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98-686: Wakulla cave is a branching flow-dominated cave that has developed in the Floridan Aquifer under the Woodville Karst Plain of north Florida. It is classified as a first magnitude spring and a major exposure point for the Floridan Aquifer. The spring forms the Wakulla River which flows 9 miles (14 km) to the southeast where it joins the St. Mark's River. After a short 5 miles (8.0 km)

196-451: A dendritic network of conduits of which 12 miles (19 km) have been surveyed and mapped. The conduits are characterized as long tubes with diameter and depth being consistent (300 ft or 91 m depth); however, joining tubes can be divided by larger chambers of varying geometries. The largest conduit trends south from the spring/cave entrance for over 3.8 miles (6.1 km). Four secondary conduits, including Leon Sinks, intersect

294-531: A syrinx —the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation . It has very few natural predators . In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 . It is also known in some North American regions as

392-507: A " buzzard " or "turkey buzzard" and in some areas of the Caribbean as the "John crow" or "carrion crow." The turkey vulture received its common name from the resemblance of the adult's bald red head and dark plumage to that of the male wild turkey , while the name "vulture" is derived from the Latin word vulturus , meaning "tearer", and is a reference to its feeding habits. The word buzzard

490-594: A businessman from Virginia, bought property in Tallahassee, Florida and construction on the Wakulla Springs Lodge started in 1935. Edward Ball hired the architectural firm Marsh and Saxelbye , known for their Mediterranean style mansions. Initially, the lodge was built as a guest house and in 1981, after his death, was turned into a hotel by the Edward Ball Wildlife Foundation. The lodge is now

588-429: A cave, a rock crevice, a burrow, inside a hollow tree, or in a thicket. There is little or no construction of a nest; eggs are laid on a bare surface. Females generally lay two eggs, but sometimes one and rarely three. The eggs are cream-colored, with brown or lavender spots around their larger end. Both parents incubate, and the young hatch after 30 to 40 days. Chicks are altricial , or helpless at birth. Both adults feed

686-466: A combination of many, namely European folk art with Native American influences. Wakulla Springs has up to 9 miles of hiking trails. Starting from 1875, glass-bottom boat tours have been an attraction at Wakulla Springs, though the glass bottom tours do not occur as often as in previous years due to lack of water clarity. In late 1998, populations of the Florida applesnail underwent a dramatic decline;

784-499: A depth of about 190 feet (58 m), the fossilized remains of mastodons are in full view along with other fossils. The Florida Geological Survey (FGS) commissioned their first study in August and September 1930 with geologist Herman Gunter. Gunter's work focused on the recovery of fossils found in the spring basin. He utilized hard hat diving techniques, a dredge , and "long-handled grappling tongs". A mastodon recovered from their work

882-627: A hotel with twenty-seven rooms. It is also currently a member of Historic Hotels of America , the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation . In 2002, artisans started working to conserve the ceiling of the lodge, funded in part by the State of Florida , Division of Historical Resources and the Historic Preservation Board. Each picture on the 5,800 square-foot ceiling depicts historic Floridian scenes. The techniques are

980-442: A house or road is on top. Sinkholes can be classified on the basis of the processes by which they are formed: dissolution, cover-subsidence, and cover-collapse. Formation of sinkholes can be accelerated by intense withdrawals of groundwater over short periods of time, such as those caused by pumping for frost-protection of winter crops in west-central Florida. Sinkholes that developed beneath gypsum stacks in 1994 and 2016 caused

1078-647: A large proportion of the water withdrawn starting in the late 1930s. In the 1950s, all municipal, domestic, and industrial supply (except cooling), and about half of agricultural supply in Orlando, Florida had been converted to groundwater from the Floridan aquifer system. Groundwater withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer system increased steadily from 630 Mgal/d (2.4 million m /d; 1,900 acre⋅ft/d) in 1950 to 3,430 Mgal/d (13.0 million m /d; 10,500 acre⋅ft/d) in 1990. Permitting and regulations enacted during

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1176-563: A length of 62–81 cm (24–32 in), and weight of 0.8 to 2.41 kg (1.8 to 5.3 lb). Birds in the northern limit of the species' range average larger in size than the vulture from the neotropics . 124 birds from Florida averaged 2 kg (4.4 lb) while 65 and 130 birds from Venezuela were found to average 1.22 and 1.45 kg (2.7 and 3.2 lb), respectively. It displays minimal sexual dimorphism ; sexes are identical in plumage and in coloration, and are similar in size. The body feathers are mostly brownish-black, but

