Memoir of the Crosley Estate A Coastal Scrub Remnant

Emily Mann

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Henckell, Karsten

Keywords

Conservation, Crosley Estate, Gopher Tortoise, Ethnobotany, Botany

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

State-owned 28.5 acres of the Crosley Estate is the last remaining coastal scrub on Sarasota Bay, and one of two remaining parcels of scrub habitat within 40 square miles of Crosley. Crosley is unique in its presence of imperiled, native, and endemic species; old Southern slash pines; and intact vegetative communities representing the ecological transition from upland to bay. Using a combination of mapping, field work, historical research, and interviews I recorded the unique characteristics of the site. A complete assessment was based on species composition, tree and plant surveys, gopher tortoise surveys, and gopher frog research. I examined the estate's natural and human history. I assessed the status of the gopher tortoise population by determining density, density by habitat type, and individual gopher tortoise size. This data serves as a record of what the Crosley Estate coastal scrub was like in 2002-2003. Future management techniques will not be proposed because of the University of South Florida's current plans to develop Crosley into a new regional campus. This work is intended to provide a representation of all coastal scrub sites that existed in the region prior to development, so that future restoration efforts will have a record of what coastal scrub in this region was like.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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