Hillsborough County Water Atlas


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Hillsborough River Watershed

Hillsborough River Watershed

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Description

Explore general as well as scientific information about the movement, chemistry and biology of area surface water environments.

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Map Legend

Water Quality sampling site
Hydrology sampling site
Closest Rainfall site
Rainfall sampling site
Multi-type sampling site
Other sampling site
 

Rare Species and Communities

Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) assists with tracking the occurrences of rare, threatened, endangered and exemplary plants, animals and natural communities, called elements. An element is any exemplary or rare component of the natural environment, such as a species, natural community, bird rookery, spring, sinkhole, cave, or other ecological feature. An element occurrence is a single extant habitat that sustains or otherwise contributes to the survival of a population or a distinct, self-sustaining example of a particular element, such as a plant species. The following links provide access to tools on the FNAI website where you can view a list of elements in your area and read a description of each element (e.g. plant, animal, or natural community).

Access the FNAI Searchable Tracking List web page:

FNAI also provides the following educational information:

Other informative sites on Florida's endangered species include, but are not limited to:

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    Vegetation Sampling

    Vegetation sampling is the identification and quantification of plant species and communities. Vegetation sampling is a tool used in environmental assessments and can inform a myriad of assessment goals including biomass availability, water quality concerns, management benchmarks, and determining the introduction and establishment of invasive species. Sampling can be conducted via destructive or non-destructive methods. Learn more about vegetation sampling from the links and documents listed below.

      Birds

      Some common birds in this region that you might see include - Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, White Ibis, Brown Pelican, Osprey, Wood Stork, Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, Bald Eagles and the threatened Florida Scrub-jay.

      Audubon Christmas Bird Count Data for Water Dependent, Threatened, and Endangered Birds

      More than 50,000 observers participate each year in this all-day census of early-winter bird populations. The results of their efforts are compiled into the longest running database in ornithology, representing over a century of unbroken data on trends of early-winter bird populations across the Americas. Simply put, the Christmas Bird Count, or "CBC", is citizen science in action.

      The table below demonstrates the average number of birds seen per hour of effort put forth to view them. The historic average is the average of the total number of birds seen per hour of effort divided by the number of years listed in the brackets.
      Species Name Listing Alafia Banks QuadrangleTampa Quadrangle
      2011 - 2012 ResultsHistoric Average2011 - 2012 ResultsHistoric Average
      American Oystercatcher SSC 0.32 0.32 (1 yrs) 0.13 0.13 (1 yrs)
      Bald Eagle T 0.14 0.14 (1 yrs) 0.16 0.16 (1 yrs)
      Black Skimmer SSC 0.45 0.45 (1 yrs)    
      Brown Pelican SSC 3.05 3.05 (1 yrs) 0.82 0.82 (1 yrs)
      Florida Scrub-jay T 0.01 0.01 (1 yrs)    
      Little Blue Heron SSC 0.68 0.68 (1 yrs) 3.43 3.43 (1 yrs)
      Peregrine Falcon T 0.01 0.01 (1 yrs)    
      Reddish Egret SSC 0.06 0.06 (1 yrs) 0.03 0.03 (1 yrs)
      Snowy Plover T        
      Tricolored Heron SSC 0.79 0.79 (1 yrs) 1.63 1.63 (1 yrs)
      White Ibis SSC 12.42 12.42 (1 yrs) 22.84 22.84 (1 yrs)
      Wood Stork E 1.24 1.24 (1 yrs) 0.82 0.82 (1 yrs)
      * Threatened (T), Endangered (E) and Species of Special Concern (SSC) status as listed by the State of Florida.

      Source: National Audubon Society
       

      Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas

      This site provides access to the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas data recorded by volunteers from 1986 - 1991. The surveys occurred in all 67 counties which were divided into 1028, 7.5 minutes topographic quadrangles. Each quadrangle was further divided into 6 (2 wide by 3 tall) equal-sized blocks of about 10 miles2 of which about 75% (4,866) were surveyed. For each species, a breeding code indicating the "highest" breeding evidence was recorded.

        Frogs

        Rana catesbeiana
        Bullfrog

        Rana grylio
        Pig Frog

        Rana sphenocephala
        Southern Leopard Frog

        Rana capito aesopus
        Gopher Frog

        Hyla gratiosa
        Barking Treefrog

        Rana clamitans clamitans
        Bronze Frog

        Osteopilus septentrionalis
        Cuban Treefrog

        Gastrophryne carolinensis carolinensis
        Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad

        Scaphiopus holbrooki
        Eastern Spadefoot Toad

        Bufo marinus
        Giant Toad

        Eleutherodactylus planirostris planirostris
        Greenhouse Frog

        Hyla cinerea
        Green Treefrog

        Pseudacris ocularis
        Little Grass Frog

        Bufo quercicus
        Oak Toad

        Hyla femoralis
        Pinewoods Treefrog

        Rana heckscheri
        River Frog

        Acris gryllus dorsalis
        Southern Cricket Frog

        Pseudacris nigrita verrucosa
        Southern Chorus Frog

        Bufo terrestris
        Southern Toad

        Pseudacris crucifer bartramania
        Spring Peeper

        Hyla squirella
        Squirrel Treefrog

        The best conservation is done at the local level. And because amphibian populations are declining worldwide, we need to monitor the populations of frogs and toads that we have right here in Florida.

        The Frog Listening Network

        The Frog Listening Network (FLN) is a volunteer-based monitoring program in which the public is trained to collect data about frog and toad populations in west-central Florida. Volunteers learn how to identify amphibians both audibly and visually. You do not have to be a scientist to be a part of the Frog Listening Network, and volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are welcome.

        Click here to learn more about the Frog Listening Network »

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