Estuaries, Wildlife and Wildlife Habitats in Southwest Florida

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Estuaries, Wildlife and Wildlife Habitats in
Southwest Florida
James W. Beever III Biological Scientist SWFRPC
Educational Ecosystem Poster Shelly Castle
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An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water
formed where freshwater from rivers, streams, and
sheet flows into the ocean, mixing with the
seawater.
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Estuaries come in many shapes and sizes and are
called many different names - bays, lagoons,
harbors, inlets, or sounds.
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Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are
places of transition from land to sea, and from
fresh to saltwater.
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In a Healthy Estuary the Balance of Fresh and
Salt Water Changes Predictably with the Seasons
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A Healthy Estuary Needs

• Natural Hydrology
• Natural Water Quality
• Native Species
• A Variety of Native Habitats
• A Gradient of Salinity
• Good Stewardship

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The health of the estuary depends upon the
quality of its watershed
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THE ESTUARY BEGINS IN THE UPLANDS AND THE WATER
QUALITY BEGINS WITH THE RAIN
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Preserved Lands Protect Estuaries
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Pinelands
22 Listed Animal Species in the Pinelands
(Xeric-Scrubby, Mesic, and Hydric)
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Estuary Food Webs Are Complex
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Producers

• Algae
• Phytoplankton
• Sea Grasses
• Mangrove
• Salt Marsh
• River and Creek Detritus

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Larger Fish, Crustaceans, Wading Birds
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Turtle Grass Thalassia testudinum
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Shoalgrass Halodule wrightii
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Caribbean seagrass Halophila decipiens
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Widgeongrass Ruppia maritima
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Mangrove Swamp
32 Listed Animal Species in the Mangrove Swamp
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Southwest Florida Zonation
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White Laguncularia
Red Rhizophora
Black Avicennia
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Salt Marsh
23 Listed Animal Species in the Salt Marsh
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Saltwort Batis maritima
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Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus
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Sand Dollars
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Isopod
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Bay Scallop Argopecten irradians
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Enhanced
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Enhanced
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Mangrove Prop Roots
Natural Hard Benthic Invertebrate Habitats of
Southwest Florida Estuaries
Oyster Bars
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Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginica
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Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginica
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• Listed Animal Species in the Marine Ecosystem
  (that can also visit the estuary)

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Redfish, Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Cobia
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Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus
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Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus
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Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus
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Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus
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Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis
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Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis
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Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis
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Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis
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Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis
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Lesser Electric Ray Narcine brasiliensis
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Small-toothed Sawfish Pristis pectinata
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Black-tipped Shark Carcharhinas limbatus
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Mangrove Rivulus Rivulus marmoratus
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American Crocodile Crocodylus acutus
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American Crocodile Crocodylus acutus
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Kemps ridley seaturtle Lepidochelys kempii
green seaturtle Chelonia mydas
Atlantic loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta
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Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
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Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
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Coastal Strand
23 Listed Animal Species
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Piping Plover Charadrinus melodus
Snowy Plover Charadrinus alexandrinus
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black skimmer Rhynchops niger
least tern Sterna antillarum
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American oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus
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Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
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Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
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white ibis Eudocimus albus
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Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
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Snowy Egret Egretta thula
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Louisiana Heron Egretta tricolor
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Mangrove Cuckoo Coccyzus minor
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bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
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Bottle-nosed Dolphin Tursiops truncatus
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Bottle-nosed Dolphin Tursiops truncatus
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West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus
latirostris
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West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus
latirostris
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Marsh Rabbit Sylvilagus palustris
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Hispid Cotton Rat Sigmodon hispidus
Marsh Rice Rat Oyzomys palustris
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White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus
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Bobcat Lynx rufus
Opossum Didelphis viginiana
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Florida panther Felis concolor coryii
Florida Black Bear Ursus americanus floridanus
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Southern Flying Squirrel Glaucomys volans
Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
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Eastern woodrat Neotoma floridana
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Racoon Procyon lotor
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State of Florida Listed Animal Species of
Charlotte Harbor, Matlacha Pass, Pine Island
Sound, nearshore Gulf of Mexico and the Yucca
Pens, Gator Slough, Pine Island, Sanibel, and
west Cape Coral areas in the Order of
Endangerment, as of September 1, 2008 State
Endangered Species Florida panther, West Indian
manatee, Atlantic right whale, finback whale,
humpback whale, sei whale, sperm whale, Florida
mastiff bat, wood stork, snail kite, peregrine
falcon, American crocodile, Atlantic green
turtle, leatherback turtle, Atlantic ridley
turtle, Atlantic hawksbill turtle State
Threatened Species Florida black bear, Florida
sandhill crane, least tern, roseate tern, piping
plover, southeastern snowy plover, red-cockaded
woodpecker, Florida scrub jay, crested caracara,
eastern indigo snake, Atlantic loggerhead
turtle State Species of Special Concern Florida
mouse, Shermans fox squirrel, Sanibel Island
rice rat, Shermans short-tailed shrew, roseate
spoonbill, little blue heron, reddish egret,
snowy egret, tricolored heron, white ibis,
limpkin, brown pelican, American oystercatcher,
black skimmer, burrowing owl, southeastern
American kestrel, gopher tortoise, scrub lizard,
Florida pine snake, American alligator, gopher
frog, mangrove rivulus 49 State Listed Species
with 21 of these Federally Listed
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American Crocodile
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James W. Beever III Senior Planner jbeever_at_ swfrpc
.org