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Find a Boat Ramp Fast
A new program developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission helps boaters find the nearest ramp by combining data from city, county and state files. The service is free for both visitors and residents.
Boaters can find nearby boat ramps quickly and easily with a new website created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “There are 214 government agencies and 250 commercial businesses that operate 1,800 publically accessible boat ramps throughout Florida,” notes Bill Sargent, FWC research analyst. “While many of these entities have great websites for their own boat ramps, this is the first that is a single source to locate any boat ramp anywhere in Florida. Whether you want to go boating in your neighborhood or on the other side of the state, the public boat ramp finder can help you find a place to launch your trailered boat.”
The site, at www.MyFWC.com/BoatRamps, is continually updated by FWC staff and collaborating agencies to ensure that it is up-to-date. Boaters are encouraged to report updates or corrections via email to BoatRamps@myFWC.com.
Wildlife Refuges Are Economic Engines
Wildlife refuges aren’t just for animals. Humans who live nearby benefit too, according to a new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that analyzed home prices near 93 national wildlife refuges. Property values of homes within a half-mile of a refuge and within eight miles of an urban center are valued at 7-9% higher in the southeast, 4-5% higher in the northeast and 3-6% higher in California/Nevada.
The report is particularly important in growing regions like Tampa Bay because the most significant differences were seen in urban areas where preserves and nature parks are at a premium.
Developers, of course, have known for years that homesites near open spaces increase prices, but being near a refuge creates an even higher value, the report indicates. The 14 national refuges in the southeast – including three in the Tampa Bay region – add $122 million to the price of homes near them.
As part of the effort to show Congress the value of wildlife refuges, USFWS is also updating their studies on economic impacts in terms of tourist spending. A 2006 report indicates that 34.8 million visits to American wildlife refuges generated $1.7 billion in sales, nearly 27,000 jobs and $542.8 million in employment income in regional economies.
To read the report, visit http://www.fws.gov/refuges/about/pdfs/NWRSAmenityReportApril2012withCovers8.pdf.
ZomBees in Florida?
Up to one-third of bee colonies may have disappeared for reasons scientists don't yet understand. Parasites found in California may play a role in their deaths; citizen-scientists are asked to report any "ZomBees" they discover.
Are parasites turning honeybees into “ZomBees” that abandon their hives, wander aimlessly and then die in clumps under light fixtures? Some researchers believe that a species of fly called Apocephalus borealis may be a cause of mysterious bee deaths across the country. The fly lays eggs inside the body of the honeybee, which then serves as an incubator. As the fly larvae grow, they devour nutrients in the bee’s body until the bee goes berserk and then dies.
University of Florida entomologist James Ellis says the parasites may not be a primary cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, but are likely to cause general colony losses. “We have a similar climate to parts of California so I suspect the fly could do damage in Florida as well,” he notes. “It’s hard to guess what level of damage they may cause.”
One study in California shows that 77% of colonies had the parasites, and researchers are collecting information to determine if the fly is causing problems in other states. Citizen-scientists can participate in the ZomBee Watch by collecting dead or sick bees in a container. If the bees are infected, fly larvae will appear about seven days after a bee dies.
Report parasites to www.zombeewatch.org. For more information about bees in Florida, visit www.UFhoneybee.com.
“Smart” Irrigation Controllers Flunk Texas Drought Test
None of the nine “smart” irrigation controllers tested during last year’s drought in Texas consistently provided the correct amount of water – but many of them did better than standard “dumb” controllers set by homeowners.
Texas AgriLife Extension Service is in its fifth year of evaluating the controllers, which either download landscape water requirements from off-site service providers or use on-site sensors to calculate it themselves. The data is then used to determine site-specific watering requirements and to operate the irrigation system automatically.
“The controllers are still inconsistent,” said Guy Fipps, AgriLife Extension irrigation engineer.
Fipps and Charles Swanson, an AgriLife Extension landscape irrigation specialist, tested nine commercial smart controllers during a 152-day period. The results show that:
- During the drought, evapotranspiration was 30-50% higher than average years. Some controllers did not adjust to the extreme conditions and applied inadequate amounts of water.
- Two of the nine controllers consistently applied excessive water, nearly twice what plants required.
- For all seasons combined, the controllers provided proper amounts of irrigation 37% of the time, 35% irrigated excessively and 28% irrigated inadequately.
- Four controllers provided proper amounts of water for five zones for one or more seasons.
- There was no consistency between the performance of controllers with on-site sensors and those that retrieved evapotranspiration data from a remote site. The big problem in 2011 seemed to be that controllers could not handle the extreme heat and drought conditions.
Fipps also noted that three manufacturers upgraded their units for the 2012 tests. He expects the smart controllers to continue to get smarter, which should contribute to urban water conservation.
“Some Texas cities and water utilities are now mandating smart controllers,” Swanson said. “If these controllers are to become requirements across the state, then it is important that they continue to be evaluated formally under Texas conditions.”
Complete results of the tests are available online at http://itc.tamu.edu/smart.php.
Toxins Impact Alligators in Polluted Lake Apopka
Photo courtesy University of Florida
While populations across the state are booming, both male and female alligators exposed to toxic chemicals found in Lake Apopka near Orlando show anomalies that may indicate issues in other animals.
Five-month-old female alligators exposed to toxins found in a polluted Florida lake show changes in ovarian gene function and decreased body weight at hatching, but paradoxically showed accelerated growth rates in the months after hatching, according to a study at the University of Florida.
Like bees, alligators are a species whose relative well-being in a given environment is indicative of the health of their ecosystem, and scientists say the study may have broader implications for ovarian function and obesity in other animals.
Previous research demonstrated that repeated contact with chemical runoff from spills in Lake Apopka near Orlando caused male alligators to develop smaller sexual organs and lose normal patterns of sexual function.
In addition, the researchers explored the parallels between the exposure to toxins in alligators and potential environmentally induced human reproductive diseases.
“Even though we’re studying alligators, what makes endocrinology so powerful is that the chemical structure of most of the steroid and thyroid hormones are identical among vertebrates, from fish to people,” said Ashley Boggs, a postdoctoral researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina who also studies alligators near Cape Canaveral. “It’s not just about your genes but also about what you’ve been exposed to throughout your whole life, from embryonic development to puberty to reproduction.”