Data Management Plan

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for turtles, snakes, alligators, and crocodiles in Southwest Florida. Vector polygons in this data set represent herpetofauna distribution and nesting areas. Species specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer.

This data set comprises a portion of the ESI data for Southwest Florida. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

This reflects the extent of all land and water features included in the overall Southwest Peninsular Florida ESI study region. The bounding box for this particular feature class may vary depending on occurrences identified and mapped.

Lineage Statement:
Three main sources of data were used to depict herpetofauna distribution and seasonality for this data layer: 1) personal interviews with resource experts from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, and National Park Service (NPS), 2) various digital data sets from the above agencies (including the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) data set), and 3) published and unpublished reports and documents. Reptiles depicted in this atlas include threatened, endangered, and rare species and coastal species of ecological concern.

Process Steps:

• 2017-02-01 00:00:00 - Sea turtles: Green (FT/SE), hawksbill (FE/SE), Kemps ridley (FE/SE), leatherback (FE/SE), and loggerhead (FT/ST) sea turtles were included in this atlas. Both nesting and in-water presence polygons are displayed. Nesting: Beaches are surveyed annually as part of the FWC-coordinated Statewide Nesting Beach Survey Program. The sea turtle nesting data summarized here describe the most recent five years of monitoring (2011-2015). Species nesting densities were classified as low, medium, or high relative to the remainder of surveyed sea turtle nesting beaches in Florida. In-water: The potential presence of sea turtles within southwest Florida waters was determined based on an examination of all available in-water sea turtle research information. FWRI evaluated the in-water presence of loggerheads, greens, leatherbacks, hawksbills and Kemps ridleys. They also incorporated occurrence information derived from Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network records from 1986 through 2014. Potential presence of sea turtles is described by species and life stage. The difference between nearshore and offshore areas was demarcated using the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) line. Loggerhead turtles of all life stages may be present in nearshore and offshore waters of southwest Florida throughout the year. A major residence area exists within deep reef and hardbottom habitats of the West Florida Shelf, particularly from 35 70 m depth. Surface-pelagic juvenile loggerheads occur in offshore waters of this area. Non-adult green turtles may be present in inshore waters, particularly within seagrass habitats, throughout the year. Adult green turtles are not often documented but do occur during the nesting season. Surface-pelagic juvenile green turtles occur in offshore waters of this area. Leatherback turtles may be encountered in offshore waters throughout the year. Non-adult hawksbill turtles have been documented throughout the region in stranding records. Adult hawksbill sea turtles are not often documented in southwest Florida although they may occur. Surface-pelagic juvenile hawksbills occur in offshore waters of this area. Non-adult Kemps ridley sea turtles may be present throughout southwest Florida waters during all months. Adult Kemps ridley sea turtles are not often documented in south Florida although they may occur. Surface-pelagic juvenile Kemps ridleys occur in offshore waters of this area.
• 2017-02-01 00:00:00 - Crocodiles: American crocodile (FT/ST) nesting beaches are shown in the atlas as polygonal stretches of land that represent their primary nesting sites. These areas were identified by NPS-Everglades National Park and Rookery Bay NERR. Other reptiles: American alligators are ubiquitous in the study area, and they were mapped only where concentration areas were indicated by experts. Presence of some concentration areas does not indicate that other concentration areas do not exist in the study area. Gopher tortoise, diamondback terrapin, snakes, and turtles were mapped according to survey data and expert knowledge. FNAI data was used to supplement data provided by State and Federal resource experts for federal and state threatened, endangered, and special concern species, as well as a few rare species (see species list for details) of ecological importance.

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).