by Erik Lovestrand | Mar 25, 2016
Summertime and swimming at the beach just go together naturally in Florida with our state’s more than 1,000 miles of coastline. Many fond memories are created along these salty margins and the Panhandle region of the state has some of the top-rated beaches in the world. It is a great place to experience a relaxing, cool dip in the Gulf of Mexico on a balmy summer day. One thing to be aware of though is the possibility of an encounter with one of the Gulf’s “stinging” inhabitants and what to do if this occurs.
The Moon Jelly is a Common Inhabitant Along Panhandle Shores. Photo courtesy Florida Sea Grant
There are actually several different organisms that have the capability to sting. This is primarily their mechanism for capturing food but it may also serve to deter predators. Most belong to a group of organisms called “Cnidarians,” which includes the jellyfish. Most jellyfish are harmless to us and are important food sources for many other marine creatures, including some sea turtles, fish and even other jellies! Some species are even dried, shredded and eaten by humans. However, there are several types of jellyfish that will inflict a sting when brushed against and some that are actually a serious hazard. Keep in mind that people also react differently to most venoms, exhibiting varying degrees of sensitivity. The most dangerous types include some of the box jellyfish species (visit HERE for general map of worldwide jellyfish fatalities), and the blue-colored Portuguese man-o-war, which is sometimes common on our shores after sustained southerly winds during summer. A few of our locally common species that cause pain but of a generally less-severe nature include the moon jelly, sea nettle, and cannonball jellyfish. We even have some species of hydroids that look very much like a bushy brown or red algae. They are usually attached to the bottom substrate but when pieces break off and drift into the surf they can provide a painful encounter.
If you are stung there are a couple of things you can do to help and a couple of things you should not do. First, move away from the location by getting out of the water so you don’t encounter more tentacles. Carefully remove any visible tentacle pieces but not with your fingers. You should also change out of swimwear that may have trapped pieces of tentacles or tiny larval jellyfish against the skin. Do not rinse the area with fresh water as this causes the remaining stinging cells to fire their venomous harpoons. If symptoms go beyond a painful sting to having difficulty breathing or chest pain you should immediately call the Poison Information Center Network at 1-800-222-1222 or call 911.
Another thing to watch for in areas where public beaches display the beach warning flag system is a purple flag. This flag color at the beach indicates dangerous marine life and quite often it is flown when jellyfish numbers are at high levels. All of this is being written, not to scare you away from our beaches, but to help you enjoy our beautiful coastline with a little better understanding of what is out there and what to do if you happen to have a brush with a jellyfish. The vast majority of encounters are a minor irritation in an otherwise pleasant experience.
by Libbie Johnson | Feb 24, 2016
Libbie Johnson
UF IFAS Escambia County Extension
Northwest Florida can be a pond owner’s paradise. There is usually enough rainfall to keep ponds filled, catfish, bass, and brim are well adapted to the environmental conditions, and there is a long season to catch fish.
One of the biggest problems pond owners face is the constant struggle with pond vegetation. Some pond vegetation is good. It provides a cover for young fish, helps stabilize the shoreline or bank, and some vegetative species are attractive wildlife.
However some species are highly invasive and can completely overtake a pond. One such species is water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes).
The water hyacinth is a floating plant, which if left unchecked and allowed to grow to its maximum potential, can weigh up to 200 tons per acre of water. In rivers, it can choke out other vegetation and make navigation difficult to impossible.
Water hyacinth, as an ornamental plant, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The plants intertwined and form huge floating mats which can root on muddy surfaces, as seen in the photo below.
The plant will be several inches tall, has showy lavender flowers, with rounded, shiny, smooth leaves. These leaves are attached to spongy stalks that help keep the plants afloat. The prolific roots are dark and feathery.
In Northwest Florida this pest commonly dies back in the winter. Unfortunately it is able to regrow when the weather and water warm.
Water hyacinth is not a native species. It is believed to have been introduced into the U.S. in 1884 at an exposition in New Orleans. Within 70 years of reaching Florida, the plant covered 126,000 acres of waterways (Schmitz et al. 1993).
Water hyacinth is on the FL DACS Prohibited Aquatic Plant List – 5B-64.011. According to Florida Statute 369.25, “No person shall import, transport, cultivate, collect, sell, or possess any noxious aquatic plant listed on the prohibited aquatic plant list established by the department without a permit issued by the department.”
To control a small infestation, the plants can be gathered from the surface, brought to the shore, left to dry and then disposed of in the garbage. There are biological control options—water hyacinth weevils will be useful in keeping the plant populations down.
The spongy petiole helps keeps the plant afloat.
Finally, chemical herbicide options may be the best alternative. University of Florida Aquatic Vegetation Specialist, Dr. Langeland, wrote Efficacy of Herbicide Active Ingredients Against Aquatic Weeds, a good publication that will help you to determine which herbicide will work best for different weeds.
NOTE: The middle of the summer is generally not the ideal time for applying herbicide on pond vegetation. For more information on weed control in Florida ponds, please see Weed Control in Florida Ponds. If you have any questions about identifying a pond weed, contact your local county Extension agent.
by Carrie Stevenson | Feb 5, 2016
On “project day” students share their knowledge with the class. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
The Florida Master Naturalist Program is a 40-hour experiential learning course offered by UF IFAS Extension. While we spend time in class with presentations, by far everyone’s favorite aspects of the course are field trips and “project day.” As part of the course, each participant produces an educational tool—a display, presentation, skit, or lesson—that delves deeper into a topic of interest. The students and instructors are able to use these tools again and again to teach others.
Master Naturalist students walk “The Way” boardwalk in Perdido Key. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
One example of a multi-year student project is “The Way” nature trail, located at Perdido Bay United Methodist Church. Master Naturalist Jerry Patee worked with volunteers from his church and community to design and permit a boardwalk and nature trail leading to Bayou Garcon. The unique trail is less than a mile, but traverses upland, freshwater wetland, and coastal habitats, making it a perfect ecological teaching tool. The trail is open to the public and maintained as a place of quiet contemplation. The project is ongoing, with educational signage planned, but it is an excellent new resource for the community.
“The Way” is just one of many positive contributions made by Master Naturalist students over the years. To enroll in a Florida Master Naturalist course near you, visit the FMNP page or talk with an instructor at your local county Extension office.
by Judy Biss | Dec 4, 2015
To be successful hunters of the night, owls have some truly amazing physiological adaptations. This closeup of a barn owl shows a few in the large eyes and dish shaped face that help perfect its hearing and sight. Compliments UF/IFAS File Photo
Some of my favorite creatures are owls, and as you can see by the quotes below, owls have captivated humans across the ages.
And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.
Isaiah 34:13
“Owl,” said Rabbit shortly, “you and I have brains. The others have fluff. If there is any thinking to be done in this Forest–and when I say thinking I mean thinking–you and I must do it.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
“I think I’m a tiny bit like Harry ‘cos I’d like to have an owl. Yeah, that’s the tiny bit, actually.”
― Daniel Radcliffe (Actor who portrays Harry Potter)
According to the Florida Audubon Society, Florida is the year-round home to six (6) species of owls and four (4*) occasional visitors such as the striking Snowy Owl. These owls are listed in the Audubon of Florida Checklist of Florida Birds and are the:
Barn Owl
Barred Owl
Burrowing Owl
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Short-eared Owl
(*exceedingly rare)
Flammulated Owl *
Long-eared Owl *
Northern Saw-whet Owl *
Snowy Owl *
Each of the species links above will take you to the Cornell University CornellLab of Ornithology providing information about these owls including an audio clip of their unique calls. It’s an informative site, so be sure to click on your favorite owl for more information and to listen to their calls.
Owls are mainly nocturnal hunters, which means they are most actively feeding at night. Depending on the species, their diet is quite varied and includes, insects, lizards, a variety of small rodents, birds, and even crayfish. Nesting pairs of owls and their voracious owlets can consume thousands of small rodents in a year. Because they eat a variety of prey and are significant rodent predators, owls are welcome residents on most farms and homesteads.
To be successful hunters of the night, owls have some truly amazing physiological adaptations, such as the ability to rotate their heads 270 degrees, ears that are offset on the sides of their head in order to pinpoint location of prey, the ability to control feathers on their dish shaped face to direct sounds into their ears, and comb like structures on their feathers to silence them in flight. The following details about these and other adaptations are taken from the Cornell University CornellLab of Ornithology – the Owl Page, and Blogs at Cornell University-Anatomy of Owls.
