fire an essential part of pine rockland habitats.
• Tree canopy is thinned out every few years by
naturally occurring fires.
• After fire, sunlight penetrates better through the
scant canopy
• Allows seedling pine trees and plants to grow in
the lower levels.
• Plants are adapted to survive fire
• Branches of slash pines are very high
• Hard for flames to reach them.
Note: habitat, succession, climax community
A Flaming Environment
• Sparse canopy benefits inhabitants
• Florida bonneted bat able to fly through it
without crashing into big branches.
• Migrating birds find food and shelter on
journeys in spring and fall.
Note: habitat
A Flaming Environment
• Florida ground zero for non-native plants
• Called invasive plants, have the tendency
to crowd out native species.
• Fire suppresses invasive vegetation
Notes: invasive species, succession
A Flaming Environment
• Pine rockland fires occur naturally when
lightning strikes the area
• Resource managers now implement
controlled fires to keep them healthy.
• Planned fires are called “prescribed
burns.”
• Difficult to administer because of public
perception and smoke management
A Flaming Environment
• Reasons for prescribed burns
– Reduce wildfire danger
– Improve wildlife habitat
– Manage endangered, fire-dependent plants
– Manage competing vegetation
– Prepare sites for seedling and planting
– Enhance appearance
– Perpetuate fire-dependent plants and animals
Source “Keepers of the Flame” poster
Miami-Dade Parks, Miami-Dade Department of Environmental
Management
Bartram’s Scrub-Hairstreak
Butterfly
Bartram’s Scrub-Hairstreak
Butterfly
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Status: endangered (federal)
Strymon acis bartrami
Very rare, 2.5 cm in length
This butterfly never flies too far away from
its home
• Name comes from Bartram family, who
wrote about the plants and animals
observed through the family’s travels.
Bartram’s Scrub-Hairstreak
Butterfly
• Host plant is the pineland croton (Croton
linearis).
• Grows on clearings on the rocky soils of
southeast Florida and the Florida Keys.
• Pineland crotons need fire to keep their
space clear for healthy development.
Bartram’s Scrub-Hairstreak
Butterfly
Larva on pineland croton
NPS photo by Jimi Sadle
Florida Bonneted Bat
Florida Bonneted Bat
• Status: endangered (federal)
• Eumops floridanus
• Name comes from big ears that resemble a
bonnet or hat.
• Florida’s largest bat and needs a lot of space to
roam.
• Pine rockland canopy makes the perfect
obstacle-free flying space
• Bonneted bats eat weight in bugs every night.
Florida Bonneted Bat
• Live in last remaining pine rocklands,
mangrove forests, and hardwood swamps
in southeastern and southwestern Florida.
• Very rare and difficult to see, but Zoo
Miami has reported recording their sounds
in the zoo and in the pine rocklands next
to the zoo.
• High-pitched “chirps” used for echolocation can be heard by humans
http://www.miamibatsquad.com/Miami_Bat_Squad/FBB_Sounds_files/Eumops%20Echo.mp3
Florida Bonneted Bat
• Coral Gables residents have reported seeing
and hearing them in the large banyan trees
around the Granada golf course
• Interested parties can contact the Miami bat
squad if you wish to participate.
http://www.MiamiBatSquad.com.
• A baby Bonneted bat was rescued and named
'Bruce'. He is doing well at the Zoo Miami
veterinary hospital. You Tube video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q16tfhp_Kk4.
Atala Butterfly
Atala Butterfly
• Status: C2, candidate for federal protection.
• Eumaeus atala
• Wings black, speckled with iridescent blue and
have bright orange spot to match their striking
bright orange abdomen.
• Males are either Caribbean blue or teal green on
the inner fore and hindwings and females are
always royal blue on the upper wing only.
• Atala caterpillar red with rows of yellow spots.
•Note: Sexual dimorphism
Atala Butterfly
• Host plant is coontie (Zamia integrifolia)
• The drought and moderately salt-tolerant
coontie is the only native host plant for the
• Coontie’s natural toxins make the
caterpillar poisonous to predators
• Predators avoid brightly colored larvae
Note: Mimicry
Atala Butterfly
Atala butterfly larvae
Sandy Koi
Atala Butterfly
• Atalas are imperiled and live in Pine
Rocklands
• Were once thought to be extinct.
• People can help the Atala survive by
planting coonties and other native plants
that provide food and shelter.
