August 26, 2016
Moccasin Lake Park

We met for class in the morning at Moccasin Lake Park. Here, we started by spending some time pulling and disposing invasive species in the park. This included caesar weeds and air potatoes, I was assigned to pulling air potatoes. Once I began, I realized how many there were of both these invasive species! Seeing this showed me how both truly are invasive, as they are covering much of the area and using much of the resources for themselves.

Next, we sat down and talked about the different biomes in the world. I found out last week that Florida is considered humid subtropical because the state is completely surrounded by water. It was interesting learning about Florida's geological history, and the reason behind all of the beautiful springs in this state that I love so much! I learned that much of the foundation of Florida is made of limestone. Limestone, being a softer material, has slowly decayed parts of the earth, causing crevices such as sinkholes and springs.

When we went for a walk around the park, we were able to identify species under different phylums to help us better understand their classifications. For example, we saw a few ferns (phylum monilophyta). Our instructor pointed out how they grow surrounding the streams for their water supply. There were plenty of mosses (phylum bryophyta) to observe. A close up look showed us there is no vascular tissue to these species. We also stopped and looked at one side of the path compared to another side of the path. We were able to see an example of disturbance where invasive species were covering the entire floor of the hammock and even climbing up some of the trees. The other side, in comparison, was not covered in these invasive species and was a good example of a natural ecosystem in this area.

Lastly, we spent some time checking out some of the rehabilitated birds, reptiles, snakes and turtles living at this park. There were a few owls (phylum chordata-class reptilia-avian). My favorite was the tiny screech owl that was being shown by one of the volunteers. The turtles (phylum chordata-class reptilia) were very actively swimming in their tank. There were also some giant toads (class amphibia) and anoles (class reptilia)

Christine Johansen