HERBACEOUS PLANTS AND VINES Blanket flower, Gaillardia pulchella;
 Fiddleleaf morning-glory, Ipomoea stolonifera; Largeleaf
 pennywort, Hydrocotyle bonariaensis; Sea purslane, Sesuvium
 portulacastrum; greenbriars, Smilax spp.; Wildgrape, Vitis spp.

 GRASSES AND GRASSLIKE PLANTS Bitter panicum, Panicum amarum; Gulf
 bluestem, Schizachyrium maritimus; Marshhay cordgrass, Spartina
 patents; Sandbur, Cenchrus spp.; Seaoats, Uniola paniculata;
 Seashore paspalum, Paspalum vaginatum; Seashore panicum,
 Panicum amarum; Low panicum, Panicum spp.; Seashore saltgrass,
 Distich-lis spicata

 Additional plants that are known to occur in this community are in
 Appendix B.

3. Animals

 A variety of shorebirds, terns, and gulls can be found on or near the
 beach. This community provides a good food source as well as nesting
 sites. Crustaceans such as crabs are numerous near the shorelines. This
 area also serves as nesting grounds for sea turtles. Small mammals can
 also be found on the coastal dunes and larger mammals behind the
 fcredunes. The most common species are:

 MAMMALS Bobcats, foxes, mice, raccoons, skunks, and similar mammals
 also inhabit the community.

 BIRDS American kestrel, gulls, pelicans, shorebirds, terns, and other
 predatory birds and a number of songbirds in the backdune
 areas.

 Information on animals known to occur in specific ecological communities
 is in Appendix C.

LAND USE INTERPRETATIONS

1. Environmental_ Value as a Natural System

 The coastal strand is highly endangered. Areas privately owned but
 undeveloped are in demand for residences, hotels, and motels. This urban
 development can have serious effects on the community. Coastal strands
 are important in regulating wave action along the coast. This action
 tends to break away part of one beach and build up another. Unplanned
 structures and development which alter this process accelerates beach and
 coastal dune erosion. Clearing and leveling of dunes for development also
 cause erosion through removal of native vegetation which helps hold the
 dune together, and by removal of sand from the offshore transport system.

 Recreational use and wildlife values on the coastal strand are important.
 Recreation is much in demand in these areas but can cause damage due to
 trampling and destroying vegetation. When these plants die, their
 extensive root systems are no longer available to hold the soil together
 and build the dune. Occasional use may also degrade this fragile
 community. This community is not generally used for agriculture or
 wood land.