Atala Butterfly
Atala butterfly host plant – Coontie
Sandy Koi
Miami Tiger Beetle
Miami Tiger Beetle
• Status: Pending endangered (federal)
Cicindela floridana
• Miami tiger beetles disappeared for over
70 years
• In 2007, rediscovered by scientists
Richmond Pine Rocklands of Miami,
Florida.
Miami Tiger Beetle
• Fierce predators, hence the name “tiger.”
• Larvae live in tiny burrows in the sunny
and sandy spots found in pine rocklands.
• Jump out at lighting speed to attack prey
• Devour prey in a split second with their
strong powerful jaws.
Miami Tiger Beetle
• Seasonal, only be seen from May through
October.
• Hide out in their small, secluded shelters
the rest of the year.
• Adult coloration (iridescent green) helps
them blend in with their pine rockland
habitat.
Miami Tiger Beetle
• 38 were spotted in 2014
• Estimate is fewer than 100 left alive today.
• Only known habitat: Richmond Pine
Rocklands in Miami.
• Note: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
held a hearing in Miami on January 16,
2016 to hear public comment on a
proposed listing of the Miami Tiger Beetle
as endangered
Note: endangered species
Richmond Pine Rocklands (Google)
• You can watch a tiger beetle YouTube
video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Aoe3DiFdA
Rim Rock Crowned Snake
Rim Rock Crowned Snake
• Very rare species of snake found only in
Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
• Tantilla oolitica
• 10 inch (25 cm) long snake named after
the Miami Rim Rock formation.
• Black head with a tan to light brown body.
• It is not known how many remain.
Florida Leafwing Butterfly
Florida Leafwing Butterfly
• Status: Endangered (federal)
• Anaea troglodyta floridalis
• Closed wings look like dried leaves on the
outside
• Bright red-orange-brown colors on the inside.
• Only habitat pine rocklands remaining inside
Everglades National Park.
• Its host plant is the pineland croton (Croton
linearis).
Note: camouflage
Deltoid spurge
http://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Chamaesyce_deltoidea_ssp_deltoidea.pdf
Gill Nelson
Deltoid spurge
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Status: endangered (federal)
Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. deltoidea
Common name deltoid spurge
Flowering plant endemic to Miami-Dade
County
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_deltoidea
Notes: endemic, endangered species
Small’s milkpea
http://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Galactia_smallii.pdf
Gill Nelson
Small’s milkpea
• Status: endangered (federal)
• Galactia smallii is a rare species of
flowering plant in the legume family known
by the common name Small's milk pea.
• Known only from a few small patches of
remaining habitat in Miami-Dade County.
• Threatened by habitat destruction and
inadequate management
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactia_smallii
Note: habitat destruction
Crenulate lead-plant
http://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Amorpha_herbacea_var_crenulata.pdf
Billy B. Boothe
Crenulate lead-plant
• Status: critically endangered (federal)
• Amorpha crenulata is restricted to pine
rockland in Miami-Dade County
• No more than five subpopulations are currently
present in the distribution range
• Habitat severely fragmented and isolated due to
development of the area
• Fire suppression measures, invasion by exotic
plant species, and drainage threaten the survival
of this species
Source: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/19893100/0
Carter’s small-flowered flax
http://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Linum_carteri.pdf
Billy B. Boothe
Carter’s small-flowered flax
• Status: Endangered (federal)
• Linum carteri var. carteri
• Discovered in the early 20th century in the Miami
area,
• Grows in pine rockland habitat.
• An annual herb with distinctive, half-inch-wide
flowers with five yellow-orange petals.
• Threats include improper fire management and
nonnative species invasion
• The plant has declined to only nine known
Source: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/plants/Carters_small-flowered_flax/
occurrences.
Note: nonnative species
Florida brickell-bush
http://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Brickellia_mosieri.pdf
Gill Nelson
Florida brickell-bush
• Status: endangered (federal)
• Brickellia mosieri is found exclusively in
pine rockland on Miami Rock Ridge on the
edges of Everglades National Park.
• 1 and 3.5 feet tall, grows in low-nutrient
sand, marl and organic material found in
limestone crevices.
• Threats: commercial and agricultural
development that alter its habitat
Source: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/plants/Florida_brickell-bush/
Note: human interaction
Objectives
1. Learn about native flora and fauna of the
Pine Rocklands/Everglades/South Florida.
2. Understand the role of fire in the life of the
Pine Rocklands ecosystem
3. Understand the effect people have on the
environment
4. Understand the importance of protecting
the Pine Rocklands
Questions
1. Name three animals that make the Pine
Rocklands their home.
