Editing Biscayne National Park (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Elkhorn Coral Biscayne NP1.jpg|thumb|alt=Underwater view of snorkelers, fish and coral|Snorkelers and elkhorn coral]]
South Florida is a transitional zone between the [[Nearctic realm|Nearctic]] and [[Neotropical realm]]s, resulting in a wide variety of plant and animal life. The intersection of realms brings opportunities for visitors to see species, particularly birds, not seen elsewhere in North America. The park includes four distinct ecosystems, each supporting its own flora and fauna.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nature & Science|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/index.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=8 December 2012}}</ref> Mangrove swamp, lagoon, island key and offshore reef habitats provide diversity for many species. In this semi-tropical environment, the seasons are differentiated mainly by rainfall. Warm to hot and wet summers bring occasional tropical storms. Though only marginally cooler, the winters tend to be relatively drier. Bay salinity varies accordingly, with lower salinity levels in the wet summer, trending to more fresh water on the west side where new fresh water flows in.<ref name=npsbisc21>{{cite web|title=Hydrologic Activity|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/hydrologicactivity.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=22 November 2012}}</ref>

Hundreds of species of fish are present in park waters,<ref name=npsbisc31>{{cite web|title=Fish|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/fish.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> including more than fifty crustacean species ranging from [[isopod]]s to [[Cardisoma guanhumi|giant blue land crabs]],<ref name=npsbisc30>{{cite web|title=Crustaceans|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/crustaceans.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> about two hundred species of birds<ref name=npsbisc28>{{cite web|title=Birding Tips, Ethics, and Where to Bird in Biscayne|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/birding.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> and about 27 mammal species, both terrestrial and marine.<ref name=npsbisc29>{{cite web|title=Mammals|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/mammals.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> [[Mollusc]]s include a variety of [[bivalve]]s, terrestrial and marine snails, [[sea hare]]s, [[sea slug]]s and two [[cephalopod]]s, the [[Caribbean reef octopus]] and the [[Caribbean reef squid]].<ref name=npsbisc32>{{cite web|title=Molluscs|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/mollusks.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref>

The sheltered open waters of the bay and the outlying chain of keys provide resting areas for migrating birds on their way between North American, the Caribbean islands, and South America. Many southbound land birds stop in the fall at [[Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park]], just north of the park on Key Biscayne, before venturing across the open waters of Biscayne Bay.<ref name=kaufman1>{{cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Kenn|title=Fall Migration Hot Spots|url=http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/birds/fall-migration-hot-spots|publisher=Audubon|access-date=15 March 2013|date=July–August 2009|archive-date=26 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526071013/http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/birds/fall-migration-hot-spots|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Northbound spring migrants do likewise on Elliott Key.<ref name=braun1>{{cite magazine|last=Braun|first=David|title=Banding birds at the BioBlitz|url=http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/04/30/banding_birds_at_the_bioblitz/|magazine=National Geographic|access-date=15 March 2013|date=April 30, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418084217/http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/04/30/banding_birds_at_the_bioblitz/|archive-date=18 April 2012}}</ref> Most of the small [[passerine]] migrants are warblers, with [[ovenbird]]s, [[palm warbler]]s, [[American redstart]]s, [[common yellowthroat]]s, [[prairie warbler]]s, [[worm-eating warbler]]s and [[black-throated blue warbler]]s accounting for the majority.<ref name=lott1>{{cite web|last=Lott|first=Casey A.|title=Stopover Ecology of Nearctic-Neotropical Migrant Songbirds in Hardwood Hammocks of the Florida Keys|url=http://research.myfwc.com/engine/download_redirection_process.asp?file=06lott2_4043.pdf&objid=50521&dltype=publication|publisher=Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission|author2=Langan, Brynne E.|author3=Mulrooney, M. Brennan|author4=Grau, Randy T.|author5=Miller, Karl E.|date=May 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108155432/http://research.myfwc.com/engine/download_redirection_process.asp?file=06lott2_4043.pdf&objid=50521&dltype=publication|archive-date=2014-11-08}}</ref> Migrant raptors include [[short-tailed hawk]]s, [[sharp-shinned hawk]]s, [[Merlin (bird)|merlins]], [[peregrine falcon]]s and [[swallow-tailed kite]]s, while [[bald eagle]]s and [[osprey]]s nest in the park. Both [[White-tailed tropicbird|white-tailed]] and [[red-tailed tropicbird|red-tailed]] tropicbirds are seen in the park, as are [[American flamingos]],<ref name=npsbisc402>{{cite web|title=Birds|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/birds.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=15 November 2014}}</ref> with some of the latter probably escaped captive birds.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dunn|first=Jon|title=Field Guide to the Birds of North America|year=2011|publisher=National Geographic Society|isbn=978-1-4262-0828-7|page=122|edition=6|author2=Alderfer, Jonathan}}</ref>

