Florida Gulf Coast University
OP-10: Biodiversity

FGCU has over half of its campus allocated to conservation areas or preserves. From the 2015-2025 Campus Master Plan Update: “In 1991, the Florida State Legislature commissioned the development of the tenth university of the Florida State University System… As part of the site selection and campus planning process for the FGCU campus, an extensive ecological survey was conducted and documented in the 1995 Campus Master Plan Inventory report. Preliminary surveys included a general delineation and characterization of the site’s major upland and wetland plant communities, a general review of the Natural resource Conservation Service (NRCS) soils survey, and a survey for threatened and endangered plant and wildlife species. The goal of this work effort was to provide the ecological information necessary to plan and design the university in the most efficient, ecologically friendly manner. Unavoidably, however, the construction of the campus and its associated infrastructure would impact a variety of upland and wetland systems occurring onsite. In order to compensate for these impacts, a comprehensive mitigation pan was developed and is being rigorously implemented through permits issued by both the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).” Conservation Areas and Wetland Areas as defined by South Florida Water Management District. This agency is responsible for permitting water management on FGCU's campus, as well as management of water during and around construction projects.

Florida panther (Felix concolor coryi) Endangered southeastern kestrel (Falco sparverius paulus) Threatened red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) Endangered - Note: not reported since 2018 eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi) Threatened gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Regionally Threatened & State-designated Threatened - note: used to occur on campus but it's not clear that there's still a population Sherman's fox squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani) Threatened Big Cypress fox squirrel (Sciurus niger avicennia) Threatened Black bear (Ursus americanus)/ Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus) Note: formerly considered a conservation concern, but now listed as a Recovered species Florida panther (Felis concolor coryi) Endangered Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucaocephalus) Threatened Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Imperiled Species Management Plan Florida coontie (Zamia floridana) Endangered Slender Gayfeather (Liatris gracilis) Threatened Please not the above list is not all inclusive, and animals may or may not be presently on campus due to migration or roaming distance.

From the 2015-2025 Campus Master Plan Update: “In 1991, the Florida State Legislature commissioned the development of the tenth university of the Florida State University System… As part of the site selection and campus planning process for the FGCU campus, an extensive ecological survey was conducted and documented in the 1995 Campus Master Plan Inventory report. Preliminary surveys included a general delineation and characterization of the site’s major upland and wetland plant communities, a general review of the Natural resource Conservation Service (NRCS) soils survey, and a survey for threatened and endangered plant and wildlife species. The goal of this work effort was to provide the ecological information necessary to plan and design the university in the most efficient, ecologically friendly manner. Unavoidably, however, the construction of the campus and its associated infrastructure would impact a variety of upland and wetland systems occurring onsite. In order to compensate for these impacts, a comprehensive mitigation pan was developed and is being rigorously implemented through permits issued by both the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).” https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/facilities/campusmasterplan