Sight
Owls’ large forward facing eyes give them the best stereoscopic vision of all birds, which is vital for judging distances. The shape of their eyes, their unusually high number of light-sensitive cells, their large pupils, and a reflective layer behind the retina (called the “tapetum lucidum”) give them excellent nocturnal vision useful when hunting at night or navigating dark forests. The shape of their eyes limits their ability to move them in the eye sockets, but their necks can turn up to 270 degrees.
Hearing
Their ability to locate prey by sound alone is the most accurate of any animal that has ever been tested. These owls can catch mice in complete darkness in the lab, or prey hidden by vegetation or snow out in the real world. Their ears are placed unevenly on their head and point in slightly different directions, giving the ability to hear where a sound is coming from without moving their heads. Owls can also funnel sound toward their ears by manipulating different types of feathers around the ears and face.
Silent Flight
On both the primary and secondary feathers, there are comb-like structures at the edge of the feather that are responsible for muffling the sound of the air going over the wing – this essentially makes an owl silent when they fly. Also, an owl’s feathers can separate from each other on the same wing; therefore, the air flows over each of the individual feathers and their comb-like structures, which maximizes how silently an owl flies.
BELLE GLADE—University of Florida graduate researcher Cosandra Hochreiter checks on a barn owl nesting site on the grounds of UF’s Everglades Research and Education Center. The five owlets in this corner were among several babies and their parents nesting in this abandoned barn at the research center. Researchers are trying to boost the population of barn owls in the Everglades Agricultural Area because they are a natural form of rodent control. Rodents can cause up to $30 million damage per year to sugar cane and vegetable crops, and a nesting pair of barn owls can eat almost 3,000 rodents over the course of a year. Compliments UF/IFAS File Photo
Owl Pellets
Owls swallow their prey whole or in large pieces, but they cannot digest fur, teeth, bones, or feathers. Like other birds, owls have two chambers in their stomachs. In the first chamber, all the digestible parts of an owl’s meal are liquefied. Then the meal passes into the second chamber, the muscular stomach or gizzard, which grinds down hard structures and squeezes the digestible food into the intestines. The remaining, indigestible fur, bones, and teeth are compacted into a pellet which the owl spits out. Owls typically cast one pellet per day, often from the same roosting spot, so you may find large numbers of owl pellets on the ground in a single place.
Nesting
Owls will typically nest in cavities of mature trees, or will use the nests of other birds or even squirrels. Burrowing Owls nest in the ground, and although it can dig its own burrow, it often uses holes already created by skunks, armadillos, or tortoises. Some owls will use artificial nest boxes, and building plans for the Great horned, Barred, and Barn owls are found here at this website: Cornell University CornellLab of Ornithology – the Owl Page
So, the next time you are enchanted by the familiar sound of our common Barred Owl, or if you happen to find a few owl pellets below a tree, think also of the many amazing attributes of Florida’s owls, our stealthy nocturnal predator.
For more information on this topic please see the following resources used for this article:
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Helping Cavity-nesters in Florida
Cornell University CornellLab of Ornithology – the Owl Page
Florida Audubon Society
North American Owls: Biology and Natural History
by Rick O'Connor | Dec 4, 2015
Yep, but do not get to alarmed just yet… it is not the same species as the famous one from Australia. That said… who is this new invader to our waters and is it of concern?
This Four-handed box jelly was found near NAS Pensacola in 2015.
Photo: Courtesy of Robert Turpin
According to NOAA and the University of California at Berkeley there are between 20-50 species of box jellies from around the world. Their distinct shape, often called “cubomedua”, places them in their own family. Most of the “medusa” jellyfish we know are in a group called “scyphozoans” but box jellies differ in several ways.
- Their shape – the “box” shaped and their tentacles are clustered into four groups on the corners of the “box”.
- They are very good swimmers – most medusa can undulate their “bells” and move but they are planktonic (drifters) in the ocean currents. Box jellies are very strong swimmers. They can move against currents, tend to swim below the surface more (often collected in shrimp trawls), and have been clocked at top speeds of 4 knots! (This is very fast for a jellyfish).
