Page 11 - Edge: Issue 6 March/April 2019

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digy
with the help of Brevard’s Department of Environmentally Endangered Lands.
“Our plan is to get the algorithm accurate, then fly long- distance missions over remote areas or parks so that lygodium can be combated,” Hohl said.
The drone program, in addition to being Hohl’s senior project, was also his science project. When he competed with it earlier this year, he received three bids: to go to the Orlando, State, and International fairs, which are all coming up. He was the only Edgewood student who received an International bid before the State competition.
Surprisingly, Hohl doesn’t plan to work with drones in the future career-wise. When he graduates from Edgewood, he hopes to study nuclear engineering at the United States Naval Academy. In fact, he wasn’t even able to use his senior project to build his college appeal, having finished it after applications were already due. Hohl’s prime motivation to accomplish this feat of programming was to benefit our Florida environment.
With the help of Hohl’s innovative programming technique, protecting Florida’s environment from a serious threat has become
much easier. The true focus of the senior project has always been to aid the community- something that Hohl’s project has accomplished on a Florida-
wide scale.
The Dangers of Lygodium
Lygodium microphyllum, commonly known as the Old World climbing vern, was introduced to Florida around 1965. Today, there are more than 26 infested counties and 200,000 infested acres in Central and South Florida. Lygodium is one of the most dangerous invasive species in Florida because of its tendency to grow over native plants, smothering them in a thick blanket of vine growth. As well as endangering Everglades tree island communities, the fern is spreading rapidly in conservation lands in South Florida. It can also act as a “fire ladder” that carries flames up from the ground into the canopies of trees, burning areas that would otherwise have been safe.
Once the Lygodium is recognized, it can still be difficult to eradicate. Burning it or flooding it only releases its spores and further spreads the plant. The solution to this problem came in the form of another invasive species; a moth called the Lygodium Brown Moth. They lay eggs on the spores and growing caterpillars further eat the vine. The problems with using an invasive species to combat another invasive species are obvious. In order to avoid the spread of the Lygodium Brown Moth throughout Florida’s environment, they have to be sterilized before they are released.
Even with the sterilization method, though, invasive species are always dangerous.
The moths are currently being implemented
by Broward and other southern Florida counties, but Brevard is being much more restrictive. The Sothern Florida Ecosystem
has been plagued by this species ever since
its introduction, but research like Zach Hohl’s
can change this tide and aid conservation efforts. 10