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Chapter 3: Species of Greatest Conservation Need

Florida is one of the most biologically diverse states in the nation. There are approximately 574 native amphibians, reptiles (Florida Museum of Natural History 2011), mammals (Reynolds and Wells 2003, Whitaker and Hamilton 1998), and regularly occurring birds (Kratter 2010). Additionally, Florida is home to 177 species of native freshwater fish, more than 1,000 native marine fish (FWC 2011a), and more than 15,000 species of described native invertebrates (Florida Natural Areas Inventory [FNAI] 2011a). The purpose and intent of Florida's Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) list is to identify the broad range of Florida's species that are imperiled, or are at risk of becoming imperiled in the future.

Table 3A. Number of Florida's native wildlife species compared to state or federally listed taxa,

and Species of Greatest Conservation Need1

Taxa Group

Approximate Number of Native Species in Florida

Florida Federally Listed Taxa1,2

Florida State Listed Taxa1,2

Species of Greatest Conservation Need1,2

Amphibians

54

2

6

21

Mammals

54

15

25

52

Reptiles

89

11

24

56

Birds

377

12

33

161

Fish

> 1,177

4

14

78

Invertebrates3

> 15,000

12

18

668

Totals

> 16,751

56

120

1036

1The following species were excluded from this table and the SGCN list because occurrence is not documented or

considered incidental in the state or in Florida's waters: Caribbean monk seal, gray wolf, red wolf, Indiana bat,

finback whale, humpback whale, sei whale, sperm whale, Bachman's warbler, eskimo curlew, American burying

beetle. 2Totals include subspecies. Federally and State listed taxa were derived from the Florida's Endangered and

Threatened Species report (FWC 2011c). 3Total reflects described species. Actual number may be an order of magnitude greater.

State Wildlife Grants, the primary funding source that drives Action Plan implementation, discourages the use of funds solely on federally listed species and on species that already have dedicated funding. Although these species may be included in the SGCN list, it does not imply a funding preference or prioritization. Additionally, the FWC acknowledges that aquatic SGCN have been commercially or experimentally aquacultured in the past and may become commercially cultured in the future.

General Process

As part of the federal requirement for the Action Plan to address the broad array of wildlife in Florida, 974 SGCN were identified in Florida's 2005 Action Plan. From January 2010

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through October 2011, the criteria and list were re-evaluated resulting in a revised list of 1036 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and invertebrates. Of the major changes to the SGCN list, an improved set of criteria was developed to ensure a more scientifically rigorous list that better aligns with existing species management systems and programs. The ultimate goal of the revision was to make the SGCN list more meaningful and useful to the conservation community.

All native freshwater, marine and terrestrial wildlife species that regularly occur in Florida or state waters were considered in the selection of the SGCN list. The list excludes nonnative taxa and taxa whose occurrence in the state is not documented or considered incidental. The FWC created five taxa teams (mammals, birds, invertebrates, fish and amphibians/reptiles) comprised of four-to-ten subject matter experts from both FWC staff and non FWC staff. These teams collectively developed a set of core criteria (see below) to be used as the basis of the revised SGCN list and to ensure consistency among taxa groups. The taxa teams developed a draft list based on the criteria, and then in September 2010, the list was sent to approximately 100 additional subject experts for initial review. The FWC evaluated comments and suggestions and the taxa teams adjusted the list and criteria based on this expert input. Following the initial review, taxa teams associated species to Action Plan habitat categories if the taxa presently and regularly occurs in a habitat category, or the habitat category is essential at any stage to the survival of the taxa (breeding, feeding, sheltering, etc). Taxa are excluded from habitat categories that are irregularly used and where the taxa are believed to be an incidental occurrence. In cases where little is known about the habitat requirements of the taxa, the teams identified all habitat categories where the taxa are regularly observed. In August of 2011, the full list, criteria, and habitat associations were sent to a broader group of experts, stakeholders and the public, and posted on the FWC's website for a second round of review. After considering all input, taxa teams finalized the list in October of 2011. All subject matter experts, stakeholders and members of the public who participated in the SGCN process are listed in the Acknowledgements.

Criteria

The set of core criteria represents the extent of best available data for creating a SGCN list for the state of Florida. The criteria incorporates and groups existing information from established species assessment systems, as well as local natural history information, and expert input. In order to present the vast amount of information available succinctly, the criteria are compiled and summarized into six categories. Many of the categories can be further broken down into multiple variables that explain the score (for example the FWC species ranking system Biological Score is the sum of individual scores for seven variables that reflect different facets of distribution, abundance, and life history). A brief explanation of each category is presented below, along with references to additional information where appropriate.

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Summary of SGCN List Criteria Taxa scored on the following assessment systems or at the designated level(s):

1) All Florida Federally Listed Taxa 2) All State Listed Taxa 3) Rare:

o Taxa with a FWC species ranking system Population Size Score 4 (010,000 individuals range-wide)

4) Biologically Vulnerable: o Taxa with a FWC species ranking system Biological Score 19 o OR taxa on the IUCN list as "near threatened" or above o OR taxa on the FNAI list as at least S3 or G3

All taxa that are determined to be either: 5) Keystone Species 6) Taxa of Concern

1) Florida Federally Listed Taxa are fish or wild animal life, subspecies or isolated populations of species or subspecies that are native to Florida and are classified as Endangered and Threatened by the U.S. Department of Interior and Commerce under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Candidate species are not included under this criterion. However, if candidate species meet other SGCN criteria, they were included in the SGCN list.

2) State Listed Taxa are fish or wild animal life, subspecies, or isolated population of a species or subspecies, whether vertebrate or invertebrate, that are native to Florida and are designated by the FWC in accordance with Florida Administrative Code Rule Chapter 68A-27. This includes Federally Endangered and Threatened species, State Threatened species, and Species of Special Concern.

The following additional vulnerability assessment systems were used to provide complementary information on rarity and biological vulnerability:

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is an international system for assessing the relative extinction risk of taxa at the global scale. The SGCN list includes all Florida taxa evaluated as "Near Threatened" or more vulnerable under the 2001 IUCN criteria (IUCN 2001), and all species evaluated as "Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent" and "Lower Risk/Near Threatened" or more vulnerable under the 1994 IUCN criteria (IUCN 1994) The IUCN revised qualifying criteria and corresponding categories between 1994 and 2001. Many of the 1994 species were not re-ranked under the 2001 criteria. In order to use all available scores, the 1994 as well as the 2001 rankings were used.

The Florida Natural Areas Inventory ranking system uses the international NatureServe scoring system to assign a global rank based on the worldwide status of a taxon and a state rank based on the status of the species in Florida. The SGCN list includes all taxa stateranked S3 or more vulnerable and all taxa globally ranked as G3 or more vulnerable. S3

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species are very rare or local in FL (i.e. 21-100 occurrences in FL, or ................
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