Everglades Flora and Fauna

Last week we explored some of the different habitats in the Everglades. This week we’ll look at some the plant and animal residents, then wrap up with some of the many challenges facing the region.

So many different kinds of animals live in the Everglades. They range from tiny biting flies to giant mosquitoes that can carry you back to their dens and every size of mosquito in between. There are also birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fishes, crustaceans, and arachnids. Many threatened and endangered species call this place home. Some of the highlights: Florida panther, eastern indigo snake, American crocodile, West Indian manatee, five species of sea turtle (leatherback, loggerhead, green, hawksbill, and Atlantic ridley), snail kite, wood stork, piping plover, and red cockaded woodpecker.

Florida panther (US Fish and Wildlife Service)

West Indian manatee

Other critters you can find there include alligators, black bears, deer, marsh rabbits (which is a capable swimmer, gray foxes (which can climb trees), pilot whales, dolphins, several bat species, the gulf toadfish (which is audible to humans), roseate spoonbills, flamingoes, owls, parakeets, shore birds, waterfowl, owls, and birds of prey.

Roseate spoonbill (US Fish and Wildlife Service)

American crocodile (NPS)

Marsh rabbit (North Carolina State Parks)

Plant life in the Everglades includes sawgrass, named for its serrated edges; Simpson’s applecactus, an endangered night-blooming species; wildflowers like climbing aster, coralbean, devil’s potato, and duck potato; several species of orchids that can be found in nearly all of the Everglades habitats, including treetop canopies; and a wide variety of trees. Among the many trees are three mangrove species, West Indies mahogany, live oak, slash pine, bald cypress, gumbo-limbo, buttonwood, royal palm and sabal palm.

Sawgrass (Florida Department of State)

Applecactus (USDA)

Coralbean (NPS)

West Indies mahogany (University of Florida)

Sabal palm (USDA)

Like any other natural area, there is damage caused by humans. Some is recent, but some goes back decades. As development came to Florida, much of the water was diverted by canals. Wetlands were filled in and built over. The diminished flow and water fouled with agricultural runoff and sediment has had far-reaching effects, even today. The current red tide on Florida’s Gulf Coast is likely a result.

Invasive species, especially the Burmese python and boa constrictor, are of increasing concern. These snakes eat just about any native species in the Everglades, including the alligators. With no natural predators, their populations are able to grow unchecked. Although snake hunts are held throughout the year, they are very well camouflaged and are able to escape detection. Another species of concern is the melaleuca tree, which shades out native plants. At least a tree is easier to find than a python. Lionfish are an exotic species that eats the native populations. Increasing demand for them as a food fish is having limited success in eradicating them.

In the marine habitat, propeller scars form when boaters in shallow water mow submerged vegetation or even scrape the sea floor. Scraping bottom is far worse because it kills vegetation directly. It also kicks up sediment, which shades nearby vegetation, indirectly killing more.

The amazing biodiversity of the Everglades leaves quite a lasting impression on visitors. Unfortunately the human impact leaves an even bigger mark on the landscape and wild residential population. While government agencies from the local level up to federal are spending a lot of money to restore the ecosystems, paradoxically, those same governments are allowing more destruction in other parts of the Everglades. It’s a tragic lesson in how our lifestyle choices have consequences most of us never see or think about.

This week's information, like last week, comes from the National Park Service.

Everglades Ecosystems

This week and next we’re taking a look at the largest subtropical wilderness in America, the Everglades. What we now know as Everglades National Park is just a fraction of the original Everglades, and unfortunately, almost daily it becomes a larger percentage of what of remains today. While what remains is an incredibly diverse variety of habitats, each with their own plants and animals, it is not without its challenges. We’ll explore what’s so special about this place as well as what’s going wrong there.

