Amy is based in FWC’s Lake City office and is the new lead for the Research and Monitoring Goal Team, which focuses on producing research and monitoring results that will improve management of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and their habitats. Amy has been with FWC for about nine years. Prior to moving to FWLI, she served as a Regional Species Conservation Biologist for FWC’s Regional Operations Subsection in the Southwest Region.

Amy received her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Biology from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She has performed conservation work on multiple species including the Swainson’s warbler, ivory-billed woodpecker, red-cockaded woodpecker, and Rafinesque’s big-eared bat. Prior to working for FWC, she worked for Archbold Biological Station and the Florida Park Service (FPS). She served for a year on the FPS prescribed fire strike team, has her burn boss certification, and has participated in over 200 prescribed burns. Amy can be reached at Amy.Clifton@MyFWC.com

Victoria is the new Wildlife Legacy Biologist for the South Region and is based out of FWC’s West Palm Beach office. She is the lead for the Marine and Estuarine Enhancement Goal Team, which focuses on improving marine and estuarine ecosystem habitat quality for the benefit of Species of Greatest Conservation Need.

Victoria received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from St. Lawrence University in New York. She received her Master of Science degree in Marine Biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where she studied the age structure and reproduction of Atlantic and Shortnose Sturgeon in the Cooper River. After completing her master’s degree, Victoria joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a contractor and worked with the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration division on grant programs including State Wildlife Grants. Victoria can be reached at Victoria.Ruddle@MyFWC.com

Congratulations to Anna Deyle, the Legacy award winner for 2019. Anna joined FWLI in the spring of 2018 as the Northeast Region Wildlife Legacy Biologist where she works to develop partnerships and leverage resources for wildlife conservation. As the lead for the Terrestrial Habitat Integrity Implementation Goal, Anna’s primary function is to increase fire-related management on priority upland habitat. In addition to her main job duties, she also co-leads the Space Coast Shorebird Partnership and is a Conserve Wildlife Tag Grant recipient for a coastal dunes crown snake research project. Anna has proved to be a great resource for new staff and an invaluable team member for FWLI. Her positive attitude, passion for wildlife, and quirky sense of humor make Anna a great person to work with! Congratulations Anna!

Left: Researchers Bill Sharp and Elliot Hart remove and replace larval urchin collectors suspended in the water column near Delta Shoal

In coral reef ecosystems, herbivores play an important role; by grazing on macroalgae, they enhance coral recruitment and prevent algae from suffocating sensitive corals. In the Caribbean, a mass mortality event of the long-spined urchin (Diadema antillarum), a keystone herbivore, is largely considered the cause for Florida’s significant loss of corals since the 1980s. This loss of corals and a shift toward algae-dominant marine habitat has also led to an absence of shelter for invertebrate herbivores. This has created a vicious cycle in which neither urchins or corals can thrive. In the Florida Keys, a SWG-funded project aims to break this cycle by creating habitat for long-spined urchins and subsequently improve herbivory on algae-dominate reefs.

Right: Artificial shelter on Delta Shoal awaiting PIT-tagged long-spined urchins

I recently joined biologists Bill Sharp, Elliot Hart, and Christene Parsons in Marathon to see the project in action. Having just completed a comprehensive study of PIT tagging methodology, the wet lab at the FWC office in Marathon contains tanks filled with PIT-tagged urchins ready to be transferred to the reef. In the field, these urchins will be placed near artificial shelter on Delta Shoal, a reef just off the coast of Marathon. The artificial shelter is comprised of terracotta planters cut in half and secured to the reef surface, creating crevices for urchins to seek refuge. In previous studies, these terracotta shelters were found to improve survival of long-spined urchins on degraded reefs where natural shelter is no longer available. Sharp and his co-PIs hope to scale up this research to answer larger research questions: how can the addition of shelter quantifiably effect coral restoration and how can restoration be most effective? Transplanted urchins will be regularly located in order to determine survival rates and home ranges. In addition, larval urchin collectors are deployed in multiple areas surrounding Delta Shoal to determine areas that might benefit most from restoration efforts. 

Left: PIT-tagged urchins acclimate to tags in tanks set up to mimic the artificial shelter they will be transplanted to on Delta Shoal

This project is the latest in a progression of work supported by FWLI that seeks to improve our understanding of the role herbivory plays in coral reef ecology and how we can harness that role to restore Florida’s reefs. Previous projects determined the importance of long-spined urchins to macroalgae control and revealed the high mortality of urchins released on degraded reefs due to predation. By building on that suite of research, this project aims to facilitate more effective restoration and enhance our understanding of herbivory on reefs.

Rafinesque’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) is considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need whose Florida range is not well known. There are scattered, isolated populations, but given the difficulty to detect them on an acoustic monitor and their low capture rate during mist netting surveys, there is a possibility this species occurs at a more expanded range than previously thought. Big-eared bats (CORA) are considered “whispering” bats due to their low intensity calls, which can be easily drowned out by other bat species such as Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) foraging nearby and therefore potentially missed during typical acoustic surveys. Rafinesque’s big-eared bats are the only Florida bat species that can “glean” by picking insects directly off leaves at tree canopy height. Given this unique foraging style, they may be missed on acoustic surveys if the microphone is not correctly placed. This also makes it possible to miss them during mist netting surveys if the arrays are not placed in travel corridors such as creeks.

