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Matt Ferraro
Miss Miller
Honors Biology
October 8, 2016
sorts of different plants and animals that call the Everglades their home. Before we get started
though we would like to give you a brief preview of what you can expect.
Lets start out with some basic information on the Everglades. The Everglades are located
in the southern-most tip of Florida and you can find entrances to the park in Homestead, Florida,
Miami, Florida, and Everglades City, Florida. They span across three counties, Monroe County,
Miami-Dade County, and Collier County, and cover about 1.5 million acres. There are very
subtle changes in altitude in the Everglades, but on average the Everglades are only about twenty
feet above sea level. The everglades receive an average annual rainfall of about sixty inches (one
hundred fifty-two centimeters). Unlike the continental United States which has four distinct
seasons, the Everglades only appear to have two, the rainy and dry season. In the rainy season
which is typically summer, they experience warm, humid, rainy weather. In the dry season which
is typically winter, they experience mild, dry, and pleasant weather with an occasional rainfall.
Popular human uses for the everglades include recreational fishing, sight-seeing or nature
watching, biking, boating, camping, canoeing or kayaking, and many other recreational
activities. The Everglades unfortunately though has many threats to biodiversity and is
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commonly referred to as the most threatened park in the United States. Due to the growing
population of humans, the wildlife is running out of habitat space. Roads are taking over and
confining animals to certain areas and in the case of manatees they are being run over by boats.
All of these different threats will eventually start off a chain reaction that could affect all of the
wildlife. Endangered animals in the park include the Atlantic Ridley Turtle, Bachmans Warbler,
Bartrams Scrub-Hairstreak, the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, the Cape Sable Thoroughwort, the
Florida Bonneted Bat, the Florida Leafwing Butterfly, the Florida Panther, the Green Turtle, the
Hawksbill Turtle, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, the Key Largo Cotton Mouse, the Key Largo
Woodrat, Kirtlands Warbler, the Leatherback Turtle, the Miami, Blue Butterfly, the Red-
Cockaded Woodpecker, the Smalltooth Sawfish, the Everglades Snail Kite, and the West Indian
Manatee. Threatened animals include the American Alligator, the American Crocodile, the Arctic
Peregrine Falcon, the Eastern Indigo Snake, Garbers Spurge, the Loggerhead Turtle, the Piping
Plover, the Roseate Tern, the Stock Island Tree Snail, and the Wood Stork. Thankfully
conservation efforts have been taken such as the parks designation in 1934 and the Nature
Conservancy working to protect a 360,000 acre section. Disney has also funded a 11,500 acre
protected section. A 10 year plan has also been implemented in order to connect other protected
lands and waters to the park. Now that you know some of the basic information about the park,
Today we will see at least ten different species of plants! The first species is the White
Mangrove which is one of four species of mangrove found in the Everglades. They can be found
in tidal areas as well as around lagoons and they can produce fruit and saplings. They typically
grow in poor, salty soil and they have a unique ability to push salt out of their roots through a
system of pores. Our next plant is another type of mangrove known as the Black Mangrove.
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They have a very broad distribution in tropical areas and due to their thick roots they are
virtually impenetrable. They are native to salt marshes, serve as great nurseries for crustaceans,
and can grow anywhere from four to nine feet. Our next plant species is the Butterfly Pea. They
are very commonly used in food and color dyes as well as in medicine. They can found growing
wildly and are used to feed sheep and goats. Today we also will see cattails. They can grow
anywhere from three to ten feet tall and can be found in marshes as well as on the shores of small
ponds in water up to one and a half feet and they can grow and spread extremely fast under the
right conditions. Most people probably do not know that cattails are actually a plant that is
edible. Another plant that we can expect to see today is the White Water Lily which is a perennial
plant that grows in large colonies. They have leaves that are anywhere from six to twelve inches
in diameter that grow on thick stalks and float on top of the water, but their flowers are attached
to separate stalks. The Everglades are also home to the Brazilian Pepper, also known as the
Florida Holly. They are large evergreen shrubs that can grow up to forty feet tall and were
introduced to Florida in the late 1800s. They are salt-tolerant and can grow in most habitats.
