BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY VOL. 38 PT. 11(8)


 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


 I would like to thank Margje Voeten, Leslie Straub, and Kathy Hallman for field assistance. John F.
Eisenberg, Richard Franz, and Melvin E. Sunquist provided valuable advice on study design and analysis. I
express gratitude to the Ordway Foundation for logistical and financial support for the duration of the
project. I would also like to thank the reviewers for their time and effort in reviewing this manuscript.


 STUDY AREA


 The Katharine Ordway Preserve/Swisher Memorial Sanctuary was established
as a reserve in 1979. Because of its brief history of protection, mixed historical use
has resulted in a composite landscape of contiguous expanses of native xeric and
mesic forests, wetlands, and prairies, as well as fragmented forest patches, bounded
by old fields and former pastures. The habitat fragmentation, particularly evident
near black water lakes, is a result of agricultural, pastoral, and silvicultural
activities from the last century.
 The complexity of topography and soil conditions, the position of the Ordway
Preserve on the Central Florida ridge, and past human perturbations lead to a
unique assemblage of vascular plant flora (Franz and Hall 1990). Major
communities represented are: high pine forests, sand live oak hammocks, mesic
hardwood hammocks, swamp forests, freshwater marshes, sandhill lake fringes,
permanent lakes and ponds, and culturally derived sites (Franz and Hall 1990).


 METHODS


 This study was conducted over a 16-month study period from September 1988
to January 1990. I selected five study sites in three habitat types: the bottomland
hardwood swamp (Mill Creek Swamp), mesic hammock with saw-palmetto
understory (Ross and Goose lakes), and mesic hardwood hammock with open
understory (Ashley and Suggs lakes) (Fig. 1). The bottomland swamp is a large
continuous tract of forest with numerous tree species and dense ericaceous shrubs.
The mesic hammock with saw-palmetto understory (Goose and Ross lakes) and