The Everglades is a diverse ecosystem located in southern Florida, yet urbanization has created a considerable amount of impact that has altered the physical landscape of the region, resulting in a symbiotic environment between humans and nature. Based on geographical research, the original Everglades spanned an area of approximately 12,000km2, and now because of urbanization and agricultural growth in this sub-region the area of the Everglades has been condensed to half of its original size (Willard et al 1-2). The Everglades is actually a sub-region of the Southern Coastlands region of the United States. It is comprised of a unique climate, divided into sub-provinces that create a diverse pallet of environments for wildlife to thrive, yet the impact of human modifications over a period of decades has drastically effected animal populations, and changed the functionality and physical landscape of its expanse. Despite the differences of urbanization and wildlife, major cities and the ecosystem of the Everglades thrive and fuse together to form the diversely changing landscape of the modern Everglades.
The Everglades may also be known as the river of grass because of its 80.5 kilometer (50 miles) wide girth and 161 kilometer (100 miles) long span, with the source of its freshwater coming from Lake Okeechobee just to the north (Tramontana and Johnson 1-2). The Everglades then continues to flow through the southernmost sandbars, mangrove islands, and the Florida Keys before emptying into the Florida Bay. This path creates a mix of saltwater, brackish, and fresh waterways that comprise the marshes and swamplands of this unique environment (Tramontana and Johnson 1-2). Transitions from wet and dry climates are the only seasonal ch...
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...he Everglades National Park - Alligators, Fauna and More - A Fantastic Day Trip From Orlando! 15 July 2011. Everglades touring.
"Historical Everglades." Everglades Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. .
Tramontana, Eileen, and Cindy Johnson Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. "Everglades." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 2003. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
Walker, Robert, and William Solecki. "Theorizing Land-Cover and Land-Use Change: The Case of the Florida Everglades and Its Degradation." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 94.2 (2004): 311-28. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Willard, Debra A., Christopher E. Bernhardt, Charles W. Holmes, Bryan Landacre, and Marci Marot. "Response Of Everglades Tree Islands To Environmental Change." Ecological Monographs 76.4 (2006): 565-83. JSTOR. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Ever since 1973, when the Endangered Species Act came into being, conservationists and private landowners have been debating over whether to preserve the habitats of many endangered species found in unprotected areas (Ligon et al, 1986). Increasing levels of human development has led to the cutting of old-growth forests and construction of roads and other physical barriers to wildlife. These activities have greatly contributed to the fragmentation of wildlife habitat, which has had detrimental effects on the population structure and survivorship of the affected area’s indigenous species. One species that has been affected by habitat fragmentation is the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), a nonmigratory bird with a home range covering most of the southeastern United States (Roise et al, 1990). Habitat fragmentation has led to the loss of genetic variability, nesting sites, and suitable population sizes to support cooperative breeding requirements. These factors have been responsible for the precipitous decline of the red-cockaded woodpecker. Because the red-cockaded woodpecker provides important ecological and economic benefits to both humans and the environment, we should strongly consider enacting a conservation plan for this species.
This is a very critical situation that needs to be fixed urgently. The habitats of the Everglades depend on an annual water cycle which has been hindered by the development construction which was imposed on the farmland. Back in the 19th century, developers were keen on draining all the swamps in the Everglades for developmental purposes. Their intention was to grow sugarcane plantations on the land yet sugarcanes are highly destructive to the Everglades. They too disrupt the water cycle to which the wildlife has adapted. The Florida sugar industry built on the southern Shore of Lake Okeechobee directly clocks the water source for the remaining Everglades hence destroying the habitats of the wildlife existing in the affected areas.
Fifty percent of the original wetlands doesn’t even exist today. The water supply in the Everglades is changing and that has affected the Everglades in many ways. For one, population is decreasing and mankind needs to restore it somehow. Next, the Everglades are in need of some money to do that restoration, but where will they get it from? Last, the water supply is poisoning the humanity around it with much bacteria and many bad and dangerous elements. The Everglades water supply affected it in fixing the Everglades and wildlife.
The invasive species, the Burmese Python has done irreparable damage to the Everglades National Park in Florida. A steady decline in mammals has been observed since the introduction of Burmese pythons occurred. Burmese pythons were first introduced into the United States as part of the pet trade which then led to the escape or intentional release out into the wild. The first notation of these species arriving was in the year 2000. However, within just eleven years this invasive species had done such a large amount of damage to Florida’s Ecosystem that many species had gone almost completely extinct.
There are invaders among us, they are not alien or human, but Burmese Pythons. Arguably one of the most beautiful and unique parts of nature remaining in the United States is rapidly being destroyed by the Burmese Python. It has enormously impacted the Everglades in a negative way. The beautiful indigenous animals have quickly disappeared and new predators surface as we dig deeper into the Everglades. This fierce animal is a constrictor, squeezing the life out of its prey. The Pythons tight grip sucks the life out of its prey and swallows it whole. “It sounded like a joke when news reported Burmese Pythons were invading the Everglades in 2000” states USA Today. Pythons are slithering their way through the Florida Everglades with a big appetite and a similar habitat as their original home in Asia. Now, they have marked their territory permanently and there may be nothing scientists can do in order to prevent this issue.
In American history the adjective used to describe the 1920s is known as the “Roaring” twenties. During the decade Florida had its own adjective used to describe the real estate market known as the “Land Boom”. The Florida land boom of the 20s was Florida’s first big real estate bubble. During the great land boom of the 20th century Florida saw tens of thousands of Americans flood to the state to move or purchase land. By looking at the how this development of real estate began, who was affected, and how the “Boom” became a soft clap by the end of the decade one can see the immediate impact this event had on the United States.
The State of Florida’s marine ecosystems are in a constant pattern of change. Change is necessary in nature. Change is nature’s way of adaptation. While there are “occasional good” changes, the progressive major changes have a devastating negative impact to the Florida marine environment. There are several factors correlated directly to this negative change. Most of these factors are due to man. One cause is natural. It is the hurricane. Hurricane Season is from June to November (NOAA) each and every year. On average 11 named storms occur in the Atlantic Basin each year with 6 reaching hurricane strength and 50% of these becoming a major hurricane of category 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (NOAA). Whether small or large, hurricanes cause damage and modifica...
1. Alden, Peter, Rich Cech, and Gil Nelson. 1998. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida. New York: Knopf.
Within the state of Florida there are dozens of individualized, non-profit organizations making an effort to help the local wildlife. The local land and marine wildlife includes birds, geckos, frogs, snakes, panthers, manatees, sea turtles, fishes, sharks, corals, lizards and many, many more. Florida State is located on the Southeastern tip of the United States providing a unique opportunity for conservation of salt-water animals. While there are animal conservation efforts taking place all over the world, this essay will focus on two animal species that humans are specifically trying to save in Florida State. The two main animal species of focus are manatees and sea turtles.
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 Everglades' future have silently raged on for years about how, why, and when the restoration will begin. This ongoing, but virtually unproductive effort has cost taxpayers a great deal without any apparent benefits. Recently, this debate has been amplified by the voices of the sugar industry in Florida, which was attacked for its major contribution to pollution of the Everglades. Now debates rage on with a new effort called the Restudy. Backed by the Army Corps of Engineers, this effort would change the flow of the Everglades, potentially restoring it into the viable community of life that it used to be. The question now is, will this latest attempt to restore the Everglades ever be realized (thus ending the cyclic Everglades debate) or will it simply add up to one more notch on the bedpost of inadequate and failed attempts to save this national treasure. The world is watching to see how the United States will handle this unprecedented cleanup.
The Florida Everglades have been slowly and steadily diminishing in size for over many decades. Throughout the years, the Everglades have had an abundant, healthy environment. The massive swamps were once rich with marshland, and had ecosystems chock-full of wildlife. However, due to large corporations, natural disasters and most importantly, the growth of the human population, the Everglades are 50% smaller than they were hundreds of years ago. The destruction of the Florida Everglades includes not only a diminishing number of the marshland, but also the lessening of wild life, such as alligators, herons, and exotic plants. While there is a government plan set for the restoration of the everglades, it will take many years to make up for the
The Everglades, classified as a wetland or a "transition zone" can support plant and animal life unlike any other place. Wetlands are an important resource for endangered species and "that more than one third of the United States' threatened and endangered species live only in wetlands." Says Elaine Mao, the author of Wetlands and Habitat Loss. People have started to notice the importance and the role of wetlands like the Everglades and how they are valuable and essential for ecosystems to live. Wetlands provide so many kinds of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds, and
The Spanish had great expectations of Florida despite disastrous results from expeditions such as Ponce de Leon and Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon's. In a description of the panhandle region from Hernando de Soto's campaigns, Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo wrote, “The Province of Apalache is very fertile and abundantly provided with much corn, kidney beans, pumpkins, various fruits, much venison, many varieties of birds and excellent fishing near the sea.” Notwithstanding the environmental benefits, the Spanish were ultimately unsuccessful in establishing a plantation economy in Florida. Both the British and the proto-Seminoles achieved greater success in establishing a plantation economy after the failure of the Spanish. Many factors contributed to the success of the proto-Seminoles and British in Florida including increased population, choice of economy, and African presence in Florida.
Florida became a state in 1845 and almost immediately people began proposing to drain the Everglades. In 1848, a government report said that draining the Everglades would be easy, and there would be no bad effect. Canals and dams were dug to control seasonal flooding. Farmers grew vegetables in the rich soil of the drained land, Ranchers had their cattle graze on the dry land, and new railways lines were constructed to connect communities throughout south Florida; but the ecosystem of the Everglades was not suited for either farming or ranching. The natural cycle of dry and wet seasons brought a devastating series of droughts and floods. These had always been a p...
Klyza, Christopher McGrory, and Paula Anne Ford-Martin. "Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (1980)" Environmental Encyclopedia. Eds. Marci Bortman, Peter Brimblecombe, Mary Ann Cunningham, William P. Cunningham, and William Freedman. Vol. 1. 3rd ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2003. 1 pp. 2 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. GILA RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. 20 Feb. 2015