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Online bird guide, bird ID help, life history, bird sounds from Cornell

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Use our Bird Guide to identify birds, learn about the life history, listen to the sounds, and watch bird behavior on video--the most comprehensive guide to North American birds

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NOAA's Estuary Education was developed to advance estuarine and coastal literacy by serving middle and high school educators through curriculum and professional development.

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Maps of distribution

https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/

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Filter for type of animal: Mammal, fish, bird, etc.

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Sea Turtles in Florida

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Listing Status

Federal Status: Threatened

FL Status: Federally-designated Threatened

FNAI Ranks: G4T1/S1 (Globally: Apparently Secure, Sub sp. Critically Imperiled/ State: Imperiled

IUCN Status: LC (Least Concern)

Appearance

The Atlantic salt marsh snake can reach a length of 24 inches (61 centimeters) (Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2001). Atlantic salt marsh snakes have a grayish-tan dorsum (back) that has dark brown and tan stripes running vertically down it and a reddish-brown belly with yellow spots along the central row of the belly, and 21-23 rows of keeled scales (Florida Museum of Natural History, n.d, Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2001).

Behavior

The diet of the Atlantic salt marsh snake primarily consists of small fish, but they may also eat crabs and shrimp (Florida Museum of Natural History, n.d.).

Little is known about the reproduction of the Atlantic salt marsh snake. Females give birth in summer and early fall (Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2001). In captivity, a female gave birth to nine young in late August, and another captive female gave birth to three in October (Kochman 1992). Females are viviparous (live-bearing) (Florida Museum of Natural History, n.d.).

Habitat

In Florida, Atlantic salt marsh snakes inhabit saltmarsh tidal flats that contain grasses such as glasswort ( Salicornia), Spartina, and Juncus, as well as scattered black mangroves (Florida Museum of Natural History, n.d.). Atlantic salt marsh snakes can be found in Volusia and Indian River counties along the Florida Atlantic Coast (Florida Museum of Natural History, n.d.)

Threats

Habitat loss and degradation have been the biggest threats to the Atlantic salt marsh snake. Habitat loss occurs from excessive filling and development in salt marshes (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 1999). Alteration of the salt marsh by diking and impounding can encourage hybridization with the banded water snake, which could cause the Atlantic salt marsh snake to lose its genetic identity (Kochman 1992). Pesticides and oil spills could also be potential threats to the species (Hammerson 2007).

References

Florida Natural Areas Inventory. 2001. Field guide to the rare animals of Florida.
https://www.fnai.org/PDFs/FieldGuides/Nerodia_clarkii_taeniata.pdf

Florida Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). Atlantic Salt Marsh Snake. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from Herpetology: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-snake-id/snake/saltmarsh-snake/

Hammerson, G.A. 2007. Nerodia clarkii. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. < www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 August 2011.

Kochman, H. I., 1992. Atlantic salt marsh snake, Nerodia clarkia taeniata(Cope). Pages 111 - 116 in P. E. Moler, editor. Rare and endangered biota of Florida. Volume III. Amphibians and reptiles. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Appearance

The American alligator is a large aquatic reptile and is one of two crocodilians native to Florida. Alligators can be distinguished from the American crocodile by head shape and color. Alligators have a broad, rounded snout with no lower teeth visible when their jaw is closed. The American crocodile has a narrow snout, and the fourth tooth of the lower jaw protrudes when closed. Adult alligators are primarily dark gray in color with a lighter color underside, although juvenile alligators will have light colored stripes on their sides for camouflage. American crocodiles are a brownish gray color, and are generally paler colored than alligators. It is not uncommon for alligators to take on the colors of their environment. Many people associate alligators with the color green, but this misconception comes from the green algae and floating vegetation that frequently adheres to an alligator's back.

Female alligators rarely exceed 10 feet in length, but males can grow much larger. The Florida state record for length is a 14-foot 3 1/2-inch male from Lake Washington in Brevard County. The Florida record for weight is a 1,043 pound (13 feet 10-1/2 inches long) male from Orange Lake in Alachua County. Armored plates (scutes) cover the body dorsally, and alligators have a vertically flattened tail.