1274-399: A location where a calf has been killed gives the incorrect impression that the turkey vulture represents a danger to calves. The droppings produced by turkey vultures and other vultures can harm or kill trees and other vegetation. The turkey vulture can be held in captivity, though the Migratory Bird Treaty Act prevents this in the case of uninjured animals or animals capable of returning to

1372-419: A loss of millions of gallons mineralized water containing phosphogypsum and phosphoric acid , by-products of the production of fertilizer from phosphate rock . These sinkholes were likely formed from the collapse of preexisting dissolution cavities in the limestone beneath the stacks. Lake Jackson near Tallahassee, FL occasionally drains into a sinkhole in the bottom of the lake bed when water levels in

1470-435: A new manager, Newt Perry , who brought publicity to Wakulla Springs. He previously worked at Silver Springs , where he worked with MGM during the production of Tarzan Finds a Son! . Perry shot a series of underwater short films at Wakulla. One notorious films is What a Picnic! , in which a picnic scene was designed underwater and teenagers would dive down and re-enact a lunch sequence. These underwater films highlighted

1568-419: A turkey vulture as well. Its primary form of defense is regurgitating semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance, which deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest. It will also sting if the predator is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes. In some cases, the vulture must rid its crop of a heavy, undigested meal to take flight to flee from a potential predator. Its life expectancy in

1666-453: A wide variety of carrion , from small mammals (such as mice and shrews ) to large grazers (such as ungulates ), preferring those recently dead, and avoiding carcasses that have reached the point of putrefaction . They may rarely feed on plant matter, shoreline vegetation, pumpkin, grape, juniper, coconut and other crops, live frogs, live insects and other invertebrates . In South America, turkey vultures have been photographed feeding on

1764-510: Is a member of the family Cathartidae, along with the other six species of New World vultures, and included in the genus Cathartes , along with the greater yellow-headed vulture and the lesser yellow-headed vulture . Like other New World vultures, the turkey vulture has a diploid chromosome number of 80. The taxonomic placement of the turkey vulture and the remaining six species of New World vultures has been in flux. Though both are similar in appearance and have similar ecological roles ,

1862-506: Is a rather different kind of scavenger from the black vulture. Like other vultures, it plays an important role in the ecosystem by disposing of carrion, which would otherwise be a breeding ground for disease. The turkey vulture forages by smell, an ability that is uncommon in the avian world, often flying low to the ground to pick up the scent of ethyl mercaptan , a gas produced by the beginnings of decay in dead animals. The olfactory lobe of its brain , responsible for processing smells,

1960-537: Is composed of two main aquifers : the Upper Floridan aquifer and the Lower Floridan aquifer. These aquifers are separated by sediments that range from low-permeability clays in the panhandle (Bucatunna Clay) and low-permeability dolomites and gypsiferous anhydrite in west-central Florida to permeable limestones along the east coast of Florida and elsewhere. Where these intervening sediments and rock are permeable,

2058-519: Is confined (and isolated) beneath the Upper Floridan aquifer and may be important to the offshore movement of groundwater in areas previously unknown. The carbonate rocks that compose the Floridan aquifer system have highly variable hydraulic properties, including porosity and permeability. Transmissivity within the aquifer system has been reported over a range of more than six orders of magnitude, from less than 8 ft /d (0.74 m /d) to greater than 9,000,000 ft /d (840,000 m /d), with

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2156-424: Is displayed by other New World vultures, by Old World vultures , and by storks . Like storks, the turkey vulture often defecates on its own legs, using the evaporation of the water in the feces and/or urine to cool itself, a process known as urohidrosis . It cools the blood vessels in the unfeathered tarsi and feet, and causes white uric acid to streak the legs. The turkey vulture has few natural predators and

2254-478: Is now on display at the Museum of Florida History . The FGS conducted additional studies at Wakulla Springs in 1955, 1956, and 1962 under the direction of vertebrate paleontologist, Stanley J. Olsen . Olsen's team of six divers from Florida State University discovered animal fossils deeper within the spring complex where they also found archaeological evidence of early humans, including bone and stone tools. Ultimately,

2352-441: Is one of a number of major outflows of the aquifer with a flow rate of 200–300 million US gallons (0.76–1.14 million cubic metres; 610–920 acre-feet) of water per day. A record peak flow from the spring on April 11, 1973, was measured at 14,324 US gallons (54.22 m ) per second – equal to 1.24 billion US gal (4.68 million m ; 3,800 acre⋅ft) per day. The Floridan aquifer system