Skunk Vine is also another plant we will see today and they get their name because they have an
awful, skunk-like smell to them. They are a woody vine that can be found on the ground or
climbing trees and can grow up to thirty feet long. We can also expect to see Saw Grass and its
tree equivalent, the Saw Palmetto Tree. Saw Grass has earned the nickname Everglades River
Grass because it is all over the shoes of the Everglades. It grows up to nine feet tall and has
sharp leaves that are like saws. They have thick underground stems that block the flow of water
and various animals use them for food and shelter. The Saw Palmetto Tree is a shrubby tree that
has branched and unbranched stems. They grow in a variety of areas and in some cases can be
the only shrubbery in the area. Lastly we will see a strong, resilient tree known as the Bald
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Cypress Tree. It has adapted to life in wet areas with an adaptation known as cypress knees
which are roots that come above the surface of the water that allow the tree to get enough oxygen
to sustain life in the water. Now for everybodys favorite part, the wildlife.
The Everglades is home to many different species of animals, but two of the most sought
after animals that people want to see are the American Alligator, and its close cousin the
American Crocodile, both of which are on the threatened animals list. American Alligators can
have anywhere between seventy to eighty teeth at one time, but they can go through over three
thousand in their life. Females grow to about 8.2 feet (2.6 meters) on average while males grow
to 11.2 feet (3.4 meters) on average. They are carnivorous animals that eat fish, snails and other
invertebrates, birds, frogs, turtles, and any mammals that get too close to the waters edge. They
can live to be about fifty years old once they are about four feet long they are safe from just
about everything except for humans and the occasional other alligator. American Alligators can
be found in slow moving rivers or freshwater swamps and unfortunately they are hunted for their
skin and meat. American Crocodiles are considered an endangered animal in nearly half of their
North, Central, and South American range due to overhunting. They are among some of the
largest crocs in the world with some Central and South American ones reaching a staggering
twenty feet long and some North American ones reaching thirteen feet long. Their diet is the
same as the American Alligator with the exception that they also eat crabs and insects. They can
be found in brackish river estuaries, coastal lagoons, and mangrove swamps. Although there are
laws in place to protect these animals, most countries do not have enough resources to
adequately protect them. Another reptile we will see is the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake,
the largest of the thirty-two known species of rattlesnakes at thirty-three to seventy-two inches.
They can be found in the Lower Coastal Plain of the Southeast (primarily Florida and Georgia)
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and they intend to inhabit dry sandy areas, palmetto or wiregrass flatwoods, pinewoods, coastal
dunes, or hardwood hammocks. They are accomplished swimmers and spend most of their time
coiled up in vegetation lying in wait to ambush prey. Today we also hope to see Floridas state
animal, the Florida Panther. These animals are extremely rare being on the endangered list. They
once flourished in Southeastern America, but the early settlers in the 1600s destroyed their
habitat and persecuted them out of misconception. They primarily feed on white-tailed deer, but
will also feed on feral hogs, rabbit, raccoon, birds, armadillo, and other animals. There are
currently only one hundred to one hundred eighty adult and sub adult Florida Panthers alive
which are the only known breeding population alive. The males ram while the females typically
stay in one place. The panthers prefer forests, prairies, or swamp habitats. Another endangered
animal that can be found in the Everglades is the West Indian Manatee. They are close relatives
with the elephant and the hyrax. They can be found in a number of areas including shallow, slow-
moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas that typically have sea grass
beds or other aquatic vegetation that flourishes. On average adults are ten feet long and can
weigh anywhere from eight hundred to twelve hundred pounds. They are gentle, slow-moving
mammals who spend most of their time eating, resting, and travelling and due to the fact that
they are mammals, they must surface to breathe. One type of bird that we will see today is the
Roseate Spoonbill. These birds are often confused with flamingos due to their bright pink color
and they use their oddly shaped bill to sift small food items out of the water. The oldest one
recorded was fifteen years ten months old and they prefer to live in swamp habitats and make
their nests in trees. They currently are not on the Birds to Watch List. Another type of bird we
will get to see today is the Great Egret, which is often known as a smaller version of the Great
Blue Heron. They hunt by hunt by wading in the water and stabbing fish with their long, yellow
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beaks. They were hunted nearly to extinction in the early 1900s which lead to some of the first
conservation laws among birds and they can be found in both freshwater and saltwater habitats
and they nest high in trees. They like staying isolated on islands from mammal predators that eat
their eggs like raccoons. Two types of fish that we will give you the option to try and catch at the
end of our tour are the Largemouth Bass and the Bluegill. Largemouth Bass are extremely
popular game fish in North America and can be found all across America along vegetation or
underwater structure, but they can also be found schooling in the middle of lakes. They can be
distinguished from other bass due to their dark green color and their upper jaw extending past
their eye. They eat a wide variety of fish, crustaceans, and insects and the current world record is
twenty-two pounds four ounces. Bluegill are a fish that is part of the sunfish family and are often
used as a fish for young children or beginner fishermen to catch. They are native to Eastern and
Central North America and are usually found in shallow water but head deeper as it gets hot in
the summer and they remain active over the winter. One amphibian found in the Everglades is
the Squirrel Treefrog.These little guys like swamps or floodplain forests and can be found on
trees, shrubs, or even modern objects like hardwood hammocks. They eat insects, spiders, and
other invertebrates. They are typically tan, green, gray, or brown. They are one to one and a half
inches long and breed from March to August. Another species of reptile that we have in the
Everglades are the Island Glass Lizards. They grow to fifteen to twenty-four inches long and
prefer drier habitats as well as sandy scrub habitats. A unique ability of the Island Glass Lizard is
that it can break off its tail and regrow it. They feed on insects, spiders, and other invertebrates
and are to be uncommon in most areas. One of the more well-known mammals found in the
Everglades is the River Otter. They make their burrows near the waters edge and can thrive in
river, lake, swamp, estuary ecosystems. They swim by propelling themselves through the water
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with their tails and flexing their bodies and they are a part of the weasel family. They primarily
feed on fish, but will also target amphibians, turtles, and crayfish. One of the less-known
mammals found in the Everglades is the Coati, a nocturnal omnivore that primarily feeds on
fruits, nuts, seeds, insects, birds, eggs, rodents, lizards, and snakes. Females live in groups of ten
to thirty known as bands and due to their small size they are often eaten by predators like
wildcats and crocodiles or alligators. An exotic species of animal found in the Everglades is the
Nine-Banded Armadillo, an invasive species in the Everglades. They are the only species of
armadillo in the Everglades and eat over five hundred different foods! They typically live from
seven to twenty years old and prefer warm, wet, and forested or grassland-like environments.
The last species of nimal that we hope to see today is yet another reptile known as the Florida
Mud Turtle. They can be found throughout Florida and are primarily found near small, shallow
bodies of water. Their shells are dark and unmarked and they grow to five inches in length. They
have earned the nickname Cow Dung Cooter. Due to the fact that they sometimes feed on
manure.
Thank you for listening to the preview of todays tour. We hope you enjoy the tour and if
you have any questions do not hesitate to ask one of our experienced biologists on board. Now,
Work Cited
American Alligator. Smithsonians National Zoo. N.p, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
A-Z Animals.com. Coati (Nasua Nasua). N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
Basic Facts about Florida Panthers. Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., 2016. Web. 25. Sept. 2016.
Brazilian Pepper. NSIS: Gallery- Exotic Plants: Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2016.
Everglades Plants. Everglades Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. - 02 Oct. 2016.
Florida Mud Turtles. NSIS: Florida Wildlife. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
Great Egret. Identification, All About Birds. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
Island Glass Lizard (Ophisuarus Compressus). Species Profile. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
Van Der Neut, Marcus. The White Mangrove. Nature Foundation of Saint Maarten. N.p., n.d.
Nine-Banded Armadillo. National Wildlife Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
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Pwee, Timothy. The Butterfly Pea. Infopedia. Infopedia, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
Rocus, Denis and Frank J. Mazotti. Threats to Floridas Biodiversity. EDIS New Publications
Roseate Spoonbill. Life History, All About Birds. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
Shapiro, Leo and the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. Black Mangrove- Avicennia
Skunk Vine. NSIS: Gallery- Exotic Plants: Invasives. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2016.
Society, National Geographic. Everglades National Park. National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web.
03 Oct. 2016.
Society, National Geographic. North American River Otter. National Geographic. N.p., n.d.
Squirrel Treefrog. Department for Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. N.p, n.d. Web. 29 Sept.
2016.
Trees and Plants of the Florida Everglades. Garden Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2016.
United States National Park Service. Animals. National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the
United States National Park Service. Inventory of Threatened and Endangered Species in the
Everglades National Park. National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d.
United States National Park Service. Directions. National Parks Service. U.S. Department of
United States National Park Service. Everglades Park Statistics. National Park Service.
United States National Park Service. Weather. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the
White Water Lily, Fragrant Water Lily. Aquaplant. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.