The Everglades
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
9/2/20243 min read
The Everglades, located in the southern part of Florida, USA, is one of the most famous and extraordinary wetlands in the entire world containing many habitats like mangrove forests, costal lowlands, freshwater sloughs, cypress trees and many more. Spanning across about 1.5 million acres, the Everglades is a perfect place to encounter contains lots of wildlife, a variety of ecosystems, and a great spot for fun activates like fishing.
As previously mentioned, the wildlife at the Everglades is amazing and diverse containing animals that would not be easy to see normally. Two animals that would be great to see at the Everglades would be the American alligator and crocodile. The only place in America to see the American crocodile would be southern Florida in places like the Everglades. The American alligator can be found in more places in America other than just Florida, however, the Everglades is the only place in the world were both crocodiles and alligators live in the same place with each other. This is because the Everglades contains a mixture of freshwater from lakes, rivers, swamps that alligators enjoy and salt water from the ocean that crocodiles find ideal. There are other animals that can be seen in the Everglades like the marsh rabbit, wood stork, Florida panther, banded water-snake and many more.
Sadly, the Everglades over time has gone through some difficulties that effect it's overall well-being. One factor contributing to this is the invasive species that have arrived in the Everglades. Invasive species are simply species is a nonnative organism that harms the new environment and the native species in a area. Animals like the Burmese python disrupt the ecological balance in the Everglades. Another factor was drainage of the Everglades for urban development and agricultural purposes. This puts plants and animals that need the water at risk. Lastly, factors like climate change also negatively affect the Everglades due to factors like rising sea levels which result in saltwater intrusion disrupting the original balance between fresh and salt water in the Everglades that some animals have adapted or depend on.
In conclusion, the Everglades is a very important piece of nature in the world and its preservation is very important for many more years.
Sources:
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Stone, J. A., and D. E. Legg. 1992. “Agriculture and the Everglades.” Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 47 (3): 207–15. https://www.jswconline.org/content/47/3/207.
National Wildlife Federation. 2019. “The Everglades | National Wildlife Federation.” National Wildlife Federation. 2019. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Wild-Places/Everglades.
“Threats to the Everglades Ecosystem.” n.d. EF. https://www.evergladesfoundation.org/threats-to-the-everglades-ecosystem.
“Crocodiles and Alligators Living Together.” 2024. Si.edu. 2024. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/president-truman-dedicates-everglades-national-park/crocodiles-and-alligators-living#:~:text=No%20animal%20is%20more%20synonymous.
“Everglades Safari Park.” n.d. Www.evergladessafaripark.com. https://www.evergladessafaripark.com/post/ultimate-guide-animals-of-the-everglades.
National Park Service. 2021. “Habitats - Everglades National Park (U.S. National Park Service).” Www.nps.gov. April 7, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/habitats.htm.
Homestead, Mailing Address: 40001 State Road 9336, and FL 33034 Phone:242-7700 Contact Us. n.d. “Basic Information - Everglades National Park (U.S. National Park Service).” Www.nps.gov. https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm.