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 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

The Maryland ecosystem is being ravaged by several invasive species. These species are introduced into the ecosystem in several ways, with several discoveries of invasive species every year. Whether it be Wavyleaf basketgrass or Purple loosestrife, these plants are capable of outcompeting with native plants and causing devastation to the native ecosystem. These invasive species are damaging to the environment and we should work as a community to halt the spread and limit its impact on the ecosystem of Maryland.

The Everglades National Park protects the largest wild life area east of the Mississippi River. The Everglades are the largest remaining sub-tropical wild life area in 48 states sitting on 1.5 million acres preserved at Florida’s tip off shore. The Everglades contain various ecosystems such as rivers, lakes ponds, marshes, etc. These wild life areas feature both fresh and saltwater areas, open prairies, pine rock lands, tropical hardwood forests, offshore coral reefs, and mangrove forests. This paper will summarize how humans contributed to the destruction of the Everglades and how man is working to save the Everglades. Since the Everglades is comprised of both fresh and saltwater areas the vast range of wildlife species in the Everglades include but not limited to reptiles, mammals, aquatic birds, etc. The vast spectrum of wildlife living in the Florida Everglades include but not limited to aquatic animals, mammals, reptiles, etc. Of this vast spectrum of wildlife living in the Florida Everglades there are 56+ species who are either endangered or are in jeopardy of being endangered. The Everglades are home to two National Parks, four National Wildlife Refuges, and one National Marine Sanctuary that bring almost 2 million visitors every year to experience this natural beauty located minutes from Miami Florida. The powerful environmental forces of sun, water, wind, and fire greatly affect the development and lifecycles of these

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.

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.

Nearly as large as the state of New Jersey, the Everglades used to measure about 6,000 square miles (Bucks, 1998). The Everglades was a complex wetland consisting of a mosaic of ecosystems. The heart of the Everglades was a slow moving body of water with a span of one hundred twenty miles long and forty miles wide with an average depth of six inches to two feet of water (Lauber,1973). This broad shallow, often called the "river of grass," was covered in a blanket of saw grass (not actually a grass but a sedge) that slowly drained the water from its main source, Lake Okeechobee, all the way to the southernmost tip of the state and into the Florida Bay. Shaped much like a saucer, when full Lake Okeechobee would send its overflow spilling into the shallows of the Everglades river. This natural filling process, along with the wet season's rains, is what fed the flow of the Everglades and the underlying aquifers for centuries.

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

Groundwater is the largest and most available usable source of drinking water in the state. There is a vast and mysterious system of caves and natural springs in North Central Florida. The cave system within the aquifer is one of the most amazing parts. The caves are remarkable in many ways. They are among the deepest and longest in the world, let alone the U.S. Another amazing aspect of the system is the purity of the water. The springs collectively produce billions of gallons of crystal clear water per day. The whole system stems from the Florida Aquifer that rests under the entire state. When most people think of Florida, they think of the weather and the beaches, but its the springs and the whole water

Florida, a treasure trove of many, many species of animals and diverse wildlife. How many of those, ‘Florida’ species are actually native to Florida though? If you walk outside you will probably see lizards everywhere, you know, the brown ones. Well, what if I told you, that they are not actually native to Florida? Those lizards are called Brown Anoles, and they are actually from Cuba and the Bahamas. This is just one example of the many invasive species, which compete with Florida’s native species for food, resources and territories everyday. A few more examples of invasive species that are harmful to our wildlife are the Cuban tree frog, which is a threat to not only other frogs but toads and lizards as well, the Burmese python, which is invading the everglades, and the air potato, which is slowly creeping its way up through Florida, tree to tree.

Extraordinary wildlife, beautiful creatures, and lively plants are home to a famous region in Southern Florida known as the Everglades. The Everglades creates a livable environment that is sustainable to multiple species and living beings. Florida’s Everglades is a valuable and productive ecosystem that fulfills the essential functions for both humans and wildlife. The different species of biodiversity in Florida’s valued Everglades strengthen the ecosystem.

Influence on ecosystems range from human causes like the bulldozing of a forest to natural causes like a fire or a flood.  In recent times, the introduction and spread of invasive species has transformed native communities rapidly and, in some cases, created irreversible damages.  In the Earth’s history, changes have often occurred in the ecosystems.  For example, glaciers and the retreat of glaciers cause wide-spread changes.  However, although change is a constant in ecosystems, animals and habitats often cannot adapt to the rapid alterations of non-natural stresses.  Harm to the environment from the introduction of invasive species occurs through changes in the habitat and declines in the native species.  Invasive species

Invasive species devastate the agricultural community. Specifically, for the state of Florida, citrus greening has been destructive in the growing, production, and harvesting of the citrus industry. On average, invasive species across our country costs the US $137 billion and Florida's agriculture industry alone $200 million annually. The importance of this issue is the invasive species, Asian citrus psyllid, has no cure and it's been found in every country in Florida that has citrus production. Once the invasive species injects the leaves with their toxin, you can't save the tree. This disease, which has been in Florida since 2005, has tremendously affected the high level

The biodiversity effects of non-native invasive species have been described as “immense, insidious and usually irreversible” (Veitch and Clout, 2002). There is significant evidence proving that invasive species can cause severe economic, environmental and ecological damage (Mack et al., 2000). A lot of time and research has been devoted to dividing the world into regions with distinctive habitats and species. Numerous pathways, mostly anthropogenic, are breaking down these realms and facilitating the ecological and biological invasion of non-native species.

This project is a partnership between the University of Oregon’s Environmental Leadership Program and the management at Newberry National Volcanic Monument (NNVM) in the Deschutes National Forest. Our team, a group of 11 undergraduate students, collected data on invasive species at NNVM in September and October of 2017. Our survey routes were based on a map produced by the United States Forest Service (USFS) that outlined the previously recorded locations of invasive species at NNVM. The USFS map was a composite of several data sources and was the best available information prior to our survey. Our team used this map to evaluate previously recorded populations and to look for new or unknown populations. Our evaluations included updating