Wildlife Cameras – In association with the Wings of Hope Program, students have installed and monitored wildlife cameras at several sites on campus. The program focuses specifically on the Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi), but documents the occurrence of a variety of large mammals [e.g. white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and bobcat (Lynx rufus)] and turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). MOTUS – We maintain a migratory bird tracking station on campus, as part of the continental Motus network. The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a recent but well-established system for cooperative automated telemetry that supports landscape-scale research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. As one of ~900 stations in 31 countries around the world, the FGCU MOTUS station is important because the southeast region of the United States figures so prominently in the pathways of migrating birds (Lefevre and Smith 2020). Since becoming active in February 2017, this MOTUS station has detected 22 tagged birds, including songbirds migrating between summer sites in Canada and wintering sites in the Caribbean and South America. Wetland Bird Surveys – We are currently conducting surveys of avian communities that use four constructed wetland habitats on FGCU campus. We will compare these data to prior surveys in 2017 to assess how the bird community is changing over time. Tree Campus USA – Tree Campus USA is a program sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation that recognizes college and university campuses that manage their trees effectively, develop connectivity with the community beyond the campus, foster healthy urban forests, and promote service learning focused on campus and community forestry efforts. FGCU has been a member since 2010 and was the first university in the country to receive the National Arbor Day Award in 2012. An advisory committee was formed by students, staff, faculty, and community members to develop a Tree Campus Plan, including planting projects and tree data collection efforts. Their activities include: 1) student volunteers, along with faculty and staff, plant and care for previously planted trees and removal of competitive invasive plants located on the FGCU campus; 2) annual events - Florida Arbor Day, Earth Day, National Make a Difference Day, and Green the Greeks; and 3) student-led field work days where student volunteers survey the various species of trees located on the FGCU campus. The latter efforts have been used in an interactive map of the tree canopy which has grown into the FGCU Sustainability Map (Figure 4). Since 2009 these activities have involved over 6,400 service learning hours with over 2,000 students. A graduate student project is underway to investigate the impact of these activities on the environmental attitudes of the participants. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes – The Crotalus adamanteus population has been monitored on campus since Fall 2015. This work includes a radio telemetry study to detail spatial movement patterns, general behavior, reproduction and fecundity, morphometrics, population genetics, and parasitic loads of this species. This project has extended to include the local communities surrounding FGCU as well as state parks and wildlife management areas throughout southwest Florida. Small Mammals – This work examines the community of small mammals that reside in the conservation areas of FGCU. Four undergraduate researchers are using 1) Sherman live traps to sample various habitats on campus and quantify habitat preferences for rodent populations (since Spring 2019) and 2) using game cameras to monitor commensal species in nine-banded armadillo burrows (Summer 2020). Insect Taxa Surveys – Undergraduate monitoring associated with course work includes an effort to more fully describe insect diversity on campus, focusing on Dipterans, Odonata, Formicidae, and Lepidoptera. Twenty to thirty students from the spring General Entomology (4823C) course and three undergraduate senior researchers use aerial netting, Malaise trapping, and/or bait trapping to document insects on campus. We expect to have a more complete list of invertebrates, particularly insects, by the next STARS report. Anuran Community Monitoring – The FGCU campus has three sampling sites along Route 7 of the Southwest Florida Frog Monitoring Network – Frogwatch. This route has been monitored each month of the rainy season for twenty years, and includes citizen scientists from faculty, staff, students, and community members (Everham et al. 2013), using frog calls to track relative abundance of both native and exotic anuran species. Campus Hydrological Relationships - This sustainability project seeks to improve the understanding of precipitation and surface and underground flow relationships on the FGCU campus, in particular, identifying conditions under which flooding could occur on campus and in the downstream watershed. Each semester since 2017, student researchers have collected data about the campus hydrology. Students have held the lead in this project, supervised by Serge Thomas and Don Duke. Volunteer teams of 5 to 10 students, coordinated by a student leader, read staff gauges of surface water elevation in campus ponds. About 50 students have taken part, with about 20 of them conducting research: devising and implementing monitoring plans; investigating policies related to stormwater ponds on campus and in the vicinity; and analyzing data to reach scholarly conclusions. Most of these received course credit either for Senior Research or Internship degree requirements toward the Environmental Studies BA. Endocrine Disruption – Faculty guided student research is studying sites throughout southwest Florida to look for evidence of endocrine disruptors (man-made chemicals present in pharmaceutical, plasticizers, personal care products, pesticides, and industrial waste products). They have included several of the stormwater retention ponds on the FGCU campus as sampling sites. Bioblitz – FGCU Wildlife Club held a Bio-blitz as part of Earth Day 2023 festivities. A bio-blitz is a period of time when volunteers get together to fully explore a specific area in nature with the goal of documenting all evidence or physical flora and fauna that is observed. Every time something is spotted, one member from your group would upload the observation to iNaturalist, with each hour spent looking for different species. Organized walks with professional leaders will help identify things that are seen. This would be a great opportunity for students who need service learning hours as well as those who would like experience in field work. Exotic Species Research – Graduate and undergraduate student projects are examining the habitat use and ecology of two exotic species, the Brahminy Blind Snakes (Indotyphlops braminus) and Greenhouse Frogs (Eleutherodactylus planirostris), around Lee County. The study seeks to understand how exotic species move from inoculation points to new areas within the landscape before eventually becoming invasive. Another undergraduate study uses radio-telemetry to understand the spatial ecology of the Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) at FGCU’s Buckingham Center. Slash Pine Die-off – This undergraduate resereseach is examining the possible synergy of hurricane and climate change impacts on a regional die-off of slash pine (Pinus elliotii). The study utilizes dendrochronology to examine long-term growth trends in dead, dying, or surviving individuals both on campus and in the Picayune Strand State Forest. This project was supported through a CESE SAGE grant. Fungal Studies: In collaboration with colleagues at other institutions, a faculty member has examined micro-coralloid lichens that are common on Taxodium bark in the FGCU cypress domes. There are three distinct taxa that appear to be structurally dissimilar to any familiar species, but none bear fungal reproductive structures that would indicate their group affinities. Work continues to identify the fungal and algal components involved using molecular sequence analyses and study of the structure and interactions between symbionts using transmission electron microscopy. Additional Course Activities – A variety of undergraduate and graduate courses use the campus natural areas for outdoor learning. General Biology II Labs (BIOL 1011L) introduce scientific methods to students by sampling Protist communities in campus ponds, as well as perform plant counts in landscaped and non-landscaped plots. Flora of Southwestern Florida (BOT 3153) is a field-based course that makes extensive use of the natural areas on campus for teaching plant communities and important native and exotic species. The General Ecology (PCB 3043C) courses use the campus for a number of course projects including: the spatial distribution of an exotic plant, Mexican clover (Richardia brasiliensis) and population dynamics and life history of mosquito fish (Gambusia holbrookii). The latter study has been on-going since 2009. Limnology (PCB 4303C) students study the phytoplankton diversity, morphology, productivity, sedimentation and chemistry of our stormwater ponds. The Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Methods (PCB 4360C) course has several field-based projects, including the use of larger butterfly species [Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Queen (Danaus gilippus), White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae), and Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia)] in the natural areas of campus for a capture-mark-recapture exercise, which is providing long-term data on butterfly populations."