===Shoreline and mangrove swamp===
[[File:Biscayne American Crocodile NPS1.jpg|thumb|alt=A smiling American crocodile|American crocodile]]
The mainland shorelines are dominated by a marshy transitional zone chiefly populated by [[Rhizophora mangle|red mangrove]] and [[Avicennia germinans|black mangrove]] growing from the shallow water, with [[Laguncularia racemosa|white mangrove]] growing farther back from the water's edge. The trees' aerial root structure provides a sheltered habitat for crabs, fish and wading birds. The brown waters within the mangrove thickets are nurseries for fish, mollusc and crustacean larvae that require a quiet sheltered environment before the immature animals can disperse into open waters.<ref name=npsbisc111>{{cite web|title=Mangroves|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/mangroves.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> Mangroves shed leaves at about {{convert|2|to|4|ST/acre}} per year, providing food for fish, worms and crustaceans. Because the carbon in the leaves is sequestered by incorporation into animals, the mangrove swamp is estimated to have two to three times the ability to [[Carbon sequestration|sequester carbon]] of terrestrial forests.<ref name=npsbisc43>{{cite web|title=Mangroves and Climate Change|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/mangroves-and-climate-change.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> The mangrove forest on Biscayne Bay is the longest on Florida's east coast. Shoreline and island mangrove swamps, together with the bay, represent a significant nursery for the marine life of southeast Florida.<ref name=sotpbisc1>NPCA, p. 1</ref>

The salt-tolerant mangrove margin has expanded inland as freshwater flow into the bay has been [[river engineering#Channelization|channelized]], replacing freshwater [[Cladium|sawgrass]] marshes. The L-31E coastal storm surge [[levee]] inland of the park's western boundary has played a significant role in isolating former freshwater marshlands from their water sources. At the same time, tidal water does not reach the interior of the coastal margin, limiting interchange between salt and freshwater ecosystems.<ref name=npca16>NPCA, p. 16</ref>

Bird life on the shoreline includes [[yellow-crowned night heron]]s, [[loggerhead shrike]]s, prairie warblers and shorebirds. [[Mangrove cuckoo]]s, a notoriously difficult-to-observe species, may be seen at Convoy Point and Black Point. Biscayne has one of the largest populations of mangrove cuckoos in Florida.<ref name=npsbisc28/>

