Kissimee River Ecosystem 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 restoration project, which established to clean up ecosystems and waterways for both current and future generations, has encountered many difficulties stemming from either damage that has been done to the environment was in a fact a result of mother-nature, or a result from the activities pursued by mankind. The case involving the South Florida Water Management District can be argued to have been caused by the agencies' activities within the

Giving full credit to restricting the Mississippi River as the culprit for loss of wetlands is not accurate. The booming oil and gas exploration of the 1970’s and 1980’s merits a name on the marquee as well. The pipelines and canals used to transport the resources to the outside world placed a great deal of stress on the fragile wetlands. Erosion from the barges in and out of the marshes as well as the salt water allowed into the fresh water, providing a precarious habitat for fresh water species – flora and fauna alike. Plants provide root systems to hold soil in place. Fish and fowl provide an economy for the area. Enter

One hundred years ago the Everglades covered close to 4 million acres between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico. Billions of gallons of water flowed into the Everglades. The population of the East coast of Florida was 23,000. This was partially due to a lack of suitable land for housing because of periodic flooding and the threat of hurricanes. When Florida was first becoming settled there were many attempts by settlers to make the area more hospitable. Most of these attempts failed. It was after two devastating hurricanes (1926 and 1928) that the Federal government had the US Army Corps of Engineers create a system of canals, levies, and dikes to further development of that area. They diverted much of the normal southward flow of water eastward. This allowed 1.3 million acres to be developed. It also left 2 million acres for the Everglades National Park and water conservation areas. 1 million acres was left for agricultural use (Everglades Agricultural

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.

The everglades is a place where nature is free in it’s paradise, besides the fact that there are hundreds of issues. The Everglades is home to many types of wildlife, and also provides for humans. The water supply has dramatically affected everyone, and everything, not all of it good. Water issues have affected the Everglades, and Florida by decreasing wildlife, droughts, and money issues.

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

A concrete network of canals was designed to bring water from the lake area to surrounding farmland in the dry season. Florida was becoming a booming area and more people came and more acres of the Everglades were cleared for farms, ranches, housing, roads, and railways. And more and more; the Everglades were dying (Miami Museum of Science, 1995).

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

Orlando Florida is known worldwide for its entertainment facilities, notably Walt Disney World, Universal Theme Park and other attractions. This paper reports on Orlando's natural environment and ecology, which doesn't get the attention and publicity that the theme parks do, but in the end these natural world places are more vital to the well being of the humans and wildlife in that area of Central Florida.

Water is a necessary factor in Everglades national park. Many animals and people use the lake to gain water, however because of this, the water has shrunk half it's size.

Given the substantial population growth in Florida over the past half-century and the continued development of land, water conservation is crucial in the Tampa Bay area and throughout Florida.

Aquatic ecosystems play a pivotal role for living organisms, providing life-supporting services, along with valuable goods and services for society. Aquatic ecosystems are able to decrease flood damages by storing season floodwaters. They supply humans with water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors and aid in recharging groundwater supplies, which is an essential source of potable water. Furthermore, the recharging of groundwater aids in drought mitigation. Freshwater ecosystems play a similar role to water treatment plants in that they filter out pollutants and purify water. They support a variety of plant and animal life, which ultimately creates a robust food chain, supporting human and wildlife consumption. Wetlands reduce greenhouse gas emissions by storing carbon dioxide rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. As mentioned above, ecosystems help mitigate water-related disasters. Aquatic ecosystems provide nutrients to estuaries, river deltas, and maintain soil fertility. Additionally, by delivering freshwater, freshwater ecosystems are able to maintain salinity balances within estuaries (Postel, 2008; SRWP, 2007; GWP, n.d.).