Habitat

Alligators occur from southeast Oklahoma and east Texas on the western side of their range to North Carolina and Florida in the east. They prefer fresh water lakes and slow-moving rivers and their associated wetlands, but they also can be found in brackish water habitats and rarely in salt water.

Behavior

Alligators are opportunistic feeders. Their diets include prey species that are abundant and easily accessible. Juvenile alligators eat primarily insects, amphibians, small fish, and other invertebrates. Adult alligators eat rough fish, snakes, turtles, small mammals, and birds.

Nearly all alligators become sexually mature by the time they reach about 7 feet in length although females can reach maturity at 6 feet. A female may require 10 to 15 years and a male 8 to 12 years to reach these lengths. Courtship begins in early April, and mating occurs in May or June. Females build a mound nest of soil, vegetation, or debris and deposit approximately 32 to 46 eggs in late June or early July. Incubation requires approximately 60-65 days, and hatching occurs in late August or early September.

From an average clutch size of 35, an estimated 4 alligators will reach maturity. This estimate is for a growing alligator population. As an alligator population matures (and has a higher percentage of large animals), the survival rate would be expected to be lower, in part due to a higher rate of cannibalism.

Alligators are ectothermic (cold blooded). They regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun or moving to areas with warmer or cooler air or water temperatures. They are most active when temperatures are between 82° to 92° F. They stop feeding when the ambient temperature drops below approximately 70° F, and they become dormant below 55° F. Alligators are dormant throughout much of the winter. During this time, they can be found in burrows that they construct adjacent to an alligator hole or open water, but they occasionally emerge to bask in the sun during periods of warm weather.

Threats

The main threat facing the American alligator is the destruction and degradation of wetland habitat. Destruction of wetlands frequently occurs in association with human development. Alligator nests may be depredated by raccoons and bears, and juveniles are vulnerable to predation by wading birds, otters and larger alligators.

Conservation and Management

The American alligator is Federally protected by the Endangered Species Act as a Threatened species, due to their similarity of appearance to the American crocodile, and as a Federally-designated Threatened species by Florida's Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.

Information on the management of alligators in Florida can be found on the Alligator Management Program web pages.

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The American alligator is a large aquatic reptile and is one of two crocodilians native to Florida. Alligators can be distinguished from the American crocodile by head shape and color. Alligators have a broad, rounded snout with no lower teeth visible when their jaw is closed.

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Sea Grasses: Turtle Grass, Manatee Grass, Widgeon Grass

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Birds!!!!

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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The Challenge
More people rely on our ocean for food, energy, transport, recreation and other natural resources than any other time in history. As resources on land become more depleted, many are looking to the seas as the new frontier for exploration and exploitation. Technology advancements are also allowing us to tap ocean resources as never before.

As the global population soars - and with that a growing middle class that consumes more seafood, energy and resources than ever before - demands on the ocean, coasts and the resources they provide are stressing our seas to their limits and putting the world's most vulnerable people at risk. Sustaining our species and growing our economy do not need to come at the cost of a healthy ocean. Development that is planned, based in science and inspired by sustainability can lead to a future where people and oceans thrive together.

Our Approach
One of the most effective tools to ensure the sustainability of our ocean uses is a Marine Protected Area (MPA). MPAs are places where nature comes first, where conservation of marine resources have been secured in the long term, typically in a marine park or reserve. They range from small sites, often established by local communities, to vast tracts of ocean space, like two recent MPAs in the Seychelles covering 81,000 square miles. Likewise the objectives of marine protected areas may be highly variable. Some are declared simply to reduce threats from one or a few damaging activities, while others are strictly protected, for example against fishing or seabed mining.

The outcomes of protection can be extraordinary - marine reserves where fishing is banned can quickly see a doubling in the quantity of fish within their boundaries, but fishers too may celebrate as the spillover can greatly enhance overall fishing benefits nearby.

