The Importance Of Florida's Biodiversity

To begin with, wildlife is brutally being affected by the draining and pollution. In the early 1900’s settlers from outside of Florida took over the Everglades and decided it was “useless swampland.” Their idea of draining the wetlands was not a smart decision. As it states in passage 1 lines 17-19, “The US Army Corps of engineers and government officials authorized the digging of the canals, the creating of water storage facilities, and

Florida has more introduced species of reptiles and amphibians in the wild than anywhere else in the world, causing the native populations to become unbalanced (University of Florida, 2012).

The Everglades, a vast wetlands ecosystem made up of marshes and swamps, begins at Lake Okeechobee, a large lake in the center of Florida, and ends in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay. It is nearly 50 miles across and 110 miles long (Hinrichsen), and when viewed from the air, appears to be miles and miles of shallow water flowing through thick mats of grass. This perception has earned it the name “River of Grass”. Although it does flow like a river, the flow is so incredibly slow that, from a distance, it doesn’t seem to move at all.

We are going to talk about Florida’s history, economy, energy resources, famous, landmarks, and geography. It is a state with a lot of good people and places. It has a lot of history and beautiful landmarks. We are going to learn about Florida and everything in it.

The Everglades is a vast region that stretches from the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee and is filled with a unique and world-famous ecosystem that is exclusive to the rest of the world. It is located in southern Florida and takes up 1.5 million of the land. While there are many diverse species, there are around 500 human inhabitants. This region is one of the largest wetlands in the US and the only existing Everglades in the entire world. Because of this and other pressing factors, about one-fifth of the Everglades are protected by the Everglades National Park. The fact that the Everglades are one of kind also means that anything that happens not only affects itself locally, but also nationally and globally. And now, there are many problems

The Everglades Restoration Plan is the policy to increase the flow of clean water to the Everglades, in an effort to protect the environment, provide for recreational activities, and supply South Florida with a clean supply of potable water. At a cost of more than $10.5 billion and with a 35+ year time-line, this is the largest hydrologic restoration project ever undertaken in the United States. The Federal Government approved Florida’s landmark water quality project that, once constructed, all parties agree will provide the clean water the Everglades need (Scott, 2013). The Everglades restoration has been hampered by decades of futile bickering over how to decide the most rational approach to restoring the flow of water to the Everglades.

The Florida Everglades have been adversely impacted for decades because of human attempts to control this historical ‘River of Grass’. The reason for our insistence on attempting to control and manage the area can be defined in one word: water. There has always been plenty of water available within the Everglades’ ecosystem, but no logical way to extract it. Our extraction efforts eventually led to devastating results. My paper will focus on the initial policy and practices involved in the extensive downgrading of this once biologically unequaled ecosystem; as well as discuss recent policy initiatives that have been implemented in order to restore the Everglades to its once magnificent status. I will attempt

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

There are many invasive species that populate Florida. An invasive species is defined as a plant, animal, or fungus that has come to occupy a location aside from its native grounds. Often times, because Florida is not their homeland, these animals play a negative part in the ecosystem. Because of this, the citizens affected are often forced to seek means of removing these animals to eliminate their negative effects. The Burmese Python, the Green Iguana, and the Wild Boar are just a few examples of some of the invasive species that can be found in Florida.

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.

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

any endangered species are located near places with extreme poverty. In this century, over half of the world's wildlife may become extinct. Not long ago, all of the Earth's ecosystem was able to support vast numbers of creatures. Much of the earth's wildlife is now in danger of disappearing because there are no places for them to go. 25% of all mammals are at threat of extinction, as well as two thirds of all birds. The sixth extinction will not come from outer space, but will happen because of humans. China has over come the United States in food consumption. This could prove to be a very big problem is there's over 1 billion people that live in China. The farmers in China have increased the livestock had from 100 million, to over 400 million. This has devastated the environment very much.

The Florida Everglades are a great representation of a wild Florida. The park is a place full of wildlife, and rich with history. Even though there are many problems, and many failed attempts to save the Everglades, the place itself is still very historic. Native American Tribes and settlement, history and wildlife, have all been a key part in the Everglades today.

Overall, they conducted an experiment over an invasive species in Florida. Invasive species can negatively affect communities and ecosystems on a world-wide scale. According to the authors, “Most reptiles are predators that, as ectotherms, can direct large proportions of assimilated energy to growth, storage, and reproduction, often allowing them to persist at high densities and pose major risks to native wildlife.” Once these predators take root in a new environment, it may take a while before people realize any decline in native species. The invasive species this study focuses on is the Burmese Python which can grow up to 55 meters. The Burmese Python originally came from Asia. Though recently, they were introduced to Florida, specifically

Ninety percent of the earth’s trees between three and four hundred years old have been cut down. The remaining ten percent is all we will ever have (Gallant, 97). The definition of deforestation by the Random House Dictionary of the English Language is "to divest or clear of forests or trees.” Deforestation is one of the most significant issues of our time; considerable measures must be taken to prevent further pillaging of our unique forest resource.