- They do have eyes. They know where they want to go, can avoid colliding with piers, and have been known to even swim away from collectors trying to catch them. Not typical of our locals jellyfish. Lacking a central nervous system like ours, science is not sure how they see, or what they see, but they do.
Box jellies are found in all tropical seas, including the south Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. They range in size from less than an inch to about 8 inches, with tentacles extending as far as 10 feet behind. Breeding in this group is interesting. Males will place their tentacles inside the bell of the female and deposit sperm. The female will then fertilize her eggs and release planktonic larva called planula. These planula will drift in the currents for a short period before metamorphosing into a flower-like creature called a polyp. Polyps are sessile (non-swimming) and attach to hard structures on the ocean floor. Here they can move and adjust to feed with their extended tentacles and can actually produce more polyps by budding. After a period of time each polyp will metamorphose into a swimming medusa, the box jelly we know and love. As already mentioned, they swim with purpose hunting small fish and invertebrates. They do have their predators. Certain fish and sea turtles are known to consume with no ill effects.
They all possess a very strong toxin which is quite painful. The most toxic of the group is Chironex fleckeri, the famous one from Australia. This jellyfish has been listed by many, including NOAA, as the most venomous marine animal in our oceans. It has certainly caused death in their waters. The majority of the lethal box jellies live in the Indo-Pacific. So what about Florida?
I am aware of two species that have been found here. The “Four-handed Box Jelly” (Chiropsalmus quadrumanus) and the “Mangrove Box Jelly” (Tripedalia cystophora). The Four-handed box jelly is the larger of the two, and the one pictured here. The Mangrove Box Jelly typically lives in the Caribbean. The first reported in south Florida was in 2009 near Boca Raton but they have since been reported in the Keys and along the Southwest coast of Florida. This is a small box jelly (about 0.25” in diameter) and seems to prefer the prop roots of mangrove trees.
The Four-handed box jelly can reach almost 5” in length with up to 10’ of tentacles attached. It is more widespread in Florida, though more common on the Atlantic coast then our own. One was brought to me about 6 years ago. The person found it next to pier at Quietwater Boardwalk, in the evening, swimming around the lights shining in the water, it was near Thanksgiving also. The one pictured here was seen by a local surfer and by Robert Turpin (Escambia County Division of Marine Resources) last week. Both sightings were near NAS Pensacola and may have been the same animal. This box jelly has the same characteristics as others – box shape, clustered tentacles, and very painful sting. The surfer who brought me the one from 6 years ago was stung by it. He said the pain brought him to his knees… so do not handle this animal if you see one. There was a report of a small child who died after being stung by one in 1991. However there are reports of young kids dying from the Portuguese man-of-war as well. Lesson here… treat it with caution.
These box jellyfish are not the deadly ones known from Australia, and it is certainly not common here – preferring to stay in the open ocean more than nearshore, but it is an animal all should know about and avoid handling if encountered.
More resources on this animal:
http://www.sanibelseaschool.org/experience-blog/2014/9/24/5-types-of-jellies-in-the-gulf-of-mexico
http://beachhunter.net/thingstoknow/jellyfish/
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cnidaria/cubozoalh.html#Active
by Rick O'Connor | Oct 2, 2015
They are marvelous creatures and there are very few panhandle residents who know what they are. My wife and I were introduced to Diamondback Terrapins by George Heinrich in 2005. George was the president of a nonprofit, Florida Turtle Conservation Trust, and a member of the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group, a national group of terrapin researchers and educators. He, and these organizations, were very interested in the status of terrapins in the Florida panhandle… so Molly and I took that job on.
Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemmys terrapin) are the only true brackish water resident turtle in the United States. They range from Cape Cod MA down the entire eastern seaboard, across the Gulf of Mexico to Brownsville TX. Within that range there are 7 described subspecies, 5 of those found in Florida, 2 found in the Florida panhandle. These estuarine turtles prefer salt marsh and mangrove habitat. They are very reclusive and difficult to find – hence why most locals have never seen nor heard of them. When I talk about them to the public I get responses such as… “do you mean tarpon?” “I find those in my yard all of the time” (probably a different species), “aren’t those from up north?” and “never heard of them”… they are not fish so they could be found in your yard if you live along the fringes of a salt marsh, they are up north – but they are here also.
