The Florida Everglades — A Wetlands Ecosystem
The Everglades, a vast wetlands ecosystem made up of marshes and swamps, begins at Lake Okeechobee, a large lake in the center of Florida, and ends in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay. It is nearly 50 miles across and 110 miles long (Hinrichsen), and when viewed from the air, appears to be miles and miles of shallow water flowing through thick mats of grass. This perception has earned it the name “River of Grass”. Although it does flow like a river, the flow is so incredibly slow that, from a distance, it doesn’t seem to move at all.
All of the wildlife in the Everglades is totally dependent on the cycling of water. One example of this dependence is the feeding relationship between the
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As it thrashes its body from side to side, it creates a small hole filled with water. Plant matter and mud piled up around the edges of the hole create dry ground on which other plants eventually grow. After many years, grass, trees, and other plants surround these "gator holes" like fences. Gator holes are important to other species as well. As the water becomes scarce during the dry season, many animals search for food and remaining pockets of water. The gator holes attract crayfish, frogs, turtles, fish, and other aquatic species, all seeking refuge in the deeper waters of the gator holes. Muskrats, otters, deer, and raccoons, as well as a wide variety of beautiful birds, such as ibises, egrets, and herons, visit these sanctuaries to feed on the small animals that can be found there. Because alligators and the watery hollows they make play such an important role in the Everglades ecosystem, they are considered to be a keystone species since many other species depend upon them for their survival. This has earned them the nickname "keepers of the glades."
Due to constantly changing water levels, ecosystems like the Everglades can be very unpredictable places. Since the 1800s, people have tried to control the Everglades to prevent flooding (Blake). Large canals were built to send the water into the ocean and away from the Everglades. The land along the canals dried up and became more
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
First and foremost, a main reason why the water supply to the everglades is having a bad effect, is because of all of the past draining. As stated in source 1 (The Florida Everglades) it says “From 1905-1910 , the settlers coverted the land… the Everglades were nearly drained entirely.” This shows that these new settlers wanted to get rid of the Everglades completely. As a result to their actions the Florida lost 50% of the wildlife’s population and diversity. This also included the subtropical wilderness of the Everglades. Which contained grassy marshes, hardwood hammocks, and mangrove forests. The draining of the Everglades was only one of the reasons why that the water supply on the park is bad.
In the 1980s the Burmese python was transported the United States as an exotic pet from Southeast Asia, but soon after owners began releasing the natural predator into Florida’s Everglades. The population of the python in the Everglades was estimated to be 5,000 – 180,000 in 2009 by South Florida Water Management
One misty morning in 2003, deep under the cover of the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, a group of tourists set out for a day of exploration in the Everglades. They hoped to see some of the diverse and unique species that the Everglades are famous for, and maybe snap a few cool pictures to show their friends. They could never have anticipated what they would actually discover. A short way into their trek, the party was drawn to a noisy struggle nearby. They followed their ears to a duel between an alligator and a huge Burmese Python. The alligator clamped his jaws around the snake. The snake wrapped its body around the alligator. The tourists
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?
For more than 50 years since the Central and Southern Florida Project, major ventures have been ongoing which have focused on the provision of fresh water for human-development projects and flood protection. In order to provide water for residential, commercial, and agricultural uses, the natural flow of hundreds of small rivers and streams contained within the Everglades were altered. Revisions included redirecting river flows from winding to straight, draining wetland areas to provide agricultural land, and channelizing rivers by creating high concrete banks to provide flood control. Consequently, the Everglades and its dependent natural community have been highly impacted in the most adverse way.
According to Florida’s Python Hunt, "With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcat, as well as many bird species." This shows that the pythons are ruining the animals in the everglades because if these pythons wipe too many animals in the everglades then the pythons will overpopulate and go somewhere else to get food and animals to eat. Then this could result in people dying because the snake is hungry, the snake will attack you.
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.
The Burmese pythons are having a negative impact on florida’s everglades ecosystem. according to Andrew ng in the newspaper article florida’s python have no main predator. These eating machines are to be wiping out huge numbers of possums, raccoons and bobcats as well as many bird species.
Since these pythons have such a variety in their palette they can be a huge threat to the wildlife within the Everglades, possibly wiping out a group of animals when there are a team of the dangerous pythons. Another piece of evidence to back up my reasoning is also stated in "Pythons Invade the Florida Everglades" , it states, "Studies have shown that since their appearance in the Everglades, the numbers of small mammals in the area are down significantly." This evidence shows that there is a definite and proven decrease of some species due to the Burmese pythons entering the Everglades. With the Burmese pythons still in the wetlands more and more animals, big and small, are slowly being eaten because of these dangerous
The Everglades, also known as the river of Grass, is one of South Florida’s most treasured areas. This wetland is home to many animals like alligators, crocodiles and the Florida panther. The everglades also acts as a giant filter. The Everglades provides the residents of South Florida with water, jobs and tourist attractions. Unfortunately, we are just now realizing the importance of this ecosystem.
Alligators are not that uncommon, and yet the local flamingos are white or so pale pink that if
Freshwater biomes make up 1/5 of Earth's surface, and .8% of the total amount of water. They include lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks. The size of these biomes vary, and any small body of water, such as puddles, can also be considered a Freshwater biome if it can support life. These bodies of water can move slow, fast, or be still, and usually have a depth that is under 6 feet. These waters also contain minimal to no salt, and have many different types of animals and plants living within them. These biomes can be found all over the world, such as Florida and the Amazon River. The Florida Everglades is known as the largest Freshwater biome in the World. Freshwater biomes are vital to our environment, providing plants and animals with nutrients
The depths of the Everglades is usually around 4 to 5 feet. The deepest it can get is 9 feet, if it rains a lot and fills it up a couple more feet from normal. This causes the types of aquatic life to be selective and only certain creatures can live in this environment. Most of the animals that live in The Everglades are reptiles.
Each Everglades habitat needs to keep a delicate balance to stay healthy. When things get out of balance problems begin. For example, chemicals, that’s pollute the Everglades can kill algae. Algae is a simple life form at the bottom of he food chain. If the algae dissapear, the animals that eat algae have no food. This can cause plants, and animals in the food chain to become out of balance.