Kevin Copeland                        Field Biology of Florida                               Moccasin Lake Park

         
 It turned out to be a pretty good trip and the weather was very good without being too buggy.  It also didn't rain which was nice. We started the day having to work a bit and I joined the group to shovel a path for rain water to flow. I also helped raked one of the pens of one of the animals. The other group pulled the invasive species of Caesar weed. We also saw air potatoes which are invasive as well. They are invasive because they have aggressive habits and grow fast. Invasive species are bad because it takes over native species and disrupts natural processes. The air potato was introduced to America from Africa. It was introduced to Florida in 1905. We saw some peacocks loose and just walking around. There were ferns close to the water and we learned that since Florida is so flat, small elevation changes have greater impact on the ecosystem.


The water there was rainwater and  spring-fed. One part of the water below the bridge we were on was a very reddish color. We then learned it was due to the chemicals of the leaves that fell into the water. There was a lot of walking on the trails for most of the trip and we finally came across the lake. We also observed poison ivy and moss. There was one area where it was somewhat more noticeable to see secondary succession. To the left the trees were more bunched together with very little sunlight. On the right side it was a lot more open with more sunlight. Natural Disturbances could have caused this as well as invasive species. Toward the end of the trip we went around the pens and saw owls and some other birds. Then we went inside and saw some turtles swimming as well as other creatures. One of the women working there even brought out a very small hawk while another woman showed us an owl that she was holding. We ended up learning a lot and it was a good day.