I hope everyone is starting to get excited about our trip to Blue Spring State Park, Florida! While we're there we'll be working with park rangers on service-learning projects geared around biodiversity, the environment, and conservation of it. Blue Spring State Park is home to lots of native Florida plants and critters, and is actually a designated Manatee Refuge. While we're there, we're sure to see some of the native population of West Indian manatees that spend the winter in the park.
These gentle giants spend their entire lives in the water, and are unfortunately listed as "venerable" on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. This is in part because of the increase of human activity in and on the water. The Florida subspecies, Trichechus manatus latirostris, is commonly under threat from motorboats on the water. Collisions with propellers can cause serious injury or even prove fatal for these gentle giants. Combine unnecessary deaths with naturally low reproductive rates, and you get a decrease in population that is hard to come back from. That is why refuges like Blue Spring State Park are so important for this, and other, species.
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), Florida's state tortoise, is also listed as "venerable" on the IUCN Red List. Which is terribly unfortunate because this enigmatic little guy is considered a keystone species where it lives. As it's name suggests, this tortoise digs burrows in the ground to provide itself with protection from predators and the elements. But the burrows it abandons are used by hundreds of other species as homes and nesting sites. In this way, this one species of tortoise has a very large impact on its environment, and is an essential part of the ecosystem. Without it, the community around it would crumble, just like a building without a keystone, hence the term keystone species.
Amidst the Florida scrub habitat lives a bird that is endemic to to the area, meaning it can be found nowhere else on Earth: Aphelocoma coerulescens, the Florida scrub-jay. This bird boasts both beauty and brains, exhibiting a high level of intelligence and curiosity. But this is not always in the jay's best interest. They are also remarkably tame, and as a result of this trifecta, have no problem strolling right up to people, even feeding directly from their hands. Human fed scrub-jays breed earlier in the season than those who feed naturally. Unfortunately, this doesn't give their young a head-start. Rather, it puts them at a disadvantage because the caterpillars that make up their primary food source are not around to eat when they are born, which can lead to starvation and death of the hatchlings. Being fed by humans also means that you spend more time around humans, which can be dangerous because a large number of scrub-jay deaths are cause by collisions with vehicles on the road as they move into urban areas looking to feed. This also put them on the IUCN Red List as "threatened".
Luckily, not all of Florida's native species are threatened. The once endangered American alligator has recently made a comeback from overhunting and habitat loss, and can now be found all over the wetlands of Florida. Contrary to popular belief, Alligator mississippiensis is not just a cold-blooded, reptilian, killer that outlived the dinosaurs and is should considered a "living fossil". Females are also caring parents, and they are only a threat to humans when they themselves are threatened. Unfortunately, this is becoming more and more common, as human and alligator habitat are beginning to overlap more and more. But in the state park, we'll be on their turf, so if you happen to catch a glimpse of the Florida state reptile, be sure to keep your distance!
There are so many other species living in the Florida scrub and wetlands, it would be impossible to mention them all here. I've highlighted these few for two main reasons. The first is (as you may have noticed) they are all featured in the blog's banner. The second is because these critters are part of the reason we're heading to Florida in the first place. The work we will be doing is a small part of the ongoing efforts of the Florida Park Service to protect native habitats, plants, and animals. Through the maintenance of park trails and re-planting of native species, we will be directly helping to protect this ecosystem. And public education efforts and visitor opportunities will indirectly help as well, as we will be raising awareness about what is happening in and around the park. Human activities have had a negative impact in the lives of all the animals mentioned above, and the more people we can reach, the more people will support efforts to help mitigate this impact.
Along with our service, I know we'll have the opportunity to enjoy both the wildlife and the scenery that Blue Spring State Park has to offer, and to learn something about what we can do to protect it. So as you finish out your fall semester, know that all of your hard work will be rewarded with an awesome Alternative Break experience. See you all in Florida!
-David Tana-
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