Data Management Plan

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for Florida black bear and federally and/or state endangered, threatened, or rare small mammals in Northwest Peninsular Florida. Vector polygons in this dataset represent vulnerable occurrences and general distribution. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in associated data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set is a portion of the ESI data for Northwest Peninsular Florida. As a whole, the ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil, and include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

Process Steps:

• 2016-12-01 00:00:00 - The terrestrial mammals depicted in this atlas are limited to rare coastal and special status species. These are: Florida black bear, Florida long-tailed weasel, Florida mouse (state species of special concern), Gulf salt marsh mink, Round-tailed muskrat, Sherman's fox squirrel (state species of special concern), and Southeastern long-tailed weasel. The Florida panther (federally endangered) was not included in this atlas based on expert opinion from the FWC. Much of the data included in the following paragraphs comes from the FWC and FNAI websites. The Florida black bear was removed from Florida's Endangered and Threatened Species List in 2012, and a Florida Black Bear Management Plan was put into place in this same year. The most recent home range polygonal data from the FWC was used to map this species (Florida Black Bear Range, 2016). The raw version of this vector digital data includes rare, occasional, common, and abundant ranges throughout the state. Only common and abundant ranges were mapped, although the reader should acknowledge that Florida black bear may occur anywhere within the region. Terrestrial mammal species included in this atlas were mapped using data from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory with the exception of Florida black bear. Polygons for terrestrial mammals from this source were clipped to land. The Florida mouse occurs in xeric upland communities and may either dig burrows or inhabit the burrows of oldfield mice or gopher tortoise. Gulf salt marsh mink may occur in salt marshes and freshwater swamps, while the Round-tailed muskrat can be found in shallow marshes and wet agricultural lands. Sherman's fox squirrel inhabit uplands in the region and depend on oak trees and longleaf pine cones for food and nest material. Bats were not mapped in this atlas, but several species occur within the region. These are: Big brown bat, Brazilian (Mexican) free-tailed bat, Eastern red bat, Evening bat, Hoary bat, Northern yellow bat, Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Seminole bat, Southeastern myotis, and Tricolored bat. While these species may not be directly impacted by an oil spill, human disturbance to roosts and hibernation areas is considered a secondary threat. The Big brown bat, Brazilian (Mexican) free-tailed bat, Evening bat, Rafinesque's Big-eared bat, Southeastern myotis, and Tricolored bat are known to use bat houses and/or human structures for roosting. Other roosting or hibernation areas for bats in this region include caves, tree foliage, tree cavities, or under loose tree bark. Terrestrial mammals that may be particularly vulnerable to oil spills in this region but were not mapped due to their ubiquitous distribution throughout the region include beaver, bobcat and raccoon. Beaver occur in the northern portion of this region in streams, rivers, or lakes with adjacent trees while bobcat are widely distributed in deep forest, swamps, and hammock land. Raccoon are common throughout the region and tend to stay near reliable water sources and are often considered nuisance species when populations explode within urban and suburban environments. The Homosassa shrew (state species of special concern) was not mapped due to the lack of reliable information describing their current distribution. According to the FWC, little information exists on the life history and distribution of the Homosassa shrew, although there have been reports of this species in hardwood swamp/mixed wetland forest, hydric and xeric hammocks, industrial/commercial pineland, mixed hardwood-pine forest, natural pineland, and disturbed/transitional habitat.

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).