2450-537: Is one of the world's most productive aquifers and supplies drinking water for nearly 10 million people. According to the United States Geological Survey , total withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer system in 2000 were ranked 5th highest of all principal aquifers in the nation at 3,640 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) (13.8 million m /d; 11,200 acre⋅ft/d). Of the total, 49% (1,949 Mgal/d; 7.38 million m /d; 5,980 acre⋅ft/d)

2548-424: Is particularly large compared to that of other animals. This heightened ability to detect odors allows it to search for carrion below the forest canopy. King vultures , black vultures, and condors , which lack the ability to smell carrion, follow the turkey vulture to carcasses. The turkey vulture arrives first at the carcass, or with greater yellow-headed vultures or lesser yellow-headed vultures, which also share

2646-595: Is sometimes accused of carrying anthrax or hog cholera , both livestock diseases, on its feet or bill by cattle ranchers and is therefore occasionally perceived as a threat. However, the virus that causes hog cholera is destroyed when it passes through the turkey vulture's digestive tract. This species also may be perceived as a threat by farmers due to the similar black vulture's tendency to attack and kill newborn cattle. The turkey vulture does not kill live animals but will mix with flocks of black vultures and will scavenge what they leave behind. Nonetheless, its appearance at

2744-563: Is the most widespread of the New World vultures . One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae , the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts. Like all New World vultures, it is not closely related to the Old World vultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. However,

2842-458: Is used by North Americans to refer to this bird, yet in the Old World that term refers to members of the genus Buteo . The turkey vulture was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus as Vultur aura in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae , and characterised as " V. fuscogriseus, remigibus nigris, rostro albo " ("brown-gray vulture, with black wing flight feathers and a white beak"). It

2940-676: Is widespread over nearly all American habitats but they tend to show particular habitat preferences. It is most commonly found in relatively open areas which juxtapose with woodland , which are important both for nesting and roosting. Furthermore, turkey vultures in North America generally avoid enclosed forested areas that may hamper their ability to take flight and tend to often favor hill or low mountainous areas that make catching flight easier with less effort. This species can be seen over open country , including grasslands but are often absent from completely treeless areas such as some parts of

3038-410: The feeding frenzy engaged in by the black vultures when they come in numbers (a behavior turkey vultures are apparently incapable of even when at a carcass in numbers), however pairs or individuals often seem to be able to peaceably share carrion with turkey vultures. However, in the tropics such as Peru, turkey vultures appeared to prevail regularly over black vultures, in 56% of cases, perhaps due to

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3136-429: The flight feathers on the wings appear to be silvery-gray beneath, contrasting with the darker wing linings. The adult's head is small in proportion to its body and is red in color with few to no feathers. It also has a relatively short, hooked, ivory-colored beak. The irises of the eyes are gray-brown; legs and feet are pink-skinned, although typically stained white. The eye has a single incomplete row of eyelashes on

3234-470: The hydrologic and lithologic similarities of the Tertiary carbonate formations in southeast Florida, concluded that they represented a single hydrologic unit, and named that unit the "Floridan aquifer". With additional information collection, more zones of high and low hydraulic conductivity have been identified. As a result, the name Floridan Aquifer has evolved into "Floridan aquifer system", which contains

3332-458: The prairies or Great Plains . Additionally, they may adapt to tropical and subtropical forests, shrublands , deserts and semi-desert , wetlands and foothills . Evidence indicates agricultural land is key habitat for turkey vultures, mainly pastureland or other low-input farmland for foraging and roosting but they tend to only occur ephemerally as flyovers around row-crop type agriculture. Other manmade habitats can be used, with

3430-516: The 1990s curtailed the year-on-year increases in withdrawal; however, withdrawals in 2000 increased to 4,020 Mgal/d (15.2 million m /d; 12,300 acre⋅ft/d) due to extreme drought conditions between 1999 and 2001 that prevailed over much of the Southeastern United States. Much of the increase was due to increased agricultural demand. The Floridan aquifer system spans an area of about 100,000 square miles (260,000 km ) in

3528-530: The Black Lagoon , Revenge of the Creature , Night Moves , Airport '77 and Joe Panther starring Brian Keith and Ricardo Montalbán were also filmed on location at Wakulla Springs. Most of the movie history can be traced back to Edward Ball , who purchased the land surrounding Wakulla in 1934. Initially, Wakulla was not a tourist destination, but rather a reclusive resort. This changed when Ball hired

3626-619: The Bucatunna Clay Confining Unit, the Middle Avon Park Composite Unit, and the Lisbon-Avon Park Composite Unit. The Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers behave as a single hydrogeologic unit in areas where these composite units are leaky. The Lower Floridan aquifer is generally less permeable than the Upper Floridan aquifer and the water produced can be highly mineralized and/or saline; however,

