(cm) (in)
 175 70-

 150 60-

 S125 50-

 100 40-
 75 30-

 50 20-

 25 10-

 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93
 Year

 Figure 2. Annual rainfall as measured at Gainesville, Florida. The horizontal line represents the 70-year
 average for the area.




 In 1983, we had documented the existence of 53 bodies of water
 (exclusive of canals). By 1992, only 9 basins held water, and these were all rather
 large. As some of the shallow bodies dried out, vegetational succession was rapid,
 and by 1992, small saplings of various lake fringe tree species were appearing
 among stands of grass and dog fennel (Senecio sp.). Some of our major study sites
 were profoundly affected by the drought. Smith Lake, and the associated Smith
 Lake Sandhill, is such a case. Breezeway Pond disappeared as well. Sampling
 areas for small mammals, including Ross Lake and Ashley Transect, showed no
 major vegetational changes, although Lake Ashley went dry, and vegetational
 succession on the lake bed has occurred. The upland Anderson-Cue study area was
 very little affected.
 The drying of the lakes has created locally catastrophic situations.
However, the sandhill communities exhibit a very different picture. Most
vertebrate populations that were not dependent on temporary ponds have exhibited
persistence and shown resilience under these adverse conditions. The north
Florida xeric-adapted species, including the gopher tortoise (Gopherus
polyphemus), spade-foot toad (Scaphiopus holbrooki), and the Florida mouse
(Podomysfloridanus), exhibit persistence even in the face of a prolonged drought.