FINAL 5/6/19 Species Status Assessment Report for the Ocala Vetch (Vicia ocalensis) Version 1.0 Photo Credit: Tina Nguyen USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 Atlanta, GA 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This document was prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North Florida Ecological Services Field Office (N FL-ESFO), and the Ocala vetch Species Status Assessment Team (Deborah Giglio, USFWS-Region 8 Regional Office; Erin Rivenbark, USFWS Region 4; Heath Rauschenberger, Lourdes Mena, Todd Mecklenborg, USFWS-Region 4 N FL-ESFO)). We solicited peer review, and received and addressed comments from Jay Garcia, Amy Jenkins, and Michael Jenkins. Partner reviews of this document were provided by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, and the U.S. Forest Service. We are appreciative of our partners, stakeholders, and peer reviewers for providing comments that resulted in a more robust status assessment and final report. SUGGESTED LITERATURE CITATION OF THIS DOCUMENT U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2019. Species Status Assessment Report for the Ocala Vetch (Vicia ocalensis), Version 1.0. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, Jacksonville, Florida. 54 pp. 2 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Species Status Assessment (SSA) framework (Service 2016, entire) is intended to be an in- depth review of the species’ biology and threats, an evaluation of its biological status, and an assessment of the resources and conditions needed to maintain long-term viability. The intent is for the SSA Report to be easily updated as new information becomes available and to support all functions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Endangered Species Program from Candidate Assessment to Listing to Consultations to Recovery. As such, the SSA Report is a living document that may be used to inform decision making under the Act, such as listing, recovery, Section 7, Section 10, and reclassification decisions (the former four decision types are only relevant should the species warrant listing under the Act). Importantly, the SSA Report is not a decisional document; rather, it provides a review of available information strictly related to the biological status of the Ocala vetch (Vicia ocalensis). The listing decision will be made by the Service after reviewing this document and all relevant laws, regulations, and policies, and the results of a proposed decision will be announced in the Federal Register, with appropriate opportunities for public input. Petition History and Previous Federal Actions On April 20, 2010, the Service received a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Alabama Rivers Alliance, Clinch Coalition, Dogwood Alliance, Gulf Restoration Network, Tennessee Forests Council, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Tierra Curry, and Noah Greenwald requesting that the Service consider for listing as either endangered or threatened 404 species in the southeastern United States, including the Ocala vetch (CBD 2010, pp. 1123–1124), that were ranked as G1 or G2 by the organization NatureServe; as near threatened or worse by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; or as a species of concern, threatened, or endangered by the American Fisheries Society. The Service issued 90- day findings on September 27, 2011 (76 FR 59836), in response to the petition and concluded that the petition presented substantial information indicating that the listing of 374 species (including the Ocala vetch) under the Act “may be warranted.” On June 17, 2014, CBD filed a complaint against the Service to compel the Service to issue a 12-month finding as to whether the listing of the Ocala vetch is warranted, not warranted, or warranted but precluded. The complaint was resolved on September 22, 2014, when the U.S. District Court approved a settlement agreement between the Service and CBD, including a commitment for the Service to submit a 12-month finding for the Ocala vetch to the Federal Register by September 30, 2019. Background The Ocala vetch (Vicia ocalensis) is an herbaceous, relatively robust perennial vine found in marshy, shoreline habitats in southeastern Marion County and northern Lake County, Florida. The Ocala vetch has nearly hairless stems attaining lengths of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) or more. The deciduous leaves are alternate and pinnately compound with four to six lateral leaflets and single terminal tendril. The leaflets are linear to linear-oblong or linear-elliptic, 3-5 cm (1.2-2 in) long and 3-6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) broad, with apices rounded and mucronate. Flowers are borne in long- staked axillary racemes each bearing up to 18 flowers. The flowers are 10-12 mm (0.4-0.5 in) long, with lavender blue to white petals and a faintly striped banner petal. The fruit is a single pod per flower and is a flattened legume 4-4.5 cm (1.6-1.8 in) long and 6-8 cm (2.4-3.1 in) wide. 3 Each legume contains 8-12 seeds (Godfrey