The park's margins are habitat for the threatened [[American crocodile]]. The construction of miles of cooling water canals in the [[marl]] lands close to the shore behind the Turkey Point power plant, and the canals' warm waters, have provided a nearly ideal environment for crocodile nesting, making the power plant a nursery for many of those living in the park.<ref name=bragg1>{{cite news|last=Bragg|first=Rick|title=In South Florida Canals, Revival of Rare Crocodiles|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 29, 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fpl.com/environment/plant/pdf/turkey_point_crocodile_fact_sheet.pdf|title=Providing a home for the American crocodile|publisher=Florida Power & Light|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124001057/http://www.fpl.com/environment/plant/pdf/turkey_point_crocodile_fact_sheet.pdf|archive-date=2012-11-24}}</ref><ref name=crocdocs1>{{cite web|title=Status, Distribution, and Habitat Relations of the American Crocodile in Florida (Abstract)|url=http://crocdoc.ifas.ufl.edu/projects/americancrocodile/|work=The Croc Docs|publisher=University of Florida|access-date=22 November 2012}}</ref> Although crocodiles and [[American alligator]]s both occur in extreme southern Florida, alligators are uncommon in Biscayne,<ref name=npsbisc22>{{cite web|title=Threatened and Endangered Animals in Biscayne National Park|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/threatened-and-endangered-animals.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=22 November 2012}}</ref> since alligators mainly inhabit fresh waters found farther inland, while crocodiles can live in Biscayne's somewhat saltier estuarine waters.<ref name=mazzotti1>{{cite web|last=Mazzotti|first=Frank J.|title=Status and Conservation of the American Crocodile in Florida: Recovering an Endangered Species While Restoring an Endangered Ecosystem|url=http://crocdoc.ifas.ufl.edu/publications/reports/american_croc2003.pdf|publisher=University of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center|access-date=22 November 2012|author2=Cherkiss, Michael S.|page=iii|year=2003}}</ref>

===Bay waters===
[[File:Manatees Biscayne.jpg|thumb|alt=Aerial view of manatees in shallow water|Manatees in [[Biscayne Bay]]]]
The open waters are inhabited by fishes, molluscs and crustaceans living on sea grasses or who prey on each other. The shallowness of the lagoon makes it suitable habitat for diving birds such as [[anhinga]], cormorants and diving ducks. The bay also provides habitat for juvenile sea animals that have left the shelter of the mangrove belts.  [[West Indian manatee|Manatees]] frequent the quiet waters of the bay.<ref name=npsbisc1/> The bay has a year-round population of [[double-crested cormorant]]s. Winter residents include [[northern gannet]]s, [[American white pelican]]s and [[common loon]]s.<ref name=npsbisc28/> The bay also has a resident population of [[common bottlenose dolphin]]s.<ref>{{cite report|title=Common Bottlenose Dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus truncatus'') Biscayne Bay Stock|publisher=NOAA|date=April 2014|access-date=5 August 2016|url=http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/sars/2013/ao2013_bottlenose-biscaynebay.pdf}}</ref>

Biscayne Bay is a shallow lagoon with little vertical density or salinity gradient due to its lack of depth. Instead of a vertical gradient, the bay shows a horizontal density gradient, with fresh water entering from the drainage canals on the west side and seawater entering through gaps in the keys and through the safety valve section of shoals. Bay salinity reaches a peak in June.<ref name=npsbisc39>{{cite web|title=Hydrologic Activity|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/hydrologicactivity.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Changes in the salinity pattern of the bay have had negative effects on formerly abundant species such as [[red drum]]. Biscayne Bay and [[Florida Bay]] are major nurseries for [[red grouper]] and [[gray snapper]].<ref name=npca23>NPCA, p. 23</ref> The bottom of the lagoon hosts sponges and soft corals in places where grasses cannot not grow. Three primary species of seagrass are found in the park: [[Thalassia testudinum|turtlegrass]], [[shoal grass]] and [[Syringodium filiforme|manatee grass]]. [[Johnson's seagrass]] is also found in small quantities in the bay, which is at the southern end of the grass's range. Roughly 75 percent of the central bay floor is covered by grasses.<ref name=npca20>NPCA, p. 20</ref> Scarring of seagrass beds by vessel groundings or propellers is a significant problem. About 200 such incidents are documented each year, with full re-growth requiring up to 15 years.<ref name=npca21>NPCA, p. 21</ref> The bay is also affected by commercial shrimp trawling, which is permitted in park waters. The passage of roller-frame trawl nets does not harm grasses, but damages soft corals and sponges.<ref name=npca27>NPCA, p. 27</ref>

