...The Florida Everglades is the name of the area that consists of subtropical wetlands on the southern tip of Florida. At one point, it extended from Lake Okeechobee 100 miles south to Florida Bay. Now, however, it is only 1/3 of its glory, since the Everglades National Park (what is left of the Everglades) only currently covers 1,509,000 acres at the southern tip of Florida. The two biggest abiotic components that are unique to the Everglades are weather and location. The weather plays a huge part because of the precipitation The weather is known to be warm, with a distinct wet and dry season. Despite having some dry periods, the area is known to have 40-70 inches of rain and that rainfall is what drains into Lake Okeechobee. Location is important because it is what determines the flow of water. Southern Florida is very flat and because the terrain is so flat, the rainwater that overflows from Lake Okeechobee during the rains is what creates a wide, shallow, slow-moving river that flows through the marshes. The ecosystems that make up the Everglades have been described as “both fragile and resilient” (Toops). Take for example, the Florida apple snail, which are an amphibious fresh water mollusk (Whitney). Apple snails must lay their eggs on sawgrass stalks around six inches above the water line because they are intolerant of being submerged for long periods of time. In that case, when the eggs hatch, this allows the young snails to enter the water quickly. If water...
Words: 780 - Pages: 4
...Assignment #2 Everglades of South Florida The Everglades of South Florida are a natural region of subtropical wetlands. This is located in the southern portion of the state of Florida. It is a very large area that actually comprises a southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River. The reason is that the Kissimmee River discharges into Lake Okeechobee. Marjory Stoneman Douglas described the area of the Florida Everglades as, "A River of Grass", in 1947. 1 This is a complex system of interdependant ecosystems. Before drainage, it was a web of marshes and prairies about 4,000 sqyare miles in size. The systems within the everglades ecosystem shift, grow and shrink, disapear and even die. Water is the most dominant force of the florida everglades. The water is what shapes the land, sustains vegetation, and sustains animal life. Conservation of the Florida Everglades has become a mojor concern over the past few decades. One of the problems that has caused concern was a large algai bloom that appearred in one-fifth of Lake Okeechobee in 1986. That same year as the algai bloom cattails were overtaking the sawgrass marshes in Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. What was discovered was that phosphorus that was used as fertilizer was flushed into canals and then pumped back into the lake. When the lake drained the phosphorus entered the water in the marshes. As a result, the nutrient levels were changed. 2 During this same period...
Words: 600 - Pages: 3
...Florida Everglades The Florida Everglades is a wetland. Not only is it a wetland but it is a home to tropical and marshland plant and animal species. Why let dangerous threats invade and destroy it who do not even belong there? The Everglades most recent threat is snakes. There are more and more snakes in the Everglades that the food chain for other animals is all cut up—destroyed. First of all, The snakes are Pythons and Anacondas. Which means these reptiles can reach up to at least 20 feet. 20 feet in us, humans size is like three adult men head-to-toe and a little longer. So what is so important about the Florida Everglades? Well, the answer to that is the value. Us, humans have did a lot for the Everglades. More than we really know! The Everglades have helped us out so now its time for us to help them. Animals right now, are fighting for food in the Everglades or either trying to adapt to another food, which is sad. If the snakes are out of the Everglades or was never even there the animals right now would never had to go and try to adapt to other foods and wouldn’t be on the verge or edge of being extinct. As it states in the first source " Are the Everglades Forever " paragraph 11"….The loss of the area's biodiversity doesn’t just hurt the plants and animals that originally made their homes there. Humans have benefited from the Everglades in many ways, from the creation of park and tourism jobs to the...