I attempted to record this species on an acoustic monitor by placing the recorder near a known CORA roost in central Florida. The monitor settings were adjusted so the likelihood of recording this species was improved. After a week of recording, I analyzed the data using bat acoustic software that allows specific species to be selected or unselected. 

The analysis was run in three ways:

1. Using all Florida bat species qualifiers
2. Using only big-eared bat qualifiers
3. Using big-eared bat and Brazilian free-tailed bat qualifiers

There were different results for each analysis with the highest number of big-eared bat calls for analysis 3 and none for analysis 1. Investigation will continue into this issue.

CORA is known to roost in large, hollow bald cypress and tupelo trees in bottomland hardwood forests and swamps. These large trees were common prior to logging operations in the early 1900s, which resulted in the removal of vast forests of very large cypress trees likely to be older than a 1,000 years. Larger, older cypress trees are more likely to be hollow and thus potential roosting sites for CORA. It is possible this species’ range was more widespread prior to logging operations. There are still some large, hollow cypress trees in Florida, but they are scattered and isolated. 

I attempted an alternate survey method using a game camera at a large, hollow bald cypress tree. I have not been able to find records of anyone attempting this method for this species. I surveyed for suitable hollow trees near a known CORA roost in central Florida and placed a game camera at the base of the tree for one week. Considering this bat’s unique physical characteristic (large ears), I wanted to test if they could be identified in game camera pictures. CORA was not detected, but I did record a bat that clearly had small ears. I plan to continue performing surveys in areas of known CORA roosting to help determine their potential range.

Left: a lined pond holds water in our study area

Amphibian monitoring data from lined and unlined ponds also clearly showed that lined ponds experienced significantly greater amphibian breeding activity than unlined ponds throughout the study. We conclude that liners extended hydroperiods of our lined study ponds and allowed for increased breeding opportunities for resident amphibians compared to unlined ponds. We also found that liners, if installed properly, do not detrimentally alter ephemeral pond amphibian communities, but rather enhance habitat to benefit targeted amphibian populations. 

The Peace River and Withlacoochee River are large, blackwater rivers in peninsular Florida. Both watersheds have experienced high levels of habitat degradation due to urbanization, agriculture, industry, mining, and altered flow regimes. The objectives of this project were to: (1) identify and inventory the location and magnitude of habitat degradation within the Peace River and Withlacoochee River, including their navigable tributaries; (2) identify and inventory fish passage impacts at road crossings in the watersheds; (3) develop restoration recommendations at each impacted location; (4) develop, for each basin, a prioritized Basin Restoration Plan for state, federal, and local agencies and private landowners to implement conservation and restoration efforts; and (5) conduct a fish assemblage assessment of the Withlacoochee River evaluating fish population metrics (diversity, species richness, etc.) and general habitat associations.

Field sampling was conducted to collect data for scoring the threat of degradation at each impairment site and unpaved road crossing site. We assessed about 168 river miles in the Peace River Watershed and evaluated 512 impairment sites and 62 unpaved road crossing sites. Results revealed that certain reaches of stream and riparian habitats have been severely degraded, primarily due to ranching, agriculture, and denuded riparian forests.

In the Withlacoochee River Watershed, we assessed roughly 132 river miles and evaluated 24 impairment sites and 20 unpaved road crossing sites. Overall, the assessed areas within the watershed were stable and riparian buffers were in excellent condition. However, the dam structures at Lake Rousseau pose the single largest threat to the river system by negatively impacting water quality, aquatic species, sediment transport, and instream habitat.

Road crossings and impairment sites were assessed for fish passage blockage. Fish passage barriers impact aquatic Species of Greatest Conservation Need and other aquatic species from accessing and utilizing historical habitats. We identified 18 fish passage barriers in the Peace River Watershed and 3 fish passage barriers in the Withlacoochee River Watershed.

Restoration recommendations for impairment sites were developed into three summarized options. For unpaved road crossing sites, we included general restoration recommendations that aim to reduce stream impacts including excessive sedimentation, channel alteration, and fish passage blockages. Impairment sites were prioritized for restoration using GIS heatmaps that were weighted by site abundance, site length, and calculated severity scores. Unpaved road crossing sites were subjectively prioritized into focal areas based on location within subwatersheds, number of sites, and Sediment Risk Index scores. Our Basin Restoration Plan recommends that focal areas take restoration priority, since they are concentrated areas of habitat degradation where multiple sites could be restored concurrently to minimize costs.

Withlacoochee River fish assemblage monitoring events were conducted each spring from 2016 to 2018. These sampling efforts represent the first comprehensive fish surveys following FWC's Long Term Monitoring standardized protocol on the navigable portion of the Withlacoochee River. Spring sampling yielded a total of 16,277 fish comprised of 29 families and 54 species.