In its former glory, the Everglades was a huge watershed. Water flowed south from areas north of Lake Okeechobee and drained to the east, west, and south. Some of the water flowed east and west into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, respectively, through traditional rivers and streams. Some water flowed out through the slow-moving “River of Grass”, as the Everglades became known as. Where the water goes and how much gets there determines the many different ecosystems.

Many other factors go into building an ecosystem, including geology and climate. To me, what gives an ecosystem its character is its plant life. The Everglades has quite the cast of characters, with grasses inhabiting the freshwater sloughs and marl and coastal prairies. Marl prairie is grassland of thin soil formed on top of limestone bedrock. The soil is high in calcite and the bedrock may be exposed in some areas. Rainwater becomes acidic as it dissolves plant material, and even a weak acid can easily dissolve limestone. The bedrock here is very porous. Marl prairies drain slowly.

Marl prairie (Florida Museum of Natural History)

Freshwater sloughs are main arteries for water flowing to the sea. The water moves very slowly and is very grassy. The sloughs are dotted with “islands” of trees and are bounded by the higher and drier marl prairies.

Freshwater slough (NPS)

Mangrove forests line the channels and rivers in the coastal and estuarine areas of the Everglades. Mangroves buffer the coast from storms, collect sediment to form new land, and harbor a vast array of birds, reptiles, mammals, and fishes. See my earlier blog post for more details.

Mangroves (NPS)

Hardwood hammocks are dense wooded areas on slight rises. Temperate and tropical tree species mingle here, and because the surrounding lowlands are either wet or not land at all, fire rarely reaches here. The dense canopy creates a dark and humid environment where ferns thrive.

Hardwood hammock (NPS)

Pine rocklands form on high ground around exposed limestone bedrock. These forests are less dense than hardwood hammocks. Fire keeps the understory open and hardwoods at bay.

Pine rockland (NPS)

Marine areas of Everglades National Park also have plant communities. Seagrasses stabilize the bottom, trap sediments, provide a nursery for fishes, and feed underwater herbivores. Lobsters, crabs, shrimp, corals, and sponges are also found offshore.

Florida Bay marine habitat (NPS)

Next week we'll look more at the plants and animals of the Everglades, as well as challenges the region faces. Information and photos this week come from the National Park Service.

Species of the Month

This month’s species of the month is the largest critter to ever roam the planet. Even bigger than the biggest dinosaur, the blue whale is wide-spread but seldom seen. Hunter to near extinction, they now number just a few thousand. Hopefully these gentle giants will fully recover.

Blue whale (NPS)

Scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class:   Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Cetacea (dolphins and whales)

Range: Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans from the near-polar regions to the equator

Habitat: Open ocean

Lifespan: Estimated to be 80 to 90 years

Diet: Krill, small fish, small crustaceans, copepods

Predators: Humans, sharks and killer whales prey on calves

Conservation Status: Listed as endangered by IUCN and under ESA.

Blue whale spouting (NPS)

Other Information: Blue whales were hunted for oil and blubber. They have been protected since 1966. Blue whales are baleen whales, those that do not have teeth but instead have bristle-like filters. An adult can eat up to four tons of krill in a day. Not much is known about their reproduction. Males and females mature at about five years old, and females give birth every other or every third year. Gestation is about a year. Most blue whales are migratory, spending winters in the tropics and summers in the high latitudes. Dives can last 10-20 minutes between breaths. Blue whales are vocal, but their songs are too low for humans to hear. Like other whales, blues fluke (tail emerges from the water), breach (entire body emerges), spyhop (head is exposed), and spout (back and blowhole exposed, the whale exhales).

Blue whale fluking (NPS)

This week’s information comes from the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web.

The Sage of the West

Let’s head back into the heat again this week and explore another warm, dry ecosystem. Sage scrubland is semi-arid and unless you live there, you probably aren’t familiar with it. Like the desert, it can appear to be devoid of life unless you know where to look.