===Keys===
[[File:Totten Key.jpg|thumb|alt=Aerial view of island and forest|Totten Key and reefs]]
[[File:Consolea corallicola.jpg|thumb|alt=Close-up of flowering cactus pads|The semaphore prickly-pear cactus is only found in and near Biscayne National Park and may be the rarest plant in the U.S.]]
Elliott Key is the largest island in the park, measuring {{convert|1650|acre|abbr=on}} and about {{convert|8.1|mi|0|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|0.62|mi|0|abbr=on}} wide. Next largest is Old Rhodes Key at {{convert|660|acre|abbr=on}}, then Sands Key {{convert|420|acre|abbr=on}}, Totten Key {{convert|380|acre|abbr=on}} and Little Totten Key at {{convert|200|acre|abbr=on}}, with 37 smaller islands arranged in a north–south line {{convert|5|to|8.7|mi|0|abbr=on}} east of the mainland shoreline.<ref name="npca21" /> The keys shift from barrier islands with rocky cores in the north to coral rock platforms in the south. All are fringed with mangroves, with subtropical vegetation and hardwood forests in the interiors, including [[gumbo limbo]], [[mahogany]], [[ironwood]], [[Amyris elemifera|torchwood]] and [[Chrysophyllum oliviforme|satinleaf]]. Insects include [[Schaus' swallowtail]], an endangered species, as well as dense clouds of mosquitoes in the wet season, preyed upon by dragonflies. [[Marsh rabbit]]s and [[raccoons]], together with mice and rats comprise the primary mammalian species. Reptiles include [[rattlesnake]]s and a variety of lizards, as well as an occasional crocodile.<ref name=npsbisc19>{{cite web|title=Florida Keys|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/keys.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=22 November 2012}}</ref>

The keys are a transitional area capable of hosting unexpected birds, often Caribbean species that have strayed near the mainland. The interior of the keys are frequented by warblers and the hawks that prey on them. Coastal zones are habitat for [[ruddy turnstone]]s and [[least sandpiper]]s. Gulls and terns include [[royal tern]]s, [[laughing gull]]s and [[ring-billed gull]]s, with [[brown pelican]]s just offshore. [[Wilson's plover]]s nest on Boca Chita Key, where nesting zones are closed during breeding season.<ref name=npsbisc28/>

Sea turtles nest on island beaches in the park. Park staff actively assist turtle nesting by removing debris from beaches that might pose an obstacle to adults and hatchlings. [[Loggerhead turtle]]s are the most common sea turtle species and account for nearly all of the turtle nests in the park.<ref name=npsbisc37>{{cite web|title=Species Focus: Loggerhead Sea Turtles|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/species-focus-loggerhead-sea-turtles.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Nest sites are identified by daily morning beach patrols and are protected with mesh screen against the predation by abundant raccoon population. Nest protection efforts have reduced predation from 100% of nests disturbed per year to no disturbed nests in 2007, with a more usual average of more than 50% nest disturbance in most years.<ref name=npsbisc38>{{cite web|title=Sea Turtle Conservation Program|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/sea-turtle-conservation-program.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> In 2012 one undisturbed nest was found and protected, five partially disturbed nests were protected, and one nest was destroyed by predators.<ref name=npsbisc36>{{cite web|title=Summary of 2012 sea turtle nesting season and habitat restoration activity|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/2012-sea-turtle-conservation-efforts.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> The threatened [[eastern indigo snake]] is also present on the island.<ref name=npca22>NPCA, p. 22</ref>

Rare and endangered plant species on the islands include [[Pseudophoenix sargentii|Sargent's cherry palm]] and the semaphore prickly-pear cactus (''[[Consolea corallicola]]''). The cactus, which has been described as "near extinction",<ref name=fna1>{{cite book|title=Consolea corallicola, Flora of North America North of Mexico|url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242415229|publisher=Flora of North America Association|access-date=29 January 2013|volume=4: Magnoliophyta|page=150}}</ref> has been reduced to about 20 individuals. A [[Clonal colony|colonial]] population of 570 cacti were found on one island in Biscayne Bay in 2001,<ref name="npsbisc40 Plants">{{cite web|title=Plants|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/plants.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> making it the largest known population of semaphore prickly-pear cactus in the world.<ref name=npsbisc41>{{cite web|title=Cacti / Desert Succulents|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/cacti.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> The only natural population of Sargent's palm grows on Elliott Key. Fewer than 50 grew on the key in 1991. Despite efforts to propagate the plant, there are now 16 Sargent's palms on Elliott Key, with about 123 propagated on Long Key.<ref name="npsbisc40 Plants"/>