Aside form MPAs that we've helped secure from the Caribbean to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, The Nature Conservancy works to protect both nature and nature's value to people - securing carbon stocks in mangrove forests; the natural breakwaters of coral reefs that prevent storm damage; and the great fish factories provided by flourishing oyster beds, seagrasses and saltmarshes. By securing and restoring the value of nature to people we can secure livelihoods and even save lives. There can be no surer way of focusing attention and growing the support for establishing marine protected areas in every coast and ocean.

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The Challenge More people rely on our ocean for food, energy, transport, recreation and other natural resources than any other time in history. As resources on land become more depleted, many are looking to the seas as the new frontier for exploration and exploitation.

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Florida is blessed with incredible ocean and coastal environments and wildlife, but Florida also faces enormous challenges.

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Alternate

Referring to the arrangement of plant parts, usually leaves; leaves are alternate when they appears one per stem node, as opposed to opposite in which two leaves appear per stem node.

Annual

Plants complete their life cycle in a single year and survive the winter as seeds.

Anther

The part of the plant that contains pollen.

Axil or Axis

The upper angle a leaf makes with the stem; the bud found in that angle is an axillary bud.

Blade

The flat, enlarged part of a leaf.

Bracts

A specialized leaf, usually found at the base of a flower.

Branchlet

A small branch or division of a branch.

Compound

Consisting of 2 or more similar parts, as in leaflets, that form a compound leaf, or referring to a branched inflorescence with stalked flowers.

Chloroplasts

The green part of the plant where photosynthesis takes place.

Emersed

Emergent, normally found above the surface of the water with a stiff or rigid stem.

Filaments

A thread- or hair-like structure.

Florets

one of the small flowers in an inflorescence, as in spikelet of a grass.

Fragmentations

Breaking apart forming fragments or pieces.

Leaflet

The leaf-like part of a compound leaf.

Lobe

The part of a plant in which the leaf is divided.

Midrib

The central vein of a leaf.

Node

Stem area (or joint) from which a leaf or leaves, branch or branches originate.

Opposite

Referring to the arrangement of plant parts, usually leaves; leaves are opposite if they appear two per stem node.

Peduncle

Stalk bearing the flower or fruit.

Perennial

Living more than two years.

Petal

the showy, often brightly colored part of a flower; a part of the corolla of a flower.

Petiole

The stalk of a leaf.

Receptacle

Large area at the top of the stem that holds the organs of the flower.

Rhizome

A horizontal underground stem different from the roots because it has nodes from which new leaves or stems branch. Rhizomes often store food for the plants.

Scale

A specialized leaf enclosing an immature bud.

Sepal

One of the individual flower parts of the calyx; usually green.

Sheath

A tubular, surrounding or enveloping structure.

Spike

A simple long inflorescence with flowers as in the spikes of pondweeeds or pickerelweed.

Spikelet

A small spike of sessile flower, being only bracted, and considerably reduced in size; characteristics of grasses and sedges.

Sporangia

An enclosure in which spores are formed.

Stamen

Pollen producing part of the flower.

Stolon

A horizontal runner; a specialized stem with long internodes, capable of rooting at the nodes to establish new plants; means of vegetative propagation (e.g. tape grass).

Submersed

Normally growing underwater; a plant may grow totally underwater or may have some parts emersed. Stems are usually soft or flacid.

Toothed

Having sharp teeth along the margins as in hydrilla or naiad leaves.

Tuber

A fleshy or enlarged stolon as in hydrilla.

Turion

A wintering bud that becomes detached and remains motionless at the bottom of the water.

Vein

Conducting tubes or channels in a plant that are used to move water, food and minerals; veins are obvious lines on the surface of leaves.

Whorl

A circular or ring arrangement of three or more structures like leaves (e.g.coontail) or flowers.

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Glossary of Pond Plant and Algae Terms | Parts of Pond Plants

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View an alphabetical list of terms and definitions for pond plants and algae. Learn more about the different parts of pond plants.

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UF Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants

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UF Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants

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search by common name --- good pictures

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| Plant Directory | Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants | University of Florida, IFAS

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Your help is appreciated. We depend on donations to help keep this site free and up to date for you. Can you please help us?

Discover thousands of New England plants

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PlantShare

Connect with other plant fans

Join our online community of plant enthusiasts. Find friends, share your plant sightings, get help with plant identification, collaborate on field surveys, and develop checklists of plants for particular sites you are exploring.

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Advanced ID tools

For experienced botanists

Identify over 3,000 New England plants by using either our multiple-access Full Key or our Dichotomous Key to families, genera, and species. Also learn about subspecies and varieties native to our region.

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Teaching tools

Useful teaching resources

Go Botany encourages informal, self-directed education in botany for science students, and beginning and amateur botanists. Professors, teachers, and environmental educators can share curricula and teaching ideas.

Teaching

Plant of the day: Chamaepericlymenum canadense bunchberry

Canada dwarf-dogwood, a small, obligately outcrossing plant, launches pollen from its anthers by elastic energy stored in the filament. Pollen spores are released into the air at accelerations of up to 24,000 meters per second per second to an altitude of 2.5 cm, where they ...

Full Profile

Please contribute to our mission to conserve and promote the region's plants by donating to Native Plant Trust. Donate

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Your help is appreciated. We depend on donations to help keep this site free and up to date for you. Can you please help us? Discover thousands of New England plants menu Connect with other plant fans Join our online community of plant enthusiasts.

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Mangrove Diversity and Ecosystem Importance | Rhizophoraceae Insights

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Mangroves are coastal ecosystems with salt-tolerant trees, including red, black, and white mangroves, providing habitat and shoreline protection.

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There are many rivers in the world, but none quite as impressive as the Amazon. Not only is it the world's longest river, it has the largest drainage area and the fastest discharge rate. Even the Congo has an 80% slower discharge rate the Amazon, it still has the highest such rate in the world.

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World: Oceans, Seas and Lakes - Map Quiz Game - Seterra

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Approximately 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water. Oceans account for nearly all of that surface area, but there are also many inland seas and lakes that are relatively large. This online map is a great way to learn the locations of the world's oceans, seas and lakes.

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World: Continents and Oceans - Map Quiz Game - Seterra

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There are seven continents and five oceans on the planet. In terms of land area, Asia is by far the largest continent, and the Oceania region is the smallest. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world, and it is nearly two times larger than the second largest.

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Sources: Esri, USGS | Esri, FAO, NOAA, USGS

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NOAA Oceans (features, pollution, tides, currents, etc.)

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NOAA Oceans (features, pollution, tides, currents, etc.)

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While there is only one global ocean, the vast body of water that covers 71% of Earth is geographically divided into distinct regions. The United States recognizes five named ocean basins: Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern.

The ocean and large inland lakes play an integral role in many of the Earth's systems, including climate and weather. More than 50% of all species on Earth are found under the ocean and the ocean helps sustain human life above the water by providing 20% of the animal protein and 5% of the total protein in the human diet. In the United States alone, there are over 95,000 miles of shoreline. More than half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the coast in the narrow area of land known as the "coastal zone."

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While there is only one global ocean, the vast body of water that covers 71% of Earth is geographically divided into distinct regions. The United States recognizes five named ocean basins: Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern.

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Join the movement to clean up our oceans with 4ocean. Go plastic neutral, buy a bracelet, fund a cleanup, and become a part of the solution.

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Barrier Islands... land between the Ocean and Intracoastal (our local beaches)

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Barrier Islands... land between the Ocean and Intracoastal (our local beaches)

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Barrier islands are a natural phenomenon that is still not entirely understood, but their importance is more evident than ever.

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Tutorials to learn the names/locations and then games to practice

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World geography quizzes galore - over 250 fun online map games teach capitals, country locations, and more. Also info on the culture, history, and much more.