2. Choose a Pine Rocklands animal. Describe its
diet and adaptations it has made to survive.
3. Of what material is the soil in the Pine
Rocklands composed?
4. Why are fires necessary to the Pine Rocklands?
5. What effect have humans had on the Pine
Rocklands?
Questions
6. Fires are necessary to the Pine Rocklands. Can
you think of other usually destructive forces are
necessary to the environment?
7. Compare the Pine Rocklands with another
ecosystem you have studied. How are they alike
and different?
8. Do you agree that it is important to save the
Pine Rocklands? Why or why not?
9. What more do you think could be done to save
the Pine Rocklands?
Projects
1. Visit the Pine Rocklands or research the subject
further online. Write a speech about your
experience.
2. Make a graph showing the change in
populations of different animals in the Pine
Rocklands.
3. Make a drawing or collage representing the
plants and animals found in the Pine Rocklands.
4. Act out a scene of someone protesting
development of the Pine Rocklands.
Projects
5. Write a song about the Pine Rocklands or find
music that you think represents the Pine
Rocklands.
6. Write a letter to a government official, asking
them to help the Pine Rocklands.
7. Group Project: Write and act out a Public
Service Announcement about saving the Pine
Rocklands. You can film it if you want and send it
to the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition for their
YouTube channel.
8. Plant coonties or crotons in your schoolyard or
garden.
SC.2.L.17.2
• Recognize and explain that living things are found all
over Earth, but each is only able to live in habitats that
meet its basic needs.
• Body of Knowledge: Life Science
• Big Idea: Interdependence • A. Plants and animals, including humans, interact with
and depend upon each other and their environment to
satisfy their basic needs.
• B. Both human activities and natural events can have
major impacts on the environment.
• C. Energy flows from the sun through producers to
consumers.
• Content Complexity Rating: Level 2: Basic Application of
Skills & Concepts - More Information
SC.3.L.17.2
• Recognize that plants use energy from the Sun, air, and
water to make their own food.
• Body of Knowledge: Life Science
• Big Idea: Interdependence • A. Plants and animals, including humans, interact with
and depend upon each other and their environment to
satisfy their basic needs.
• B. Both human activities and natural events can have
major impacts on the environment.
• C. Energy flows from the sun through producers to
consumers.
• Content Complexity Rating: Level 1: Recall - More
Information
SC.4.L.17.4
• Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans,
can impact the environment.
• Body of Knowledge: Life Science
• Big Idea: Interdependence • A. Plants and animals, including humans, interact with
and depend upon each other and their environment to
satisfy their basic needs.
• B. Both human activities and natural events can have
major impacts on the environment.
• C. Energy flows from the sun through producers to
consumers.
• Content Complexity Rating: Level 3: Strategic Thinking &
Complex Reasoning - More Information
SC.5.E.7.5
• Recognize that some of the weather-related differences,
such as temperature and humidity, are found among
different environments, such as swamps, deserts, and
mountains.
• Body of Knowledge: Earth and Space Science
• Big Idea: Earth Systems and Patterns
• Humans continue to explore the interactions among
water, air, and land. Air and water are in constant motion
that results in changing conditions that can be observed
over time.
• Content Complexity Rating: Level 2: Basic Application of
Skills & Concepts - More Information
SC.5.L.15.1
• Describe how, when the environment changes,
differences between individuals allow some plants and
animals to survive and reproduce while others die or
move to new locations.
• Body of Knowledge: Life Science
• Big Idea: Diversity and Evolution of Living Organisms
• A. Earth is home to a great diversity of living things, but
changes in the environment can affect their survival.
• B. Individuals of the same kind often differ in their
characteristics and sometimes the differences give
individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.
• Content Complexity Rating: Level 3: Strategic Thinking &
Complex Reasoning - More Information
SC.7.L.17.3
• Describe and investigate various limiting factors in the
local ecosystem and their impact on native populations,
including food, shelter, water, space, disease, parasitism,
predation, and nesting sites.
• Body of Knowledge: Life Science
• Big Idea: Interdependence
• A. Plants and animals, including humans, interact with
and depend upon each other and their environment to
satisfy their basic needs.
• B. Both human activities and natural events can have
major impacts on the environment.
• C. Energy flows from the sun through producers to
consumers.
• Content Complexity Rating: Level 3: Strategic Thinking &
Complex Reasoning - More Information
SC.912.L.17.4
• Describe changes in ecosystems resulting from seasonal
variations, climate change and succession.