Words: 550 - Pages: 3
...The Florida Everglades is one of the largest natural wetlands in the world. Spanning over 1.5 million acres in Southern Florida, the Everglades is home to a thriving, yet fragile ecosystem of endangered species and native plants. Originally covering over 3 million acres, the area of the Everglades reduced drastically after settlers arrived in Southern Florida in the early 1900s. In order to sustain themselves, the settlers drained a large supply of water in the wetlands to build houses and plant crops. In addition, they built channels to maintain a constant supply of water for themselves and to shield themselves from frequent deadly floods. Unfortunately, significant amounts of water are extracted every year as residents of Florida have become dependent on the water available in the Everglades. In 1947, the government divided the Everglades in effort to preserve the remaining habitat, house a system of canals, dams, and dikes to control flooding, and to provide viable agricultural area to grow sugar cane. As a result, many species and plants native to the region were negatively impacted due to degradation of their habitat. On the other hand, there is hope to resolve this issue with the help of the Comprehensive...
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...The Value and Importance of the Everglades "Lions, and Tigers, and Bears! Oh my!" Just kidding! There aren't any Lions, Tigers, or Bears in the Florida Everglades. The Florida Everglades is home to many fascinating creatures and plants such as pythons, alligators, fish, insects, and mangrove trees. The Everglades is a really important ecosystem and habitat for these plants and animals. They all work together and help each other out. For one example, the mangroves provide housing for fish, and the fish keep poisonous plants off the mangroves. There are many more reasons why the Everglades is so important and read on to see. Biodiversity plays a huge role in the ecosystems of wetlands such as the Florida Everglades. From the article, "Are the Everglades Forever," it says that "Biodiversity is a good thing. Having many different kinds of plants and animals means that species have different choices for survival....
Words: 947 - Pages: 4
...Everglades Food Web Diagram The Florida Everglades covers 4,000 square miles from Lake Okeechobee to South Florida bay and is called the River of Grass. Everglades is considered to have sub-tropical climate where it is impacted by annual hazards such as drought, flood and fire. The Florida Everglades’ ecosystem has various bacterial, tropical plants, trees, reptiles, animals, and aquatic life. These various organisms contains the balance of the Everglade ecosystem. Each species plays a pivotal role in maintaining a vigorous striving environment. The annual season for hurricanes in the summer and autumn month helps to maintain the sub-tropical climate Organisms found in the Everglades Plants The Everglades ecosystem is inhibited by wetland...
Words: 1302 - Pages: 6
...Endangered Species The Everglades is a 2 million acre wetland ecosystem that starts in Central Florida, near Orlando, and continues all the way south into the Florida Bay. During Florida’s wet season, Lake Okeechobee overflows and releases water into a slow moving river with saw grass and marsh. They call this a “river of grass”. The Everglades is known worldwide for amazing wildlife. From Manatees, and Crocodiles, to the Florida Panthers, there are also many birds such as the egrets, roseate spoonbills and also wood storks. There are over 350 bird species that can be found in the Florida Everglades. The Everglades is known for its large amount of wading birds, such as roseate spoonbills, egrets, wood storks, white ibises. Some of those birds have become endangered like the Snail Kite, Wood Stork, and the Cape Sable. There are also a variety of reptiles in the wildlife of the everglades. Alligators and crocodiles both live in the everglades and are often mistaken as each other. The American Alligators like deep waters, Unlike the American Crocodile who like to live in the coastal mangroves and the Florida Bay....
Words: 482 - Pages: 2
...Restoration of the Everglades Everglades or, ‘the river of grasses’, are a vast expanse of freshwater marshes which extends from Lake Okeechobee South to the tip of Florida. There are various forms of habitat that exist on the marshland-open water sloughs, open water sloughs, cypress swamps, hard wood hammocks, mangrove swamps and pinelands. It is also home to many species such as the black bears, panthers, alligators some of which are on the verge of extinction (Ichthyology, n.d). The flora and fauna surrounding the Everglades with its unique ‘sheet flow of water’, had made the place one of the hottest tourist spots. The scenario started changing in the late 1980’s with the beginning of developments like creation of agricultural farms for growing sugarcane and vegetables, building up of new canals and levees for protecting the farms and the cities from floods and increase in the infrastructure in the east of the everglades. Some parts of the marshland started facing drought and others flood. Earlier it used to cover an area of 10,360 kms but today it has been reduced to half its size. The primary reason for this condition was the pollution caused by companies like Big sugar, construction companies and various other factors (Marjory Stoneman Doughlas, 1969). The Big sugars comprise of a group of sugarcane growers mainly U.S sugars and are primarily responsible for destroying the Everglades. Farmers of these agricultural farms use high content phosphorus fertilizers...
Words: 1695 - Pages: 7
...2013 – The Everglades Flood Control and Restoration: A Century of Disaster OUTLINE ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Before drainage of the Everglades began over a century ago, the wetlands of southern Florida were an interconnected hydrological assortment of lavish freshwater lakes and streams, cypress swamps, secluded estuarine lagoons, freshwater sloughs, tree islands, wet prairies, and mangrove swamps spanning 3.6 million hectares. After a century of intrusion, the daunting task of understanding, fixing, maintaining, and regaining a sustainable, natural Everglades-type ecosystem in South Florida is monumental. The area south of Lake Okeechobee now has a human population of over four million people, with greedy agricultural and urban demands for more water and more space. Therefore, several uphill battles have ensued. The conceptual plans for restoring this ecosystem, currently on record, are all extremely expensive to implement. A more thorough definition of the environmental and societal objectives and measures of success are required. How the ecosystem will respond to the return of a more natural hydrological pattern is uncertain, but needs to be addressed as the expected and desired outcome through measures of performance. The critical level of deterioration of the Everglades has created a crisis-management atmosphere instead of a full spectrum response and future prevention methodology. The political and social aspects of the Everglades restoration...
Words: 6476 - Pages: 26
...Everglades National Park is located in Florida. This National Park was established December 6, 1947. The Everglades is a National Park that protects 20% of the original Everglades. This park has many issues such as pythons eating the park and also water quality. The Everglades National park is losing some of its most beautiful animals to air pollution and lobbying from tourists. Everglades National Park is located in Florida. This National Park was established December 6, 1947. The Everglades is a National Park that protects 20% of the original Everglades. This park has many issues such as pythons eating the park and also water quality. The Everglades National park is losing some of its most beautiful animals to air pollution and lobbying from tourists. Everglades National Park is located in Florida. This National Park was established December 6, 1947. The Everglades is a National Park that protects 20% of the original Everglades. This park has many issues such as pythons eating the park and also water quality. The Everglades National park is losing some of its most beautiful animals to air pollution and lobbying from tourists Everglades National Park is located in Florida. This National Park was established December 6, 1947. The Everglades is a National Park that protects 20% of the original Everglades. This park has many issues such as pythons eating the park and also water quality. The Everglades National park is losing some of its most beautiful animals to air pollution and...
Words: 435 - Pages: 2
...Florida's Everglades is home to many residents such as snakes , alligators , bobcats foxes and a plethora of birds . When someone thinks of everglades ,they most likely think of danger , dirty and bug infested land . There is more to the everglades than what meets the eyes . Imagine if out of no where , the everglades in all its glory , disappeared . All of its inhabitants would be forced to relocate to another home .For this reason , the everglades are very important , so people don’t get caught up in the loss of the everglades . The everglades is a place where many pythons reside . Pythons are very beautiful , no doubt , but as the author of " Are the Everglades Forever? " likes to state , " They’ve managed to upset the natural food chain so drastically that the Everglades are starting to seem a little bit like Indiana Jones’s dreaded snake pit. Besides being creepy, an ecosystem overrun by pythons is unhealthy. " People who no longer wish to own their scaly pets decide that it would be a wise choice as to set them " free " . Not all snakes are comfortable in the wild , where they may be able to encounter other snakes such as themselves . Most of the snakes at the everglades can grow up to " 20 feet, which is longer than three adult men lying head-to-toe. " Although the everglades may still seen dangerous at first glance , there is...
Words: 705 - Pages: 3
...Burmese Pythons These animals, called Burmese pythons, are huge snakes that run the Everglades. They have jaws that are hinged, to eat big animals. They also weigh more than an average twenty year old. Burmese pythons came here from an effect of a storm. There was also some human activity that brought them here. Lately, these giants have been devastating the unique ecosystem, called the Everglades. The Burmese pythons lay tons of eggs. To be exact, the average amount of eggs they lay is thirty-five. The largest amount of eggs they can have is as many as one-hundred. Burmese pythons breed in early spring. These months are March and April. “Burmese Python: The Snake That’s Eating Florida” (Paragraph 1) “Native...
