Philippe Park
Date: 09/10/15
Weather: 86° F, cloudy, very humid, sunny, little to no breeze
On this field trip we took down observations we had of different ecosystems that were within the mile long park. In Florida, small amounts of elevation create very diverse habitats. In the park we encountered two main areas: one being the top of an old Indian shell mound and another being a small beach area.
Some history of Philippe Park is that it is the oldest park in Pinellas Park and was purchased by the first full year citizen of Florida. It is also a National Historic site with an Indian Shell Mound which is the last evidence of native indians in Pinellas County.
On the shell mound we noticed old oak trees, a hickory tree with hickory nuts, palm trees, wasps, a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, and a lot of Spanish Moss.
As we walked towards the beach area we noticed a lot of air potato along with Begger's Tick and Strangler Fig. Once we reached it, one of the first mammals we encountered was a reptile. The Mangrove Racer was brown with black, and was swimming in the shallow waters near the Mangroves. We also saw pneunatopher roots from the black mangroves on the sand.
These ecosystems were very diverse and very interesting to see how one park can hold so many different species and habitats.
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