An Ancient Mariner… the horseshoe crab
Talk about weird and cool at the same time! The horseshoe crab is one of the oldest living species we have in the Gulf of Mexico. Fossils of this animal date back to almost 500 million years… this is before there was such a thing as fish! The separating of Pangea,...
Snorkeling… 5 Ways to Safely Enjoy Our Nearshore Snorkel Reefs
It’s that time of year… the air is warming and spring break has begun. Crowds of locals and visitors have begun to descend on area beaches to enjoy the panhandle sunshine and waterways, and safety is always a concern. One of the many water activities visitors can...
NISAW 2016 – Working together to remove Giant Salvinia (Salvinia molesta) from Northwest Florida
Matthew Phillips and Scott Jackson - UF/IFAS Extension and Research works with many partners supporting invasive species management actions and strategies across Florida. One key partner is the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC),...
NISAW 2016 – Air Potato Leaf Beetle, a Biological Control for Air Potato
Air potato (Dioscores bulbifera) is a perennial, herbaceous self-twining vine that can grow over 60 feet in length, enabling it to climb over and smother many native plants. The Florida Exotic Plant Pest Council (FLEPPC) lists air potato as a Category 1 invasive...
NISAW 2016 – Tropical Soda Apple
Florida ranchers know Tropical Soda Apple (TSA) as the “Plant from Hell”. It was first noticed in south Florida, but its seeds survive in the digestive tract of animals and it spread north through the movement of hay and cattle. TSA plants are covered with thorns and...
NISAW 2016 – Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon) “Lions in the Gulf and Tigers in the Bay”
Giant Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon): This catchy phrase coined by Robert Turpin (Escambia County Marine Resources Division) describes a recent invader to our marine waters in the past decade. Many coastal residents are aware of the invasive lionfish that has...
NISAW 2016 – Climbing Ferns
Japanese Climbing Fern (Lygodium japonicum) and Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum) are presently the only non-native invasive ferns in Florida. Both ferns reproduce and spread readily by wind-blown spores. Animals, equipment, and even people that...
NISAW 2016 – Controlling Weeds in Your Pond: Water Hyacinth
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...
NISAW 2016 – Beach Vitex in the Florida Panhandle
In 2013 we began writing about a potential invasive plant in the Florida panhandle called Beach Vitex (Vitex rotundifolia). The first record we knew of was reported from Pensacola Beach and was posted on EDDmaps.org. According to this website only two other records...
NISAW 2016 – Chinese Tallow Tree
Benjamin Franklin has been blamed for introducing the invasive Chinese Tallow tree to the Southeast when he mailed seeds to a planter after one of his trips to London in the late 1700’s. However, recent DNA work has traced the invasive strain to federal scientists’...