Two critically endangered butterflies, [[Papilio aristodemus|Schaus' swallowtail]] (''Papilio aristodemus'') and the [[Miami blue]], are found in the park, mostly on Elliott Key. In 2012 the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] (USFWS) authorized a capture and captive breeding program for Schaus' swallowtail after only five of the butterflies were found by surveyors in the park, down from 35 in 2011, of a total surveyed Florida population of 41.<ref name=npsbisc202>{{cite web|title=Schaus Swallowtail Emergency|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/parknews/schaus-swallowtail-emergency.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|date=June 13, 2012|access-date=13 March 2013}}</ref>  The Miami blue was feared to be extinct after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but a population was found in 1999 at [[Bahia Honda Key]]. Captive breeding produced 25,000 Miami blues, some of which have been released on Elliott Key with mixed results.<ref name=npsbisc201>{{cite web|title=Miami Blue Butterflies Reintroduced|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/parknews/miami-blue-butterflies-reintroduced.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|date=September 18, 2006|access-date=13 March 2013}}</ref>

===Coral reef and offshore waters===
[[File:Green Sea Turtle Biscayne.jpg|thumb|alt=Sea turtle coming ashore|Green sea turtle]]
Beyond the keys in the Atlantic Ocean the seafloor slopes gradually down before rising in an almost continuous coral reef. The reef, composed of living [[coral]]s, is inhabited by more than 200 species of fish, as well as molluscs, crustaceans and worms.<ref name=npsbisc20/> Every coral species in park waters is considered protected by either federal or state regulations.<ref name=npca15>NPCA, p. 15</ref> Coral reefs are estimated to cover about half the area of the park, with about 4000 individual patch reefs and areas of bank-barrier reef.<ref name=npca18>NPCA, p. 18</ref> Hundreds of species of hard and soft corals, [[sea anemone]]s and [[sponge]]s are found in bay and offshore waters.<ref name=npsbisc203>{{cite web|title=Other Invertebrates (corals, sponges, worms, etc.)|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/otherinvertebrates.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=14 March 2013}}</ref> The coral reefs may themselves be subdivided into the outer reef on the edge of the Florida carbonate platform, the patch reefs between the outer reef and the keys, and the reefs in the shoals on either side of the keys. The offshore reefs are dominated by [[elkhorn coral]] to {{convert|10|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} water depth, and [[staghorn coral]] below 10 meters. The landward patch reefs are principally composed of [[Montastraea annularis|boulder star coral]] and [[Diploria strigosa|symmetrical brain coral]]. The island shoal reefs mainly consist of [[Siderastrea radians|lesser starlet coral]] and ''[[Porites]]'' finger corals.<ref>Harris, Tuttle, Tuttle, pp. 272–273</ref>

Reef environments in Biscayne National Park have seen declines in species richness and diversity across all fish species from 1977 to 1981 to 2006–2007.<ref name=kellison1>{{cite journal|last=Kellison|first=G.T.|author2=McDonough, V.|author3=Harper, D.E.|author4=Tilmant, J.T.|title=Coral Reef Fish Assemblage Shifts and Declines in Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA|journal=Bulletin of Marine Science|date=January 2012|volume=88|issue=1|page=1|doi=10.5343/bms.2011.1027}}</ref> A sampling program showed declines at all sampling sites. A correlation has been posited between the observed decline in coral reef coverage throughout the Florida Reef tract and the decline in fish species. Declines in populations were noted in both gamefish and in fish species not exposed to fishing pressure. [[algae|Algal]] cover has increased as coral has declined, so coral-dwelling species have decreased while herbivorous fish have increased. Increased overall salinity and changing salinity gradients in Biscayne Bay may also play a role, while [[polychlorinated biphenyl]] and mercury contamination have been noted in fish samples.<ref name=kellison2>Kellison ''et al.'', pp. 19–21</ref>