• Body of Knowledge: Life Science
• Standard: Interdependence
• A. The distribution and abundance of organisms is
determined by the interactions between organisms, and
between organisms and the non-living environment.
• B. Energy and nutrients move within and between biotic
and abiotic components of ecosystems via physical,
chemical and biological processes.
• C. Human activities and natural events can have
profound effects on populations, biodiversity and
ecosystem processes.
• Content Complexity Rating: Level 2: Basic Application
of Skills & Concepts
Remarks/Examples
• Introduce the impacts of invasive species, such
as Brazilian pepper, Cuban anole, Kudzu,
Australian pine, non-native pets released into
wild (Burmese python).
• Ocean pollution resulting from discharge of
sewage, toxic chemicals, manufacturing wastes,
fertilizers, soaps, detergents, runoff and
insecticides
• Population growth causes consumption of
limited resources and land use expansion to
accommodate for more people; animal extinction
(endangered and threatened species).
Resources
Pine Rockland Preservation
http://zoomiamiconservation.com/project/pine-rockland-restoration/
The Pine Rockland Initiative Program
http://regionalconservation.org/ircs/pdf/publications/2012_2.pdf
Natives for your Neighborhood
http://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantlist.asp
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Endangered Species List
www.fws.gov/endangered/
Imperiled Species
www.myfwc.com/imperiledspecies/
Florida Natural Areas Inventory - Pine Rockland
http://fnai.org/PDF/NC/Pine_Rockland_Final_2010.pdf
Project Noah
http://www.projectnoah.org/
Pine Rockland Organisms
Organism
Scientific name
Slash pine
Pinus ellioti var. densa
Bartram’s Scrub-Hairstreak
Butterfly
Strymon acis bartrami
Florida bonneted bat
Eumops floridanus
Atala butterfly
Eumaeus atala
Coontie
Zamia integrifolia
Miami Tiger Beetle
Cicindela floridana
Rim rock crowned snake
Tantilla oolitica
Florida leafwing butterfly
Anaea troglodyta floridalis
Deltoid spurge
Euphorbia deltoidea ssp. deltoidea
Small’s milk pea
Galactia smallii
Crenutale lead plant
Amorpha crenulata
Carter’s small-flowered flax
Linum carteri var. carteri
Florida brickell-bush
Brickellia mosieri
PSA for the Miami Tiger Beetle
“These special critters have no other place
to call home, let’s protect these valuable
pine rocklands.”
Jaclyn Lopez, Florida Director, Center for
Biological Diversity
PSA for the Miami Tiger Beetle
- M. Belen Valladares, Vice-President, Miami Pine
Rocklands Coalition
“Recently someone asked me ‘why are you focusing so
much effort on such a small piece of land?, I know it's
important but there's so much more to do…’
• Because this is a modern day Noah's ark.
• Because conservation of the species is important,
they are becoming extinct on a daily basis and this place
is home to species that only live there and are a lot more
endangered than many of the animals we hear about.
• Because it’s the last significant piece of pine rocklands in
Florida.
PSA for the Miami Tiger Beetle
• Because this place is like an island within Florida that
holds a very different and unique animals and plants. It
is different than the rest of Florida and not found
anywhere else. (If you are familiar with the Tepuys in
Venezuela, it's like that).
• Salt water intrusion in the Florida Keys is squeezing
species into smaller and smaller spaces and some day
the Keys will not be a suitable place for its life as we
know it and this will be a real lifeboat habitat for some
species that will have to survive only here.
• Because there is a critter with the name "Miami Tiger
Beetle" and only 38 were found in the last survey and
only 100 are believed to be alive. Why in the world
would you want to diminish its chances of survival?
PSA for the Miami Tiger Beetle
“My generation has the world on its shoulders. We are
dealing with the worst environmental problems today that
humanity has ever seen. Rapid extinction of species is
just one of these problems.
It is estimated that 200 species go extinct every day. How
can I stand by while a habitat in my backyard is on the
brink of extinction?
My generation is also becoming increasingly aware of
social and environmental injustices. Millennials protect
the underdogs. That is why as a young person today, I
stand for the Pine Rocklands to exist for tomorrow.”
- Anya Contreras
Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition Member and a millennial
Adapted from materials and used with permission
of Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition
www.MiamiPineRocklandsCoalition.org
Coloring book available from:
http://www.miamipinerocklandscoalition.org/mobile/pine-rockland-critters.html
® Copyright 2015 by Miami Pine Rocklands
Coalition. All rights reserved.