Florida Invasive Species Essay

To begin with, Florida's Everglades is important because a large population of animals live in the Everglades. Many animals live at the Everglades for shelter and food. In the food chain a variety of species and plants rely on each other. The food chain allows biodiversity into the ecosystem. " Biodiversity is a good thing. Having many different kinds of plants and animals means that species have different choices for survival... if, for instance, snakes could only eat rabbits, and hawks could only eat snakes- then both snakes and hawks would die out...." In accordance with this piece of

The Burmese Pythons are negatively affecting the Everglades by disrupting the food chain. Andrew Ng, author of, “Florida’s Python Hunt”, quoted this from the article, “With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcats, as well as many bird species.” The pythons have no natural predators, so animals that

In south Texas there are several types of ecosystems one of those ecosystems are the dunes. South Texas dunes are found along the Texas coastline and the general abiotic conditions are sandy soil, high salt content, some fresh water, flooding in the occasion of severe storms and moisture from rain and waves. Sea Oats and Bitter Pancum are two types of plants that dominate the South Texas dunes. Bitter Pancum adaptation for living in this type of ecosystem is that they are tolerant to high salinity. Sea Oats are less tolerant to high salt but their adaptation is to grow rapidly. Some common animal species that live in the dunes are crabs, which are tolerant to high salt water, gulls, and terns feed on crabs and other species around the

The Everglades, also known as the River of Grass, is one of South Florida's most treasured areas. It is an area still full of wonder and mystery. The Everglades is lined with a specific type of limestone bedrock formed by tiny organisms called byrozoans. These animals, though not related to coral, act like coral by extracting dissolved limestone from the sea water around them and using it to construct protective chambers in which to live. They then attach to various kinds of sea grasses on the ocean floor and coat them as well. Individual chambers combine together to form rock-like structures. Over thousands of years, when South Florida was completely submerged, a vast amount of this limestone

When animals are voluntary or involuntary let into the wild many native species can become threatened by animals that, in the foreign ecosystem, have no natural predators. Pythons in Florida is a great

According to the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, “Coqui frogs do not travel very far on their own, but when given the chance to hop on a nursery plant, flowers, or vehicle, they can quickly spread. Most coqui arrive on new islands through infested nursery plants and flowers. Intra-island, coqui travel by the movement of plants by humans and may hitch a ride on vehicles” (Coqui). In other words, the frog will latch on to a variety of human transportations and expand their boundaries. Furthermore, Coquis are nocturnal, so the dissemination of the frogs is partially affiliated with the motion and relocation of various house plants (Plant). Residents of Hawaii are evidently a large reason the frog has the ability to grow in numbers and located across the state. Some people when coming across the frog relocate and release it, spreading the frog an even farther distance (which it is illegal to provide transportation to the amphibians) (Plant). Consequently, the frog populations are growing and will continue, unless residents of Hawaii are cooperative in reducing the spread of the

There are many invasive species in Florida, which affect the environment in many ways. First, one way is that the animal cannot thrive in its new environment, the reasons being; not enough food or the wrong climate. Another example would be, that the animal might thrive successfully and reproduce. This is detrimental to the environment because the animal or plant can wreak havoc and become an invasive species. Species can become invasive due to the lack of predators in its environment.

Humans have been giving common names to plants and animals for as far back as cavemen go. It has been no different for the American Alligator commonly known as the “gator”. The name “Alligator,” according to Kelby Ouchley, is an Anglicized term from the Spanish word “lagarto” (lizard). This name can be traced back to early Spanish explorers in North America, who came across the giant lizard looking type of animal. In 1802 the renowned French herpetologist, Francois Marie Daudin, officially described the American Alligator as Alligator Mississippiensis. The term Mississippiensis comes from the Mississippi river where many of these lizard like creatures were found and the Latin term ensis meaning “belonging to.”

Burmese Pythons is a non-native pest in the United States of America, which originated from South Asia. The species is becoming an established breeding population in South Florida and its environs. The python was illegally freed in the Everglades National park where the marshy grasses and water provide a conducive environment for its survival. Burmese python was recognized as a reproducing population around the year 2000. The python has been classified as an invasive species in Florida. The species has disrupted the ecosystem by preying on native species and out-competing them for food. The python is a successful invasive species because their large size makes it have fewer predators (alligators and humans) (Brown, 2006). Efforts have been put in place to manage the increase of the Burmese pythons due to the devastating effects it has caused in the ecosystem. Python removal and control is being done through dogs and human search. Dog search has recorded much greater success than human beings because humans cannot access some areas due to the thick vegetation.

The Burmese Python is one of the most invasive of these non-native species. The snakes originate from Southeast Asia, so they thrive in Florida’s similar environment. The Everglades became sort of a paradise to the pythons, since their introduction in the early 1990’s.

There are many different types of snakes in the state of Florida from the average garden snake to the very venomous Eastern Diamondback Rattle but so far the only one that has both citizens and politicians truly worried about are the Burmese Pythons that are located in the Everglades, a National Park located in southern Florida. Burmese Pythons have a beautiful patterned skin, a rapid growth rate, which is known as the largest snake of choice to be owned by human. During, captivate Burmese python are poorly taking care of; some turn on their owners and end up killing them. Due to, them being poorly taking care pythons are release into the wild or in a nearby wooded area to defended for themselves and find food.

Although, the Everglades is a very special and cool place. But there are way too many pythons there and we need a way to get them out, because it’s hurting the entire place. Pythons are causing huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and many more animals. The python has no natural predators meaning they are wiping out many important animals. According to source 2, “With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcats, as well as many bird species.” Florida’s natural climate is very hot and humid which makes it harder to get those snakes out of here. According to source 1, “Burmese pythons are carnivores and survived primarily on small birds and mammals.” Another thing that horrible is that the population keeps growing and growing and it’s dangerous for us and animals also the everglades. Sadly, the everglades is changing rapidly and it’s not good. Now that you know about what’s happening to Florida and the everglades. Are you sacred yet?

Maintaining ecological diversity is necessary for the survival of a biological community. In the United States, American citizens are on the verge of irrevocably damaging one of the country's most unique and diverse treasures - the Florida Everglades. This national park is now the only remaining patch of a river that used to span 120 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Dikes and levees created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940's drained this river to reduce flooding and increase useable water for the development of the region. This major diversion of water lead to a trickle down effect causing the continual decline of the environmental state of the Everglades. Since then, debates over the

As an invasive species, the Burmese python has an immense impact on the native populations of the Everglades. In the last 20 years, observations of mammals in the Everglades have declined by 95% while the number of non-native Burmese pythons in the park has significantly increased (Sovie et al. 2016). Data from game cameras used in a study by Willson support this observation, showing the spatial pattern of mammal abundance being inversely correlated with spatial expansion of Burmese pythons in the Everglades (Willson 2017).

Taking over with no natural predator, the Burmese Python. These very large pythons have been effecting our Everglades drastically. Once native to the swampy marshes of Southeast Asia, these snakes are now migrating over to Florida. Being so large and having no natural predator, they have really made a strong change in our Florida wildlife. These dangerous pythons have altered the population of animals in the Everglades by so much that people are beginning to worry about what will happen next. The snakes didn’t get there on their own, but now we don’t have any way of stopping them.