Words: 603 - Pages: 3
...The Everglades SCI 230 October 16, 2011 The Everglades I. Introduction II. Descriptions of Diversity of Life Forms A. People B. Animals 1. Birds 2. Fish 3. Mammals 4. Reptiles C. Plant 1. Lichens 2. Barks 3. Invasive Plants III. Biological Interrelationships of Life Forms | | | | | | A. Food Web 1. Plant Species 2. Algae Group 3. Animals 4. Fungi and Bacteria IV. Existing Preservations and Protections of Life Forms A. Environmental Factors B. Natural Features and Ecosystems V. Efforts Made for Preserving the Everglades A. Central Figures for Conservation B. Enactment of Laws to Protect the Environment VI. Preserving the Diversity of the Everglades A. The Clean Air Act B. Funding C. Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan VII. Conclusion The Everglades National Park In the United States, the Everglades National Park is considered the largest subtropical wasteland. It hosts a variety of rare and endangered species. Many groups of people and animals have landed in the Everglades making it their homeland. Everglades is home for well-known rare animals and plants. The marshes, forests, cypress, fish, animals, plants, and people depend on the ecosystem of the Everglades. Unfortunately, many of these plants and animals are found on the endangered species list for the United States. The Everglades...
Words: 1648 - Pages: 7
...Everglades Food Web Diagram Name BIO 101 Date University of Phoenix Everglades Food Web Diagram Create a diagram in which you illustrate the energy flow among organisms of a food chain in a particular ecosystem. (Insert diagram) The Florida Everglades is a vast stretching river that occupies much of central and southern Florida. Florida’s Everglades is home to a diverse ecosystem of bacterial, tropical and subtropical plants, trees, reptiles, animals, and aquatic life. These various species comprise the balance of the Everglade ecosystem. Each species plays a pivotal role in maintaining a vigorous striving environment. The Everglades sustains a semitropical climate with wet summers, dry winters, and is susceptible to hurricanes during the summer and early autumn months (Aber, 2009). Organisms found in the Everglades Plants The Everglades is home to a wide diversity of plants. The two million acre wetland ecosystem is inhibited by wetland plants that include sawgrass, bladderwort, cypress, mangrove trees, and others that serve as primary food sources and shelters for many consumers of this habitat (National Wildlife Federation, 2012). Animals The Everglades is home to numerous species of animals including those native to the lands, threatened, and considered endangered. Wildlife populaces include over 350 bird species including the Great Blue heron, great egret, and wood stork. Land dwellers that inhibit the Everglades include Alligator and crocodile reptiles...
Words: 2596 - Pages: 11
...Threats to the Everglades There are three major threats to the Everglades: water control, introduced species and development (Florida Museum of Natural History, n.d.). In short, the biggest threat to the Everglades was humanity itself, which in his historical greed and shortsightedness sought to completely re-write the entire ecosystem to suit himself. The longest ranging problem threatening the everglades was the draining that was started in the early 1900's. Government sanction was given and the Army Corps of Engineers began work on a series of canals to drain the wetlands. There were 5 done: Miami, North New River, Hillsboro, West Palm Beach, and St. Lucie, each draining approximately 900 acres of wetlands (Historical Society of Palm Beach County, 2009). A) Simulated satellite image of original Everglades. B) Satellite image (circa 1995) showing the historic Everglades boundary, water conservation areas (WCAs), the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA), and other landmarks (Harvey, Loftus, & Rehage, 2010, para. 1-2). As can be seen in the photos the majority of what was originally a specialized and ecologically diverse area has been repurposed: the wetlands drained the area industrialized. This has led to an enormous loss of habitat for marsh birds, reptiles and plants. Agricultural pollution has also decimated the habitat and according to Everglades Foundation (2006-2012), Extremely low levels of nutrients, such as phosphorus, are part of the reason...
Words: 817 - Pages: 4