3724-413: The Floridan aquifer system are largely controlled by the degree of confinement provided by upper confining units, the interaction of streams and rivers with the aquifer in its unconfined areas, and the interaction between fresh and saline water along the coastlines. Where the Floridan aquifer system is at or near land surface (areas shaded brown in image above), clays are thin or absent and dissolution of

3822-403: The Floridan aquifer system is thickly confined. Low permeability limestone rocks of Paleocene age (e.g. Cedar Keys Formation) form the base of the Floridan aquifer system. The Floridan aquifer system ranges in thickness from less than 100 feet (30 m) in updip areas where the rocks pinch out to more than 3,700 feet (1,100 m) in southwestern Florida. Recharge, flow, and natural discharge in

3920-605: The Lower Floridan aquifer is relatively fresh water to the base of the system in central Florida and in updip areas of central and southern Georgia and Alabama. A new basal permeable zone is mapped throughout the Florida peninsula, and slightly into southeastern Georgia, that incorporates the previously established Boulder Zone and Fernandina permeable zone; this more extensive unit is called the Oldsmar permeable zone. The Oldsmar permeable zone appears to have higher permeability, far greater than

4018-620: The New World and Old World vultures evolved from different ancestors in different parts of the world. Some earlier authorities suggested that the New World vultures were more closely related to storks . More recent authorities maintained their overall position in the order Falconiformes along with the Old World vultures or place them in their own order, Cathartiformes . However, recent genetic studies indicate that neither New World nor Old World vultures are close to falcons , nor are New World vultures close to storks. Both are basal members of

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4116-556: The Ocala Lower-Permeability Zone, and the Avon Park Permeable Zone. The base of the Upper Floridan aquifer is marked by two composite units (see below) and one confining unit in the middle part of the Floridan aquifer system: the Lisbon-Avon Park Composite Unit or the Middle Avon Park Composite Unit, and the Bucatunna Clay Confining Unit. In updip areas, the base of the Upper Floridan is either coincident with

4214-454: The St. Mark's empties into the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachee Bay . Scientific interest in the spring began in 1850, when Sarah Smith reported seeing the bones of an ancient mastodon on the bottom. Since that time, scientists have identified the remains of at least nine other extinct mammals that date to the last glacial period , deposited as far as 1,200 feet (360 m) back into a cave. Today, at

4312-511: The US it is illegal to take, kill, or possess turkey vultures, their eggs, and any body parts including but not limited to their feathers; violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to $ 100,000 for individuals or $ 200,000 for organizations, and/or a prison term of 1 year. It is listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List . Populations appear to remain stable, and it has not reached

4410-687: The Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers behave as a single unit. Conversely, where the intervening sediments are less permeable, there is less hydraulic connection between the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers. The Upper Floridan aquifer is the main source of water withdrawn from the Floridan aquifer system due to high yields and proximity to land surface. Groundwater in the Upper Floridan is fresh in most areas, though locally may be brackish or saline, particularly in coastal areas with saltwater intrusion problems, and in South Florida. The Upper Floridan aquifer includes

4508-649: The Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers. Withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer system began in 1887 when the City of Savannah, Georgia , began to supplement surface water withdrawals from the Savannah River with groundwater. At that time artesian heads in the system were 40 feet (12 m) above land surface and no pumps were needed; by 1898, it was estimated that between 200 and 300 wells had been finished in South Georgia, and by 1943, about 3,500 wells had been completed in

4606-659: The Wakulla 2 Project. Upper Paleolithic - Paleo-Indians lived at or near the spring over 13,000 years ago and were descendants of people who crossed into North America from eastern Asia during the Pleistocene . The Wakulla Lodge Site is one of several pre- Clovis sites in North Florida. During the first population period, Florida would have had a very dry and arid climate with a much lower shoreline. This made freshwater locations attractive to megafauna which likely led Paleo-Indians to

4704-561: The ability to smell carrion. It displaces the yellow-headed vultures from carcasses due to its larger size, but is displaced in turn by the king vulture and both types of condor, which make the first cut into the skin of the dead animal. This allows the smaller, weaker-billed turkey vulture access to food, because it cannot tear the tough hides of larger animals on its own. This is an example of mutual dependence between species. Black vultures tend to be more aggressive and often displace turkey vultures which appear to be intimidated especially by

