Site Description
Our study was conducted in the globally imperiled pine rockland ecosystem at The Richmond Tract (Possley et al. 2018, 2020), in Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA (USFWS 1999, Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2010, World Wildlife Fund 2014). The Richmond Tract is a complex of properties that spans 830-ha and contains the largest extent of pine rockland outside of Everglades National Park (Bradley and Gann 2005, Figueroa et al. 2023). The globally imperiled pine rockland ecosystem is the most biodiverse in south Florida, with over 430 native plant species and a multitude of large vertebrates that have been largely extirpated as a result of urbanization and development in the region (Lodge 2017, Trotta et al. 2018).
This ecosystem is fire-maintained and characterized by its scant, savanna-like canopy of endemic South Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa ), understory of palms (e.g.,Coccothrinax argentata , Sabal palmetto , Serenoa repens ) and shrubs which include locustberry (Byrsonima lucida ), West Indian lilac (Miconia bicolor ), and pineland croton (Croton linearis ). Interspersed between the understory, rare and endemic herbs comprise the groundcover layer along with grasses, euphorbs, and succulents like the eastern prickly pear cactus (Opuntia austrina ) (Possley et al. 2008, Diamond and Heinen 2016). In addition to the diversity of plants they contain, pine rocklands provide habitat for several state and federally listed fauna (USFWS 1999). One of these animals is the gopher tortoise – a longtime inhabitant of the pine rockland ecosystem that persists in remnant preserves to this day (Simpson 1920, Carr 1940, Monroe 1943, Enge et al. 2004, Whitfield et al. 2018, 2022, Figueroa et al. 2021).