and Kral 1958, pp. 257-258; Wunderlin and Hansen 2011, p. 460). The Ocala vetch is considered to be a distinct species. It has 14 chromosomes and is considered a diploid because its genus, Vicia, base chromosome number is seven for (Les. 2017, pp. 195-196). Although the Four Leaf vetch (Vicia acutifolia Elliott) and the Florida vetch (Vicia floridana S. Watson) are genetically similar, the Ocala vetch differs in having two satellite pairs of chromosomes, whereas the Four Leaf vetch and Florida vetch only have one satellite pair (Les. 2017, pp. 195-196). In addition, the Ocala vetch is morphologically distinguished from Four Leaf vetch and Florida vetch by its much more robust stature and its significantly larger leaflets, flowers, fruits, and seeds (Godfrey and Kral 1958, pp. 257-258; Wunderlin and Hansen 2011, p. 460). The Ocala vetch requires sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, soil and essential nutrients to survive and grow. It produces flowers from March to June and requires insect pollination for seed production (Oleas et al. 2018, p. 203; Les 2017, pp. 195). Confirmed pollinators include: honey bees (Apis mellifera), bumblebees (Bombus spp.), and hoverflies (Toxomerus spp.) (Adams et al. 2010, p. 82). Other observed floral visitors documented on the Ocala vetch include: sweat bees (Augochloropsis metallica), carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica), and three unidentified butterflies species (Peterson 2018, p. 9). Ocala vetch seeds are gravity dispersed into organic material found at the base of support plants. Ocala vetch presence is positively associated with sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), and cabbage palm (sabal palmetto) and negatively correlated with invasive nonnative species such as water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) (Oleas et al. 2018, p. 207, 209). Seed germination is apparently dependent upon the availability of organic matter that accumulates in areas such as cabbage palm boots, basal areas of sawgrass, and/or fallen debris (Fig. 7-1). Ocala vetch can form a mat-like appearance on top of other vegetation in sunny, open areas and do not extend into areas of shade (Figure. 7-2). It can germinate in areas of dappled shade, as long as sufficient germination substrate is present. Relative abundance along shorelines varies from dense mats to loose aggregations and occurrence may extend from ~1 km to 8 km along the shorelines. All of the known populations of Ocala vetch currently exist on federally-owned conservation lands (Ocala National Forest, ONF; Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, LWNWR) (Fig. 6-1 through 6-6). For the period of 1957-1992, a limited amount of historical information was found with regard to the Ocala vetch’s abundance, range, and distribution (Fig. 6-1 through 6-6; FNAI 2018). From 1997-2014, locations where Ocala vetch were known to occur (Juniper Creek, Silver Glen Springs, Alexander Springs) were surveyed annually during the flowering season. These annual surveys indicated the Juniper Creek and Silver Glen Springs populations “generally remained stable” (Peterson 2018, p. 3). Thus, survey efforts changed from annually to every 3-5 years. 4 In May 2018, the known locations of Ocala vetch were surveyed and efforts were expanded to include additional geographic areas. Thirty-six volunteers surveyed ~90 km of shoreline over four days. New populations were discovered at Salt Springs (ONF) and Lake Dexter (LWNWR). In addition, the Alexander Springs population (Ocala National Forest) was rediscovered after not being observed since 2003 (Peterson 2018, pp. 3-5). The Salt Springs discovery expanded the species known range by 9 km northward and the Lake Dexter discovery expanded the range by 11 km eastward. The 2018 surveys confirmed the Juniper Creek (Ocala National Forest) and Silver Glen Springs (Ocala National Forest) populations were also extant (Figs. 6-1 through 6-6). Juniper Creek has the most robust population of the five known populations and has maintained a self-sustaining population at least since 1957. With the Alexander Springs population re-appearing in 2018, there is no evidence that any of the known populations of Ocala vetch have ever been extirpated. The re-discovery of the Alexander Springs population indicates the Ocala vetch can persist at undetectable levels during unfavorable conditions and return in greater abundance during more favorable conditions. The ability of seeds to successfully germinate after being deposited into the substrate is a factor that may contribute to its return after a long period of absence. For example, experimental seed storage trials have shown seeds greater than 7 years old have a germination rate of 80-95% (Peterson 2018, p. 3). In regard to genetics, Analysis of Molecular Variance indicated 87% of the genetic variation for Ocala vetch was within populations and 13% was between populations, indicating a moderate amount of genetic differentiation between populations that could indicate some level of reproductive isolation (Oleas et al.