4802-523: The age of 47. Nero also hatched in 1974 and was taken from his nest for research studies at the University of Wisconsin . He later became an education ambassador at Carpenter Nature Center in Hastings, Minnesota , and in 1993 he joined the education department of the University of Minnesota 's Raptor Center. He remained their only educational vulture until his death in 2022. The oldest wild captured banded bird

4900-473: The aquatic environment that Wakulla Springs offered. Besides these short films, Perry is credited with luring the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Tarzan crews to Wakulla Springs, whose environment would act as a stand in for Africa. Grantland Rice also shot scenes from a lesser known movie at Wakulla Springs, Amphibious Fighters (1943), in which an amphibious battle was staged. In 1931, Edward Ball,

4998-409: The aquifer are large enough for scuba divers to swim through. The carbonate rocks that form the Floridan aquifer system are of late Paleocene to early Oligocene age and are overlain by low-permeability clays of Miocene age (upper confining unit) and surficial sands of Pliocene and Holocene age ( surficial aquifer system). In west-central Florida, north Florida, and along the updip margin of

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5096-685: The aquifer drop. Dover Sinkhole, located along the Peace River near Bartow, FL , was witnessed draining about 10 Mgal/d (38,000 m /d) of water from the Peace River during June 2006. There are 824 springs inventoried across the Floridan aquifer system of which 751 are located in Florida, 17 in Alabama, and 56 in Georgia. Springs are classified according to median value of all available discharge measurements. In Florida, there are 33 magnitude 1 springs,

5194-427: The aquifer system is either unconfined or thinly confined. In areas where the aquifer is thickly confined, Miller (1986) indicated lower transmissivity was related primarily to textural changes and secondarily to the thickness of the rocks. Micritic limestone in southern Florida and in the updip outcrop areas was identified as having much lower transmissivity than elsewhere in the system. Sinkholes are common where

5292-412: The base of the Upper Floridan aquifer is coincident with the top of the evaporite unit. In regions where no distinct lower permeability unit is known to be present, the base of the Upper Floridan is extrapolated along a horizon that allows for a stratigraphic grouping of permeable rock into the upper or lower parts of the aquifer system. In southeastern Alabama, northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina,

5390-779: The beak. It undergoes a molt in late winter to early spring. It is a gradual molt, which lasts until early autumn. The immature bird has a gray head with a black beak tip; the colors change to those of the adult as the bird matures. Captive longevity is not well known. As of 2022 , there is one captive bird over 48 years old: a male named Lord Richard that lives at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience in Walnut Creek, California . Lord Richard hatched in 1974 at Randall Museum in San Francisco and arrived at Lindsay Wildlife later that year. Another turkey vulture named Nero lived to

5488-444: The breeding season. The turkey vulture lowers its night-time body temperature by about 6 °C or 11 °F to 34 °C (93 °F), becoming slightly hypothermic . This vulture is often seen standing in a spread-winged or horaltic stance. The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria. It is practiced more often following damp or rainy nights. This same behavior

5586-409: The cave system to a distance of 4,160 feet (1,270 m) from the cave entrance. Skiles filmed the expedition for a National Geographic special. During the expedition Stone's Cis-Lunar Mk-1 rebreather was demonstrated in a 24-hour dive which used only half of the system's capacity. In 1998 and 1999, Stone directed an international group of explorers consisting of over 100 volunteers to participate in

5684-522: The cavernous areas of the Boulder and Fernandina permeable zones, and contains freshwater in the central peninsula area. This newly delineated areally extensive basal unit containing freshwater may influence the movement of freshwater water through the deepest part of the aquifer system toward the discharge areas. The Oldsmar permeable zone, which is part of the Lower Floridan aquifer, is of interest because it may be an important alternative source of water where it

5782-420: The chicks by regurgitating food for them, and care for them for 10 to 11 weeks. When adults are threatened while nesting, they may flee, or they may regurgitate on the intruder or feign death. If the chicks are threatened in the nest, they defend themselves by hissing and regurgitating. The young fledge at about nine to ten weeks. Family groups remain together until fall. The turkey vulture feeds primarily on

5880-482: The clade Afroaves , with Old World vultures comprising several groups within the family Accipitridae , also containing eagles, kites, and hawks, while New World vultures in Cathartiformes are a sister group to Accipitriformes (containing the osprey and secretarybird along with Accipitridae ). There are five subspecies of turkey vulture: A large bird, it has a wingspan of 160–183 cm (63–72 in),

5978-531: The existence of the Floridan Aquifer in peninsular Florida and referred to the carbonate units as the "principal artesian formations." In 1944, M.A. Warren of the Georgia Geological Survey described an extension of this system in south Georgia and applied the term "principal artesian aquifer " to the carbonate units involved. In 1953 and 1966 Stringfield also applied the term "principal artesian aquifer" to these rocks. In 1955, Garald G. Parker noted