Sage scrubland in Idaho (USFS)

The ecosystem is defined by sagebrush being the dominant plant species with hot, dry summers and cold winters. Most precipitation is winter snow and spring rain. Sage scrubland ecosystems are found in the Intermountain West and California’s coastal chaparral ecosystem.

Many animals call the sage scrubland home. Small mammals and reptiles are well represented in the list of fauna. The endangered black-footed ferret is among them, and it was in Wyoming’s sage scrubland that a colony was discovered after the species had been given up as extinct. They were all captured and put into a captive breeding program which has seeded recovery efforts throughout the West. Larger mammals include elk, mule deer, and pronghorn.

Black-footed ferret (USFWS)

Birds of prey are common inhabitants of this ecosystem. The sage grouse (of course) also calls this area home. This threatened bird relies heavily on the sagebrush for its survival. Not only is sage a staple if its diet, it also uses the plant for cover.

Male sage grouse (USFWS)

Sagebrush, the dominant plant in this ecosystem, provides sustenance for species other than the sage grouse. When the deer and the antelope aren’t playing, they can be found nibbling on sage brush. It is especially important during the winter when other lower plants are buried under snow. 

Like so many other habitats in the world, sage scrubland is in danger. Development destroys or fragments the habitat. Oil and gas drilling scare away resident critters and disrupt migrations. Invasive plants crowd out the natives and create a vegetation density conducive to fire. While sagebrush can withstand low intensity fire, hotter fires fueled by invasive cheatgrass destroys it. Agriculture converts sage land to crop land.

Sagebrush in Oregon

There is hope, of course. Most sage scrubland is in sparsely populated areas so it is disappearing at a slower pace than other areas. Agriculture, which can be destructive to this ecosystem, can also be a conservation partner. It makes a great low-maintenance rangeland if done sustainably.

Sage scrubland is an important, but unheard of ecosystem. Most people think of the Intermountain West as just drive-through or fly-over country. Eastern Washington is a million shades of brown from 30,000 feet. But while driving across eastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and northern Wyoming I was quite taken with the beauty and solitude of the seemingly endless sea of sage.

This week's information comes from US Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

The Good Old Days

This week’s adventure takes a peek at the past. Earth was a vastly different place in the good old days. Dinosaurs ruled and everything was just a bigger, sabre-toothed version of the critters we have today. OK, maybe not the bigger, pointier critters. But scientists can tell us a lot about the way things used to be by looking at the fossil record.

Fossils are like prehistoric pictures. They form when dead organic material is slowly replaced by mineral material. Not everything that ever died was destined to become a fossil; only in certain conditions could the transition take place. Being in a situation without oxygen would’ve helped your cause if you were hoping to fossilize. Oxygen is a requirement for decomposition. If you’re decomposing, you won’t leave behind anything to fossilize. 

Little worm fossils imprinted on a rock

Usually when you think of fossils you think of huge dinosaur bones. There are other types of fossils too. Footprints in dried mud that later turned to stone can be found in Alaska and Africa.

Dinosaur footprint found at Denali National Park (NPS)

Imprints of shells in rock are mountains that used to be sea floor. One wound up in my back yard in Pennsylvania. One day a dead plant was buried in between layers of sediment that hardened into rock. Years later, I squeezed that rock and found black images of that plant inside the rock. Whole trees can be fossilized into petrified wood. Ancient insects trapped in tree sap that hardened into amber are also fossils.

A rock full of shells from my back yard

Plant fossils inside a piece of sedimentary rock

If you want to find some fossils, you don’t need to be a paleontologist or geologist. All it takes is a little luck and some sedimentary rock. Igneous rock is volcanic in nature, so that won’t be likely to preserve any critters. Metamorphic rock is rock that has changed from heat and pressure, so no luck there either. But sedimentary rock is just dirt that compacted into rocks. If you go on a fossil hunt, respect private property and remember not to take anything from or do any damage to national parks.

Petrified wood- looking at the rough bark

Petrified wood- look closely and you can see the grains

Ant trapped in amber (Smithsonian)