Manatee

Florida is home to a number of species, including freshwater plants and animals, that are not doing so well now, or that might in the future be in serious jeopardy. For a number of reasons, natural and otherwise, these plants and animals are disappearing, or, in some hopeful cases, are slowly increasing their numbers.

Aquatic plant managers in Florida strive to take into consideration the special environmental needs of our listed freshwater plants and animals. Achieving this goal requires the cooperation of local, state and federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the university system.

In respect and concern for the welfare of other species, federal and state governments have devised lists that categorize plants and animals according to their degree of peril:

Endangered: A species, subspecies or isolated population which is so rare or depleted in number or so restricted in range of habitat due to any man-made or natural factor that it is in immediate danger of extinction or extirpation from Florida.

Threatened: A species, subspecies or isolated population which is acutely vulnerable to environmental alteration, declining in number at a rapid rate, or whose range or habitat is decreasing in area at a rapid rate and as a consequence is destined or very likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.

Species of Special Concern: A species or population which warrants special protection, recognition, or consideration because it has an inherent significant vulnerability to habitat modification, environmental alteration, human disturbance, or substantial human exploitation which, in the foreseeable future, may result in its becoming threatened.

Of course, listing alone does nothing to help these plants and animals. Therefore, rules and regulations are imposed that limit those human activities which are likely to further jeopardize vulnerable species. For complete information about rules and regulations in place to protect listed species in the U.S., visit the U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) websites. For distribution and other information about listed species in Florida, visit the Florida Natural Areas Inventory.

Celestial lily PLANTS - ENDANGERED American bird's nest fern Bartram's ixia Bog spicebush Brooksville bellflower Carolina grass-of-parnassus Clamshell orchid Celestial lily Chaffseed Cooley's meadowrue Cooley's water-willow Corkwood Cowhorn orchid Cuplet fern Curtiss' loosestrife Dancing-lady orchid Dark-headed hatpins Dwarf witch alder Florida hasteola Florida peperomia Florida pondweed Florida skullcap Florida waxweed Florida willow Fringed campion Frost-flower orchid Fuchs' bromeliad Fuzzy-wuzzy airplant Godfrey's butterwort Harper's beauty Hartwrightia Henry's spider lily Hummingbird flower Lakeside sunflower Leafless bentspur orchid Leafy beaked ladies-tresses Little club-spur orchid Many-flowered catopsis Meadow jointvetch Modest spleenwort Night-flowering wild petunia Night-scented orchid Ocala vetch Okeechobee gourd Pale passionflower Panhandle lily Panhandle meadow-beauty Pine-woods aster Pondspice Purple honeycomb-head Quillwort yellow-eyed grass Small-flowered meadow-beauty Smooth-barked St. John's-wort Swamp plume polypody St. John's black-eyed Susan Thorne's buckthorn Toothed lattice-vein fern Washington hawthorn West's flax White-birds-in-a-nest Yellow star-anise PLANTS - THREATENED Southern milkweed Red pitcherplant

Manatee ANIMALS - ENDANGERED Birds Bachman's warbler Cape Sable seaside sparrow Everglade snail kite Whooping crane Wood stork Fish Blackmouth shiner Crystal darter Okaloosa darter Shortnose sturgeon Mammals Florida panther Gray bat Manatee Molluscs Fat threeridge Shiny-rayed pocketbook Gulf moccasinshell Ochlockonee moccasinshell Oval pigtoe Reptiles Striped mud turtle (Lower Keys) Big Cypress fox squirrel ANIMALS - THREATENED Amphibians Flatwoods salamander Birds American bald eagle Audubon's crested caracara Florida sandhill crane Fish Gulf sturgeon Mammals Big cypress fox squirrel Florida black bear Southern mink Crustaceans Squirrel Chimney cave shrimp Molluscs Chipola slabshell Purple bankclimber Reptiles Eastern indigo snake

Black skimmer ANIMALS - SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN Amphibians Florida bog frog Georgia blind salamander Gopher frog Pine barrens treefrog Birds Black-crowned night heron Black skimmer Glossy ibis Great egret Great white heron Least bittern Limpkin Little blue heron Osprey Reddish egret Roseate spoonbill Snowy egret Tricolored heron White ibis Yellow-crowned night heron Crustaceans Black Creek crayfish Panama City crayfish Santa Fe cave crayfish Fish Bluenose shiner Harlequin darter Lake Eustis pupfish Shoal bass Suwannee bass Tessellated darter Mammals Eastern chipmunk Lower Keys marsh rabbit Sherman's short-tailed shrew Reptiles Alligator snapping turtle American alligator Barbour's map turtle Suwannee cooter White ibis

For current information about all listed plants and animals in Florida, see:

Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Florida by L.G. Chafin (2001)
and
Field Guide to the Rare Animals of Florida by D. Hipes, D.R. Jackson, K. NeSmith, D. Printiss and K. Brandt (2001)

These books may be purchased from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Electronic online versions of these books allow queries by county, FNAI rank, or listing status. Go to http://www.fnai.org