![Page 1: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Dune flora and fauna
Maia McGuireFlorida Sea Grant Extension
![Page 2: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Beach zonation
http://glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
![Page 3: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Cross section of a beach
http:// lighthouse.tamucc.edu
![Page 4: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Barrier islands are dynamic!
• Their topography and vegetative profiles result from the interaction of plant growth habits and physical processes– Wind-driven sand movement– Salt spray deposition– Wave driven erosion, accretion, and overwash
![Page 5: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Wind effects
• Dunes are built as stems of dune grasses increase the surface roughness, causing the wind to slow and to drop sand grains being moved across the beach
• Only winds blowing onshore will cause dune formation
• Like sand, salt spray is carried only by winds blowing onshore across the open water
![Page 6: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Wave effects
• Accretion• Erosion• Overwash
• Continuous processes-longshore sand transport
• Single events-winter storms and hurricanes
![Page 7: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Sand Dunes
![Page 8: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Physical role of sand dunes
• Dunes provide protection from storm-induced waves and erosion (e.g. during hurricanes)
• Dunes are dynamic—they want to shift with long-term processes
![Page 9: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
The role of plants in dunes
• Dune plants help trap blowing sand, causing sand to create a mound which grows over time.
![Page 10: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Vegetation
• Plant species occur in zones parallel to the coast– Upper beach and foredune: most directly affected
by wind and waves– Transitional zone/backdunes: same coastal
stresses, just at a lower intensity– Stable dunes: the most stable, oldest portion of
the barrier island
![Page 11: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
![Page 12: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
![Page 13: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Challenges for dune plants
• Salty, windy, dry environment– Risk of desiccation
• Few nutrients• Unstable/shifting sand
![Page 14: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Adaptations of dune plants
• Many are succulents (have moisture within their leaves)
• Many have very long roots to reach for moisture and nutrients
• Flexible stems help withstand wind
• Hairy leaves help trap moisture
![Page 15: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
• Deep roots cannot prevent erosion
![Page 16: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Beach elder
![Page 17: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Sea oats
![Page 18: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Beach/Dune sunflower
![Page 19: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Railroad vine
![Page 20: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Beach morning glory
![Page 21: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Beach croton
![Page 22: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Pricklypear cactus
![Page 23: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Beach pennywort (“Dollarweed”)
![Page 24: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Dune plant ecology
• Many have both sexual and asexual reproduction
• If sections of pricklypear are knocked off, they can sprout
• Sea oats, beach pennywort, railroad vine, beach morning glory spread using rhizomes
![Page 25: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Activity
• Leaf rubbings and leaf prints
![Page 26: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Dunes as animal habitat
• Back dunes are important habitat for many Florida reptiles and some mammals
coastalwildlifeclub.org
![Page 27: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Gopher tortoise
• Tortoise = turtle that lives on land• Tortoise can pull its legs and head into its shell
for protection• Gopher tortoise is protected in Florida
![Page 28: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Gopher tortoise
• Digs long burrows using its front legs• One tortoise may use several burrows• Gopher tortoises mostly eat plants, including
pricklypears• Many other animals can share the burrows
(e.g. rattlesnakes, mice, opossums, and rabbits)
• Burrows average 30 feet long
![Page 29: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
Turtle anatomy
• Carapace (upper shell)• Plastron (lower shell)• Scutes (plates that make up the shell)– Medial, lateral, marginal
http://zygote.swarthmore.edu/turtle.html
![Page 30: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
Activity
• Gopher tortoise activity book
![Page 31: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
Snakes
• E.g. diamondback rattlesnake• Body covered in scales (like a fish!)• Snakes have no legs…they use
their belly scales to move along the ground.
• Suggestion: Contact Jax herpetological society to see if someone can bring snakes into the classrooms…
![Page 32: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
Activity
• Spinning snake
![Page 33: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Anastasia beach mouse
• Endangered species• Found only on Anastasia Island
![Page 34: Dune flora and fauna Maia McGuire Florida Sea Grant Extension](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081519/56649ee65503460f94bf5d90/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Beach mice
• Live in burrows—usually dig their own, although they may use abandoned ghost crab burrows
• Eat seeds (e.g. sea oats)—can help spread dune plants by carrying seeds from one location to another