The park's eastern boundary lies just beyond the rise of the offshore reef at ten-fathom ({{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on|disp=semicolon}}) sea depth. Areas farther offshore are protected within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which extends eastward to a boundary corresponding to a depth of {{convert|300|fathom|ft m}}.<ref name=fknms1>{{cite web|title=Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act|url=http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/about/fknmsp_act.html|publisher=Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref> The offshore waters harbor brown pelicans, [[magnificent frigatebird]]s, [[brown booby|brown boobies]], particularly around the offshore lights, and pelagic birds such as [[shearwater]]s and [[petrel]]s.<ref name=npsbisc28/> [[Whale]]s in offshore waters are rare, but can include [[North Atlantic right whale|right whales]], [[humpback whale]]s, [[sperm whale]]s, [[fin whale]]s and [[sei whale]]s, all of them endangered.<ref name=npsbisc22/> The [[smalltooth sawfish]] is similarly rare in park waters and endangered.<ref name=npsbisc31/> Threatened coral species include elkhorn and staghorn corals, as well as [[pillar coral]], listed as endangered in Florida.<ref name=npsbisc22/>

===Exotic species===
[[File:Biscayne Bay Safety Valve.png|thumb|alt=Aerial view of the Safety Valve shoals|Biscayne Bay's "Safety Valve" is a natural outlet for storm surges.]]
More than 50 species of exotic plant have been documented in the park, with almost 20 of those considered to be pest species which may displace native plants and possibly alter the ecological balance.<ref name=explants>{{cite web|title=Exotic Plants in Biscayne National Park|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/exotic-plants-in-biscayne-national-park.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=8 December 2012}}</ref> [[Green iguana]]s, [[cane toad]]s, [[black rat]]s, [[lionfish]], [[fire ant]]s, [[Oscar (fish)|oscars]] and [[brown basilisk]] lizards are common in the park.<ref name=npsbisc12>{{cite web|title=Exotic Animals in Biscayne National Park|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/exotic-animals.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 November 2012}}</ref> The lionfish (''Pterois volitans'' and ''Pterois miles'') is a tropical fish from the Indian-Pacific Ocean area.<ref>{{cite web|title=Invasive lionfish threaten native fish and the environment in U.S. Atlantic coastal waters|url=http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lionfish.html|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)|access-date=8 December 2012|date=17 November 2011}}</ref> It is known for its voracious appetite and its ability to establish itself in new waters, rapidly replacing other species. Researchers theorized the introduction of this species in the park occurred during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Sightings in Biscayne Bay at that time were believed to have been from home aquariums destroyed during the hurricane,<ref name=npsbisc13>{{cite web|title=About the Exotic Indo-Pacific Lionfish|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/exotic-lionfish.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=21 November 2012}}</ref> though the researcher who first proposed the theory has since retracted the assertion.<ref name=morell1>{{cite news|last=Morell|first=Virginia|title=Mystery of the Lionfish: Don't Blame Hurricane Andrew|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/mystery-lionfish-dont-blame-hurricane-andrew|access-date=27 July 2013|newspaper=Science|date=April 29, 2010}}</ref>  More recent lionfish sightings are probably from more established populations in the Florida Keys to the south of the park.<ref name=mcdonough1>{{cite news|last=McDonough|first=Vanessa|title=New Wave of Exotic Lionfish Invades Biscayne National Park|newspaper=Federal News Service|date=June 25, 2010}}</ref> Also likely originating from human captivity, [[Burmese python]]s have been observed near the park's boundary along the mainland.<ref name=npsbisc12/> Exotic plant species which pose the highest risk to native plant communities include [[Schinus terebinthifolius|Brazilian-pepper]], [[Panicum repens|torpedo grass]], [[Nephrolepis cordifolia|tuberous sword fern]], [[Psidium guajava|guava]] and [[Thespesia populnea|portiatree]].<ref name=explants/>