...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Everglades Forever " paragraph 11"….The loss of the area's biodiversity doesn’t just hurt the plants and animals that originally made their homes there.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...
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...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....
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...Ecosystem Population and Pollution Rachael BIO/101 September 10, 2013 Ecosystem Population and Pollution Although much of the Everglades is a protected national park, this has not been always the case. Hazards caused by humans in the Everglades are historical as well as an ongoing issue for its varied and fragile ecosystem. Several of the hazards that affect the stability of the Everglades’ ecosystem are environmental pollution, extracted resources, habitat loss and destruction, and the biomagnification of toxins. Because the Everglades is predominantly a marsh, these wetlands are an enormous resource of fresh water. For nearly 200 years, humans have been extracting fresh water from the Everglades for consumption and agriculture. The irrigation of commodities such as oranges and sugar cane can account for pollutants. Habitat destruction and loss can be attributed to the introduction of non-native species as well as the agricultural practices of humans. In addition, biomangnification increases the prevalence of toxins throughout the food chain that can affect the stability of the Everglades’ ecosystem. Fresh water is the foremost extracted resource from the Everglades. South Florida’s human population growth is putting pressure on the Everglades to serve its increasing demands for fresh water. Building dams and digging canals for agriculture and homes are a hazard to the stability of the ecosystem. A great deal canals have been built, so the natural flow of water is...
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...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...
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...introduced into an ecosystem intentionally. This report we set out and analyse the impact of the Burmese python to the Everglades in Florida. The arrival of the...
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...The Ecological Threats to Southern Florida Michael J. Shearouse University of Phoenix/ Env 310 Mark Kehoe Imagine diving along the Florida Keys and not seeing the pristine coral reefs with thousands of fish forming a kaleidoscope of colors surrounding the reef. Then going about 150 miles northwest and just finding a monument telling the story of once,” great river of slow moving grass,” which used to flow in this semi-arid condominium filled part of Florida. These are not just part of concerned citizens and groups conservation active imagination these are ecological problems two of the greatest ecosystems in the world are facing today. Unless the United States and the State of Florida take steps to conserve coral reefs in the Florida Keys and restore the Florida Everglades today this is the reality of future generations. Coral Reefs Threats to coral reef are many, and the solution must be cohesive not scattered when addressing these threats. Implementing a cohesive ecosystem-based management approach is the key protecting the coral reefs from these threats. Ensuring a holistic and combined approach will support a healthy, living, resilient, coral reef. The methods used the Pacific Island coral reefs to preserve their ecosystems might not be the methods needed to meet the needs of the Florida Keys coral reef’s ecosystem. The different approaches necessary to maintain the varying community needs and address the local coral reef ecosystem is called a multidisciplinary approach...
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...living, thriving, and growing. This was the Florida Everglades until its fresh water supply was cut off. This fragile ecosystem can be disrupted by the smallest change, and the pollution that goes into it from the water presents a big threat. When the Everglades water supply was cut off, the ecosystem around it was unable to get fresh, clean water. The populations of the animals and plants began to decrease dramatically. The lack of fresh water was a shock to the environment, and animals and plants that were used to it died out. As stated in source one “Past and Present: The Florida Everglades’, “...the quantity and the diversity of the wetlands’ wildlife decreased and 50% of the original...
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...relationships determine an ecosystem’s routes of energy flow and chemical cycling (Simon, Dickey, & Reece, 2013). According to the text in chapter 20, ecologists are working to revitalize some ecosystems by planting native vegetation, removing barriers to wildlife, and other means. There are hundreds of restoration projects under way in the United States to help restore ecosystems to their natural state. One of the most ambitious endeavors is the Kissimmee River Restoration Project in south-central Florida. Each year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District releases a comprehensive report evaluating monitoring of data within the ecosystem of the Everglades. This information is available online at http://www.bit.ly/SSR 2014. According to research, “the Everglades contain a vast array of plants and animals that have adapted to the wet subtropical environment.” A few examples include birds such as the whooping crane, great blue, white, and tricolored herons, wood stork, and the cape-sable seaside sparrow. Land mammals such as the raccoon, skunk, opossum, bobcat and the white-tail deer are also a part of this environment; other animals include the American gator, the west-Indian Manatee, and the bottle nose dolphin. There are a number of species on the federal threatened or endangered lists, many more are rare, species of special concern, or included on state lists. The one most endangered species is the Florida panther with only about 100 remaining...
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...2009). The first actual record of Burmese python was in 1979 in Everglades National Park, however the first established populations were recorded in 2000; at this point causing an increase in attention and investigation of these invaders. Burmese pythons can reach up to five and one half meters which is approximately 18 feet, weigh up to 150 pounds and a female can produce anywhere from eight to 107 eggs. The diet of pythons range from mammals, fish, amphibians, birds, and even other reptiles. Although they are not venomous they are powerful biters and constrictors. It has yet to be determined the mean at which these reptiles were introduced to South Florida through either intentional release via the release of unwanted pets or the accidental release: the escape of pets or even the media speculated event of Hurricane Andrew 1992 causing the release of snakes out of a snake sanctuary (has yet to be...
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...landslides which wiped away houses and swallowed roadways in the process. What conservation specialists brought to the table was to plant natural trees in places where runoff was to be expected and could potentially reduce the violence of erosion during melting snow or flooding rains. In my own words Preservation is simply an attempt to preserve the current condition of an eco-system or environment as it stands without intervening by some sort of methodology, just protecting the environment from pollution, humans or businesses foreign to that environment. This week’s reading Dr. Carlton Ward JR and a few friends travel through the Everglades in Florida this is a great example of what Preservation is about. The Everglades are much too harsh for home builders or large corporations to even attempt to build on or purchase property but the Everglades...
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...Rishi Anand Mrs. Nachtman E.L.A Per. 6 21 Mar, 2018 -title- You better watch out, better not cry. The burmese pythons are after you! That is unless we deal with it. So there is a snake. It’s harmful. Unlike any other. It strikes without venom, strangles you to the death. Their presence is so ominous then there was a challenge created to eliminate their population.You guessed it the Burmese Pythons. The presence of the burmese python is impacting the everglades because they cause casualties, overpopulation, and bringing harm to the ecosystem. First, the pythons cause casualties. “A Burmese python isn’t poisonous. Though it has other means of killing its prey. They take their prey and lock it in its jaw. This causes the prey...
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...ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND THE TYRANNY OF SMALL DECISIONS William E. Odum[1] BioScience Vol 32 No.9; Oct 1982; pp:728-729. Economist Alfred E Kahn's premise of "the tyranny of small decisions" is applicable to environmental issues. Examples of so-called "small decision effects" range from loss of prime farmland and acid precipitation to mismanagement of the Florida Everglades. A holistic rather than reductionist perspective is needed to avoid the undesirable, cumulative effects of small decisions (Accepted for publication 2 March 1982). Ideally, society's problems are resolved through a system of nested levels of public decision are made by the individual or by small groups of individuals. Higher decision-making levels range from local and state governments to the higher decision-making levels range from local and state governments to the highest levels of the federal government. Theoretically, the highest levels are composed of experts whose joint decisions provide constraints in the form of "rules" for decisions made at the lower levels. Unfortunately, important decisions are often reached in an entirely different manner. A series of small, apparently independent decisions are made. Often by individuals or small groups of individuals. The end result is that a big decision occurs (post hoc) as an accretion of these small decisions: the central question is never addressed directly at the higher decision-making levels. Usually, this process does not produce...
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...Service", n.d.) where both natives and tourists can spot these animals. For this reason, teaching people about Florida's lesser known animal species can help increase visits to Florida's National Parks, encourages outdoor activities, and raise conservation awareness in this state. Florida has both native and non-native animal species, but out of the native the most recognized species may be the alligator and manatee. Florida is home to more than just that and teaching people about its lesser known species can promote visits to Florida's National Parks. As mentioned earlier, there are 11 national parks ("National Park Service", n.d.) throughout the state, featuring the Everglades, which the National Parks Service describes as "The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States" ("Everglades", n.d.). Also, because of Florida's unique ecosystem consisting of diminutive variations there is a variety of habitats, such as mangrove swamps, cypress swamps and pine flatwoods, giving way to an assortment of wildlife species ("South Florida Water Management District", n.d.). With this large amount of national parks, it is convenient to choose one to visit, but with other...
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...Most residents of Florida should know that Florida’s state animal, Puma concolor coryi, also known as the Florida Panther has been endangered for many years. The Florida Panther is a light brown and gray subspecies of the cougar. The Florida Panthers are carnivores, meaning they only eat meat. The main threat to the panthers is humans. Today, there are only about 180 panther living in Florida. The Florida Panther was almost extinct before being classified as endangered, due to the hunting of panther during the 1950s. It was not until 1967, when “the U.S. Department of the Interior listed the Florida Panther as endangered” (Williams 1). However, that was not enough to protect the Florida Panthers, or any endangered species, until Congress finally passed the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which allowed for the conservation of endangered species (Williams 1)....
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...The West Indian Manatee have always been an interesting animal to me. The first time I saw West Indian Manatee, I was canoeing in Florida. The owners of the canoe rental site referred to them as "water puppies" or "sea cows," which made sense as they swam under and around our canoe, popping in and out of the water. The West Indian Manatee is one of those intriguing equated mammals that are beautiful in their own way and almost seem mysterious. I have learned that the West Indian Manatee are very harmless animals. As a high trophic level species, these large animals are actually primary herbivorous. According to Manatee data of Everglades National Park, they graze on plants and different types of vegetation up to eight hours a day, and sometimes...
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