Diamondback terrapin found in Wakulla County.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
In 2005 Molly and I were asked to survey the panhandle and determine if terrapin populations still exist. We decided to take that job on and then expand to determine their population size and whether those populations are increasing or decreasing. The coastal panhandle extends from Escambia County (on the Alabama state line) to Jefferson County (Aucilla River), but due to existing funding we could only survey to the Apalachicola River. This would include six counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, and Gulf. We verified at least one record of a terrapin in each county. We discovered the larger the expanse of salt marsh – the higher probability of terrapins; thus those counties with relatively little salt marsh (such as Okaloosa) would have fewer/smaller terrapin populations.
But marsh alone is not enough. Terrapins need high ground in which to lay their eggs. High ground within a marsh is not a common thing. Research shows that terrapins will travel up to 5 miles in search of suitable nesting; which means a terrapin could be found in your neighborhood even if no marsh is visible. Unlike sea turtles they are “home-bodies” rarely leaving the marsh where they were born. They spend time forging for shellfish (particularly the snail called marsh periwinkle – Littorina irorata) and basking on and in the mud. They can be seen at the surface with their heads peering at you – they seem to be very curious.
Marsh periwinkles will climb cordgrass to avoid predation by blue crabs and terrapins.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Once we confirmed that terrapins were still in the panhandle we then began work on how many. To do this we needed to find their nesting beaches. Terrapin nesting season is about the same as that of sea turtles (May 1 – Aug 1); some nesting may occur after that but few. Unlike sea turtles they nest during daylight hours and prefer sunny days over cloudy/raining ones. They like to nest at high tide – thus finding a suitable location that is out of the way of potential flooding by the rising bay – however this does not account for severe storms. They typically lay about 10 eggs in their nest, cover and disguise, and then leave it to its fate. Unfortunately in many nesting areas, its fate is to be uncovered and consumed by predators – particularly raccoons. Molly and I would kayak salt marshes searching for suitable nesting beach. Once found, we would walk the beach looking for sign of nesting. If nesting was found this would be recorded and we would then begin 16-day monitoring trips. It is assumed that each sexually mature female within the population will nest once every 16 days; and they will nest more than once each year. Signs of nesting include tracks (which are counted), and egg shells from a nest that was raided by a raccoon (which were logged and removed). Occasionally we would come across a nesting female. We would allow her to complete the nesting activity and then capture her for measurements and photographs. We would mark her with a notch on the margin of the carapace (top shell) and release her (we did not have the funding for PIT tags). We would also set modified crab traps to capture them. Terrapins have a habitat of entering crab traps (probably more for the bait than the crabs) and becoming entrapped. Unless found within 15-30 minutes, they will drown. Our modified crab traps were tall enough that terrapins could reach the surface (even at the highest tide) and get a breath of air. We would set traps for 5 day periods and (if we caught any at all) would only capture during the first day or two. Terrapins are smart and we found that after day 2 most would approach our traps, observe our handy work, and swim away. With the data from these two activities we could get a rough idea of how many terrapins were in this population and how they changed over time.
The marshy habitat terrapins love.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
We focused our population surveys to our home counties of Santa Rosa and Escambia counties. We were able to identify 1 nesting beach in Escambia and 2 in Santa Rosa (we have since found a 3rd). We never caught a terrapin in Escambia but had good success at one of the two beaches in Santa Rosa. That population had approximately 50 individuals living within it. From 2007 to 2012 the population remained relatively stable. In 2012 I changed jobs and have not had a chance to re-survey. I plan to do this in 2016.
This year we trained 24 volunteers to assist us in locating and monitoring nesting beaches. They did find a new nesting beach in Santa Rosa and will begin monitoring nesting activity and trapping next year.
These are fascinating creatures and one of the most beautiful turtles you will ever see. Some have asked me about state protection for them. They are listed as a freshwater turtle with FWC thus you cannot possess more than two, cannot have any eggs, and cannot sell them.
If you have questions about diamondback terrapins, are interested in participating in terrapin surveys in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, or would like to begin your own surveys in your county. Contact me (Rick O’Connor) at roc1@ufl.edu or (850) 475-5230.
