In our first day in Florida, we visited the Everglades
National Park, an area rich in diversity across all of its natural wetlands.
Although the majority of organisms were hiding out of sight, one organism stood
out in the water: the Florida Gar.
The native Florida Gar is a bony fish residing in the
shallow freshwater streams and ponds of the Everglades and other small
streams/ponds. Like similar species of gar, the Florida Gar has a broad and
short snout with sharp teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. However, the Florida
gar is distinct based on its color scheme, with randomly shaped black spots covering
the top of its head and body against a tan body color. This specific species of
Gar is strikingly different from many other species in the gar family as well
as different from most other species present in the Everglades.
These fish remain
relatively small throughout their lives, reaching under 3 ft at its max size.
They aren’t considered a sport fish but reportedly can put up a good fight on a
line of any fishermen. However, the roe of adult Florida Gars is toxic to
humans which removes any threat of over-fishing for product. Although with the
relatively small size of these Gars, a commercial fishing industry wouldn’t be
viable.
One of the key points we studied in class was the diversity
present in the Everglade ecosystem, and with the Florida Gar the diversity is
simplified to one species. The Gar was visually different from any other species
I identified during the walk in the Everglade park. Due to its color range of
the black spots against the tan body and the shape of the body itself, the long
almost torpedo like structure was unique among the majority of fish present in
the waters. The Florida Gar’s differences aren’t limited to just its habitat
but its distinct from the other fish in the Gar family being as the Florida gar
is a medium sized species compared to most gar but its physical appearance and
isolated location gives it a distinct difference to similar Gar species.
National Park Service- Everglades:
https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/animals.htm
Information on Florida Gars:
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/freshwater/florida-gar/
Scott,
ReplyDeleteThe florida gar would be a fun catch while fishing. Any fish that puts up a fight, even if you have to release it, is a good fish. The fact that it has such distinct and cool coloring on it makes it even more interesting.
I thought these fish were very cool and interesting to see and it is interesting to hear that there is only one species of them in Florida. Although i feel like they weren't as abundant as all the other fish we saw, they were super easy to distinguish as soon as you saw them.
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