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6076-502: The few recorded predators appear to take them quite infrequently. Fledging, immature and adult vultures, in descending likelihood of predation, may fall prey to great horned owls , golden eagles , bald eagles and potentially red-tailed hawks , while eggs and nestlings may be preyed on by mammals such as raccoons and opossums . Foxes can occasionally ambush an adult, but species that can climb are more likely to breach and predate nests than adults, while dogs may sometimes kill

6174-613: The fruits of the introduced oil palm . They rarely, if ever, kill prey themselves; when they do it tends to comprise small weak offspring or very sick individuals of various animals, such as bird eggs and nestlings, as well as reptiles. Turkey vultures have also been observed eating coyote, sea lion and domestic animal dung. The turkey vulture can often be seen along roadsides feeding on roadkill , or near bodies of water, feeding on washed-up fish. They also will feed on fish, tadpoles or insects that have become stranded in shallow water. It sometimes comes to rubbish dumps, but in general,

6272-549: The gray flight feathers to appear silvery as they catch the light. The flight of the turkey vulture is an example of static soaring flight, in which it flaps its wings very infrequently, and takes advantage of rising thermals to stay soaring. The breeding season of the turkey vulture varies according to latitude. In the southern United States, it commences in March, peaks in April to May, and continues into June. In more northerly latitudes,

6370-484: The iconic Limpkin bird followed suit and left by the fall of 1999. What was once a thriving and diverse ecosystem in north Florida is transitioning into a "biological desert", says Wakulla Springs conservationist Jim Stevenson. The Wakulla Springs basin stretches about 1,300 miles north of the spring in Florida and into some of south Georgia. The water pollution from storm water runoff, as well as nitrate -rich human water contamination through waste and pollution, seeps into

6468-401: The land surface to the south where it becomes buried beneath surficial sand deposits and clay. In areas depicted in brown in the image at the right, the Floridan aquifer system crops out and is again exposed at land surface. These regions are particularly prone to sinkhole activity due to the proximity of the karstified limestone aquifer to land surface. Some of the fractures/conduits within

6566-499: The lesser yellow-headed vulture and the black vulture. The turkey vulture is gregarious and roosts in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day. Several hundred vultures may roost communally in groups, which sometimes even include black vultures. It roosts often on dead, leafless trees as well as low-density conifers, and will also roost on man-made structures such as water or microwave towers. Though it nests in caves, it does not enter them except during

6664-505: The limestone is intensified and many springs and sinkholes are apparent. Transmissivity of the aquifer in karstified areas such as these is much higher owing to the development of large, well-connected conduits within the rock (see image at right). Springs form where the water pressure is great enough for the groundwater to flow out on the land surface. More than 700 springs have been mapped in Florida. Wakulla Springs in Wakulla County

6762-453: The magnitude of discharge from these springs is largely unknown. Crescent Beach spring, located approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) offshore of Crescent Beach, Florida, was estimated to flow at a rate of up to 1,500 cu ft/s (42 m /s), or 970 million US gal/d (3.7 million m /d; 3,000 acre⋅ft/d). Turkey vulture Vultur aura Linnaeus, 1758 The turkey vulture ( Cathartes aura )

6860-653: The main conduit. Most of these secondary conduits have been fully explored. On December 15, 2007, Woodville Karst Plain Project divers physically connected the Wakulla Springs and Leon Sinks cave systems establishing the Wakulla-Leon Sinks cave system. This connection established the system as the longest underwater cave in the United States and the sixth largest in the world with a total of 31.99 miles (51.48 km) of explored and surveyed passages. Flow rate of

6958-507: The majority of values ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 ft /d (930–9,290 m /d). Where the aquifer is unconfined or thinly confined, infiltrating water dissolves the rock and transmissivity tends to be relatively high. Where the aquifer is thickly confined, less dissolution occurs and transmissivity tends to be lower. In the first regional map depicting transmissivity variation across the aquifer, Miller (1986) showed that transmissivity values exceed 250,000 ft /d (23,000 m /d) where

7056-548: The more notable of which include: In Georgia, there is only one magnitude 1 spring, Radium Spring , which no longer flows during drought conditions; there are also six magnitude 2 and five magnitude 3 springs. The largest of the 17 springs in Alabama are three magnitude 3 springs; there are no springs in South Carolina of magnitude 3 or higher. Many springs are known to exist offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, however