We have continued with our biodiversity initiative to include a variety of student-focused projects, an expansion of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) campus species list, and initiation of new ecosystem and landscape level efforts. To date, we have documented 838 species on campus (14 Fungal Species, 574 Macrophytes, 60 Invertebrates, 16 Fishes, 105 Birds, 14 Amphibians, 32 Reptiles, and 23 Mammals). Our monitoring and research related to listed or protected species includes: wildlife cameras that document Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi) and the Florida Black Bear (Ursus americanus floridanus) on campus, and wetland bird surveys and tracking of migratory movements via the MOTUS network that can document a variety of bird species, including these listed species: Wood Stork (Mycteria americana); Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus); and Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis). We also continued monitoring the population ecology and habitat use of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) via radio telemetry. As reported in 2017, our critical habitat on campus is composed of designated Conservation Areas, which are indicated with signage. These areas constitute just over 51% of the campus at buildout. In addition, our participation in the Tree Campus USA program has focused attention on the habitat quality of the built and landscaped areas on campus, applying the concept of reconciliation ecology. Since 2009, over 2,000 students have completed more than 6,400 service learning hours toward Tree Campus USA projects. FGCU Students participate in annual campus Bioblitz events using teh iNaturalist platform to further inform our species identifications and counts.

From FGCU's Campus Master Plan Objective 1301.3 – Conservation and Protection of Native Vegetative Communities and Wildlife Develop the University campus, including the remote locations, in harmony with the land’s natural characteristics by conserving, protecting, restoring and enhancing native vegetative communities and wildlife habitat to the extent practicable and appropriate. Policy 1301.3.1 Develop the campus with natural areas that are comprised of a system of interconnected restored, enhanced and created wetlands linked with upland buffers and preserves, as shown in Figure 6 – Leveraging/Preserving FGCU’s Natural Assets and the environmental permits for site development. Policy 1301.3.2 Conserve and protect the wetlands that are designated for preservation/ restoration on the University campus, and remote locations, in a manner that maintains wetland soils, re-establishes wetland hydroperiods, eradicates exotic vegetation, and restores native wetland vegetation and wildlife habitat, as defined in the environmental permits for site development. Policy 1301.3.3 Conserve and protect the native upland vegetation adjacent to wetland restoration areas on the campus, and in accordance with environmental permits for site development. Policy 1301.3.4 Preserve and restore campus wetland areas and adjacent upland buffer areas as potential wildlife habitat, by removal of exotic vegetation and maintaining them free of exotic infestation. Policy 1301.3.5 Design roads and other horizontal site improvements crossing wetlands and upland buffer areas in a manner which will facilitate wildlife movement among those areas and to minimize mortality associated with road crossings. Policy 1301.3.6 Plant and wildlife species protected by law will be addressed during site development in accordance with federal and State regulations, and the environmental permits for site development. Policy 1301.3.7 The University shall, in its C.I.P. submissions, identify and request funding for actions necessary to implement the Conservation Element of the Campus Master Plan and maintain conformance with the environmental permits for site development. Policy 1301.3.8 The University shall use native plant species in restoration or enhancement plantings. The use of native plant species in general campus landscaping shall be encouraged. Policy 1301.3.9 It is the intent of the University to remove from campus grounds all non-native or exotic invasive plants (whether grasses, forbs, shrubs or trees) that are identified by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Division of Plant Industry) as Noxious Weeds or identified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Bureau of Invasive Plant Management) as Prohibited Plants. As these species are located on campus, the University shall coordinate with Division of Plant Industry and Bureau of Invasive Plant Management to ensure the proper removal of these exotic species. Policy 1301.3.10 The University shall continue to protect and conserve known endangered and threatened species of plants and wildlife, and species of special concern, as required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, Chapter 379, F.S., Chapter 68A-27 of the, F.A.C., and federal and state management policies relating to the protection of threatened and endangered species and species of special concern. Policy 1301.3.11 During the initial design phase of any programmed improvements to the campus, the University shall perform a census of wildlife and plants in the area to be affected where appropriate. Plants or animals identified by the “Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species”, Updated September 2015, which is updated annually by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Division of Plant Industry), or otherwise afforded protection by the host communities and local, state and federal agencies, shall be noted. Protection plans for listed species shall be formulated consistent with those of the host communities and appropriate state and federal agencies. Policy 1301.3.12 University personnel shall, when encountering listed species, follow procedures and seek consultation with the appropriate agencies as identified in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida Wildlife Conservation Guide (fwcg.myfwc.com). Policy 1301.3.13 FGCU shall clearly delineate the areas designated for preservation/ restoration through accurately placed signage (or other physical indicators) and digital means. The clear delineation of protected areas will help inform the broader FGCU community of where future development is restricted on campus.