Florida Living Research Paper

As decades continued to pass by the wetlands change. "People have begun to realize that wetlands are valuable and productive ecosystems that fulfill an essential function for both humans and wildlife. Due to their unique characteristics, wetlands can support a wide diversity of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. They also control floodwaters and protect us from storms and hurricanes. Wetlands also improve water quality by filtering, cleaning and storing water. Lastly, many people rely on wetlands for their livelihood, as they are important centers for hunting, fishing and recreation." Referring to this from "Wetlands and Habitat Loss", we now see how wetlands are valuable and helpful to the ecosystem. The wetlands are known for our water source. Many people depend on the Everglades for a water source. We also use the Everglades for activities. These activities include fishing, recreation, and

Hess, D. (2011). Mcknight's Physical Geography; A Landscapes Appreciation. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

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

Firstly, Florida has a natural life that not a lot of countries have. When walking on the streets in Florida you can see trees in every angle you look. These trees bring the beauty of this country. When living in Florida you won’t feel that you’re trapped in a country

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.

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

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."

The Timucuan Preserve is a luscious green forest located on the northeast coast of Florida. Walking into the trails of the Timucuan, I hear the soothing sounds of birds chirping. I take a seat onto the bench next to the trail edge. Observing the runners pass by I can hear their fast foot steps on the soft earth. Time passes and a light breeze touches upon my skin. I have begun to notice the air as being slightly humid yet comfortable even without the light breeze.

The Santa Ana Wildlife refuge was a location in which we had to visit today in the morning. Santa Ana was established in 1943 for the protection of migratory birds. Thought it might be small for its’ size this refuge can be home to abundance of animals and bugs. The trails that we followed to today were the chachalacas trail and the willow trail. My hand on experience was ok. I think because I am taller than the average person I kept on getting hit with branches and kept on getting hit with a lot of spider webs. There were different animal on the bingo card today then the pervious location. These animals include the armadillo, turtle, and coyote. We also found another bird that was nesting on the ground, at first glance we thought it was a

The first stop that I noticed a significant amount of wildlife is at stop three which is the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve Picnic Grounds. This ground was established by the University in 1983 which preserves a portion of the riparian habitat and provides a diverse wildlife habitat. Riparian ecosystems have a major importance to the animals and plants species. Many types of animals such as land mammals, migrating birds, amphibians, and reptiles can be found along Putah Creek. Some examples of animals that I saw were the California ground squirrel along with a myriad of squirrel burrows, European starling, and lots of crows. Some examples of plants that I saw were the California black walnut, valley oaks, and Fremont Cottonwood. I gave this stop a score of three out of three because I noticed major contribution of a diverse wildlife habitat compared to the other stops I went to. Another stop that I gave a three out of three was stop four because there was a significant amount of wildlife. This stop was near the creek which had lots of animals and plants. I heard lots of bird chirping and ducks nearby. Some plants that I saw were the California black walnut, blue oak, and some poison oak hidden between other plants. Some animals that I saw were the northern flicker and the California ground squirrel. Sadly I was not able to see any fishes in the creek because it was very hard to tell but I did see some creatures make splashes in the water. These two stops were the two best because they consisted of a diverse wildlife habitat which shows that UC Davis does a convenient job in conserving the

The author states that this book is supposed to encourage the appreciation and study of road fauna. The author even mentions that a trip of one thousand miles presents the opportunity to see, identify, and possibly enjoy four hundred to four thousand animals. The author encourages the reader to think of the road as a habitat. Most animal habitats such as forests, lakes, marshes, and such have been apart of the world for millions of years, and the new roads conveniently run through these habitats. These new roads and highways are a relatively new part of these animals natural habitat, but the animals still include these roads as a part of their traditional habitat. Animals have not had a significant amount of time to adapt to this relatively new habitat. The road fauna is quite new

A small group of ecologists is looking beyond the pristine to study the scrubby, feral and untended. Emma Marris learns to appreciate ‘novel ecosystems’.

Finally, we gathered at the turtle pond where Pam approached me with a smile, dressed in a flowing white blouse, round black sunglasses, and stylish hiking sandals, an outfit fit for the 100 degree weather. Underneath the canopy of the Sequoia Sempervirens, trees which towered several feet high, we sat on a stone bench. From our point we overlooked a pond in which three medium sized turtles rested on a small log which had fallen from a tree near by. As the birds chirped soothing tunes above us and lizards zigzagged across the dirt path Pam began to tell me about UCR’s Botanic Gardens.

I wonder what Clyde Butcher would say to me if I were to ask him to explain to me exactly how he feels when he is experiencing the Everglades and taking the amazing photographs of this beautiful place. Would his words come anywhere close to expressing his passion for the Everglades and other natural areas as his photographs do? Would his words be an even better explanation and expression of his feelings towards the Everglades than his photographs? How about Marjory Stoneman Douglas? What if I were to ask her to put her feelings and passion about the Everglades into a painting or into photographs? Would her works of visual art be a better representation of her connection with the Everglades than her literature? I

Ibex is the most commonly found animal. the snow leopard, wolf, red fox, brown beer, musk deer, etc are also seen in the valley.Among birds snow pigeons, chakors, house sparrows, snow cock, vultures, various species of finches, dippers, swifts, wild ducks,etc are found in plenty the region. The snakes and reptiles are virtually unknown in the valley.