7154-556: The most widely distributed vulture in the Americas and rivals its cousin the black vulture as the most abundant raptorial bird worldwide. Its global population is estimated to be 18,000,000 individuals. It is found in open and semi-open areas throughout the Americas from southern Canada to Cape Horn . It is a permanent resident in the southern United States, though northern birds may migrate as far south as South America. The turkey vulture

7252-518: The presumed behavioral association among the recovered cultural and fossil materials could not be demonstrated unequivocally because of the difficulty of establishing and maintaining provenience control in a submerged spring-vent context. A major further exploration of Wakulla Springs was conducted in October–December 1987 by an expedition led by Dr. Bill Stone . The expedition team, which also included Sheck Exley and Wesley C. Skiles , penetrated

7350-401: The rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. If there is not enough support for the land above the spaces then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur. These collapses can be small or they can be huge and can occur where

7448-401: The season starts later and extends into August. Courtship rituals of the turkey vulture involve several individuals gathering in a circle, where they perform hopping movements around the perimeter of the circle with wings partially spread. In the air, one bird closely follows another while flapping and diving. Eggs are generally laid in the nesting site in a protected location such as a cliff,

7546-447: The site. Found in and around Wakulla Springs are West Indian manatees , white-tailed deer , North American river otters , American alligators , Suwannee River cooters ( Pseudemys suwanniensis ), snapping turtles , softshell turtles , limpkin , purple gallinules , herons (including egrets ), bald eagles , anhingas , ospreys , common moorhens , wood ducks , black vultures and turkey vultures . Wakulla cave consists of

7644-457: The six coastal counties of Georgia. By around 1910–1912, development of the Floridan aquifer system had already occurred in Fernandina and Jacksonville and south along the east coast of Florida, as well as from Tampa south to Fort Myers on the west coast. Over time, the number of wells increased, as did the finished depths, as demand increased. Industrial supply for pulp and paper mills became

7742-421: The smaller size of the region's black vultures. It is further subservient to large hawks such as red-tailed hawks , Harris's hawks and Buteogallus black hawks, as well as to large falcons like peregrine falcons and crested caracaras , despite most of these birds being rather smaller in body size than a turkey vulture. Often these raptors tend to engage in dive-bombing or other intimidation displays towards

7840-460: The soil, and thus the spring. Cave dive sites: Floridan Aquifer The Floridan aquifer system , composed of the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers, is a sequence of Paleogene carbonate rock which spans an area of about 100,000 square miles (260,000 km ) in the southeastern United States. It underlies the entire state of Florida and parts of Alabama , Georgia , Mississippi , and South Carolina . The Floridan aquifer system

7938-463: The southeastern United States and underlies all of Florida and parts of southern Alabama, southeastern Georgia, and southern South Carolina. The Upper Floridan aquifer contains freshwater over much of its extent, though is brackish and saline south of Lake Okeechobee. The Floridan aquifer system crops out in central and southern Georgia where the limestone, and its weathered byproducts, are present at land surface. The aquifer system generally dips below

8036-531: The species regularly seen over urban areas throughout its range, though they tend to use them more when not breeding, being unable to nest without appropriate habitats, and do not occur as an urban bird nearly as routinely as do black vultures in the tropics and subtropics. This bird with its crow-like aspect gave foot to the naming of the Quebrada de los Cuervos (Crows Ravine) in Uruguay , where they dwell together with

8134-483: The spring is 200–300 million US gallons (760,000–1,140,000 m) of water a day. A record peak flow from the spring on April 11, 1973 was measured at 14,324 US gallons (54,220 L) per second – equal to 1.2 billion US gallons (4,500,000 m) per day. Beginning in 1938, several of the early Tarzan films including Tarzan's New York Adventure starring Johnny Weissmuller were filmed on location in Wakulla Springs. Other films such as Creature from

8232-420: The stratigraphic units are grouped into the Lisbon-Avon Park Composite Unit. In peninsular Florida, this horizon is coincident with one or more evaporite-bearing or non-evaporite-bearing units of the Middle Avon Park Composite Unit. In the panhandle of Florida and southwest Alabama, the base is coincident with the top of the Bucatunna Clay Confining Unit. The hydrogeologic framework of the Floridan aquifer system

8330-461: The system, the limestone crops out and the aquifer system is unconfined. Where low-permeability clays of the upper confining unit are present and substantial, the system is confined and groundwater is contained under pressure. The upper confining unit is particularly thick in Coastal Georgia and South Florida; downward leakage of water through the upper confining unit in these areas is minimal and

8428-424: The talons are also not designed for grasping, as they are relatively blunt. In flight, the tail is long and slim. The black vulture is relatively shorter-tailed and shorter-winged, which makes it appear rather smaller in flight than the turkey vulture, although the body masses of the two species are roughly the same. The nostrils are not divided by a septum, but rather are perforate; from the side one can see through

8526-474: The top of the confining units above the Claiborne, Lisbon, or Gordon aquifers, or it lies above any clay bed that marks the boundary between mostly carbonate and mostly clastic units or previously mapped numbered MCUs of Miller (1986). If one or more evaporite units are present, such as middle confining unit MCUIII near Valdosta in south-central Georgia (Miller, 1986) or MCUII in southwestern Florida (Miller, 1986),

8624-442: The two groups strongly resemble each other due to convergent evolution . The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion . It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the early stages of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking

8722-644: The underground aquifer and trickles down and flows out of the Wakulla spring as water at the end of the pipe. Measures have been taken to lessen the contamination of the spring. The City of Tallahassee has built Cascades Park , a storm water drainage point disguised as a municipal park for citizens. This helps reduce the amount of contaminated water entering the basin. The City of Tallahassee has also increased regulations on their wastewater. Factors that may reduce contamination include lowering pollution, using less harsh fertilizers and better waste solutions other than septic tanks that leak large amounts of nitrates into

8820-424: The upper lid and two rows on the lower lid. The two front toes of the foot are long and have small webs at their bases. Tracks are large, between 9.5 and 14 cm (3.7 and 5.5 in) in length and 8.2 and 10.2 cm (3.2 and 4.0 in) in width, both measurements including claw marks. Toes are arranged in the classic, anisodactyl pattern. The feet are flat, relatively weak, and poorly adapted to grasping;

8918-406: The uppermost or shallowest permeable zones in the Floridan aquifer system. In the northern half of the study area, this aquifer behaves as a single hydrogeologic unit and is undifferentiated. In the southern half of the study area, including most of central and southern Florida, the Upper Floridan aquifer is thick and can be differentiated into three distinct zones, namely the uppermost permeable zone,

9016-480: The vulture(s) to displace them from carrion or from perch sites. Presumably all sympatric eagles are also dominant, with bald eagles confirmed to easily dominate turkey vultures in Florida. However, in the tropics Swainson's hawks and yellow-headed caracara (as well as lesser yellow-headed vultures) appear to be subservient to turkey vultures. Furthermore, turkey vultures are dominant over crows at carrion, but not over common ravens . The turkey vulture

9114-427: The wild ranges upward of 16 years, with a captive life span of over 45 years being possible. The turkey vulture is awkward on the ground with an ungainly, hopping walk. It requires a great deal of effort to take flight, flapping its wings while pushing off the ground and hopping with its feet. While soaring, the turkey vulture holds its wings in a shallow V-shape and often tips from side to side, frequently causing

9212-739: The wild. In captivity, it can be fed fresh meat, and younger birds will gorge themselves if given the opportunity. The turkey vulture species receives special legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in the United States , by the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada , and by the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals in Mexico . In

9310-400: Was 16 years old. Leucistic (sometimes mistakenly called " albino ") turkey vultures are sometimes seen. Like most other vultures, the turkey vulture has very few vocalization capabilities. Because it lacks a syrinx , it can only utter hisses and grunts. The turkey vulture has a large range, with an estimated global occurrence of 28,000,000 km (11,000,000 sq mi). It is

9408-399: Was introduced to refer to regionally extensive litho-stratigraphic units of rock, previously classified as one of eight "Middle Confining Units" by Miller (1986), which have been found to be neither confining nor permeable across their entire extents. Three regionally mapable litho-stratigraphic units are used to consistently divide the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifer in the revised framework:

9506-492: Was revised by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2015. The extent of the system was revised to include some of the updip clastic facies which grade laterally into the Lower Floridan aquifer and have been previously included in the Southeastern Coastal Plain aquifer system, the Floridan aquifer system, or both. A new method for dividing the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers was proposed and a new term, "composite unit",

9604-592: Was used for irrigation, 33% (1,329 Mgal/d; 5.03 million m /d; 4,080 acre⋅ft/d) was used for public water supply , 14% (576 Mgal/d, 2.18 million m /d; 1,770 acre⋅ft/d) was used for industrial purposes, and 4% were domestic self-supplied withdrawals. The Floridan aquifer system is the primary source of drinking water for most cities in central and northern Florida as well as eastern and southern Georgia, including Brunswick, Savannah, and Valdosta. In 1936, geologist Victor Timothy (V.T.) Stringfield first identified

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