Everglades - Blog Posts

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Everglades (and south Florida, including Miami) with 5ft of sea level rise

Everglades (and south Florida, including Miami) with 4ft of sea level rise

Everglades (and south Florida, including Miami) with 2ft of sea level rise

The Florida Everglades, where elevation above sea level is often measured in single digits, is on of the most susceptible areas of the country to sea level rise. In addition to its low coastal elevation, the Everglades are threatened as a result of a history of wetland degradation that changed the way water flowed through the large wetland system. Restoring natural freshwater flows will help protect the everglades from the intrusion of salt water due to sea level rise, but it must be done quickly.

Dr. Harold Wanless of the University of Miami Department of Geological Sciences created a series of maps showing the Everglades under varying scenarios of sea level rise. This is the Everglades in 1995. 

Invasive Species and the Burmese Python

Have you ever heard the term, “invasive species”? Listen along to this month’s podcast from the Sawgrass Nature Center as our staff teams up with the Nature Conservancy of Southwest Florida to discuss invasive species and the Burmese Python problem in the Everglades!

https://anchor.fm/snc-wild/episodes/Invasive-Species-and-the-Burmese-Python-Part--I-e11n04k

Who was Marjory Stoneman Douglas? 

It is Women’s History Month and we would be remiss if we did not discuss one of the most iconic women in the environmental sciences: Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Marjory’s work in conservation was so impactful she was inducted into several halls of fame, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has several institutions now named after her. But just what did Marjory do to earn these honors?

Born in 1890, Marjory Stoneman was a suffragette and an environmental advocate. She became a Miami resident in 1915 when there were under 5,000 people there. From there she would dabble in several different careers in The Miami Herald, the Navy, and as a freelance writer. All of these experiences would cumulate to her writing her book: The Everglades:River of Grass. This book was a pivoting point for the way people viewed the Florida Everglades and its importance. The impact of this book is often compared to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.

Her research and writing motivated people like never before to not just see the value in the Everglades, but to protect it from impending real estate development. She is part of the reason the Everglades is now a national park. Her work to protect the Everglades and its conservation continued well into her later years until she died at the age of 108 in 1998.

Two South Florida public schools are named in her honor: Broward County Public Schools’ Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary School.

Interview with Commissioner Metayer Part. I by Weird and Wild with the Sawgrass Nature Center • A podcast on Anchor

Dive into the topic of climate change with environmental educators Shelbey and Abby as we interview environmental scientist and Coral Springs Commissioner, Nancy Metayer.

Join SNC staff in our discussion on Climate Change! 

Decline of the Everglades Snail Kite

The Everglades Snail Kite is a hallmark of Florida wildlife. Found in central and south Florida, this magnificent bird of prey thrives in swampy, wetland habitats (Audubon Society, 2020). Unfortunately the population of this seasoned hunter has dropped at an alarming rate.

The Everglades, a vital habitat to the Snail Kite, has been significantly reduced in size due to expanding infrastructure and construction of surrounding human populations (National Park Service, 2019). Fortuitously, organizations such as the Everglades Foundation have worked tirelessly throughout the years to restore and conserve the Everglades which is home to many of Florida’s unique species. (The Everglades Foundation, 2020).

But habitat loss is not the only struggle the Everglades Snail Kite faces. Their curved beaks are adapted specifically to feed on its namesake: Florida Apple Snails, or Pomacea paludosa. While there are several species of Apple Snails currently located in Florida, Pomacea paludosa is the native species of apple snail to Florida. There is some debate over whether local populations of the Florida Apple Snail may be a separate species from Pomacea paludosa (Schad, 2018), but we will only be referring to Pomacea paludosa for the purpose of this article.

One might think that the addition of new types of apple snails to Florida would mean the expansion of food for the Everglades Snail Kite, but that does not seem to be the case. Their beaks are so specifically adapted to the smaller, curved shells of the Pomacea paludosa, that the Everglades Snail Kite cannot use its beak successfully to feed on larger species of Apple Snails that are invading Florida wetlands. This poses another problem where the larger species of invasive apple snails are outcompeting and displacing the smaller Pomacea paludosa. The Everglades Snail Kite is facing food loss in addition to habitat loss.

But all is not lost. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, located in Fort Pierce, Florida has successfully completed research on the practice of captive breeding the Florida Apple Snail with a long-term goal of finding ways to replenish wild populations of Pomacea paludosa (Garr, Amber, Helen Posch, Margaret McQuillan, Megan Davis, 2012). These practices, if safely regulated and approved, could be used to help replenish the population of the Everglades Snail Kite by providing it with more food. Regulations and controls are needed to ensure that captive populations would not introduce new bacteria, or diseases to wild populations.

The Everglades Snail Kite is not the only endangered species in Florida, but it is a wonderful example of how—when united—people have the chance to improve many environmental problems.

Audubon Society, 2020. The Everglades Snail Kite. Audubon Florida.

[https://fl.audubon.org/birds/everglade-snail-kite]

Schad, Morgan. 2018. The Discovery of a Forgotten Species in an Unexpected Location: Pomaceamiamiensis in Palm Beach County. Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College.

The Everglades Foundation, 2020. About. [https://www.evergladesfoundation.org/about]

Garr, Amber. Helen Posch. Margaret McQuillan. Megan Davis. 2012. Development of a captive breeding program for the Florida apple snail, Pomacea paludosa: Relaxation and sex ratio recommendations.

Aquaculture. Volume 370-371, Pages 166-171.

[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0044848612006163?via%3Dihub]

National Park Service. 2019. Restoration of Everglades National Park. U.S. Department of the Interior.

South Florida Natural Resources Center. Everglades National Park.

[https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/upload/RestorationFactSheet%20Lo%20Secure.pdf]

In honor of National Wildlife Day, we took out our native Florida gator for an educational program. Florida gators are considered a keystone species. That means they’re responsible for establishing an ecosystem/habitat for several other species of animals to inhabit as well. Without gators, Florida’s animal ecology would be in serious trouble. 

Note: licensed and trained professionals are responsible for handling all wild animals. Please do not try this at home. 

What is a Native Species?

Here in Florida, we are privy to a ton of unique and exciting wildlife due to our proximity to two very important natural features: The Everglades and the ocean. These two exciting ecosystems provide us with animals like Key Deer, the Everglades Snail Kite, and the Florida Panther that may not be found elsewhere in the world.

Any ecosystem or habitat in the world has native species. This means that the species arrived and has evolved in an area by only natural processes.  Other species in the ecosystem often evolved together and adapt to sharing an environment. For example, Florida Panthers and deer have adapted to sharing an environment together despite one being predator and the other being prey. It is a relationship they share and rely on to keep each other’s populations in check.

Unfortunately, not every animal we see in the wild is meant to be here. Take, for example, the Burmese Python in the Everglades.

An introduced species like the Burmese Python could affect the environment is several ways. They could adapt poorly in the new environment and perish, they could live within their new home and cause no major harm, or they could thrive with the lack of natural predators and outcompete native species. That scenario could mean that they could take the food, water, space, and other resources that would typically go to native animals. This would disrupt the natural balance in the ecosystem that has evolved over time. When this happens, the non-native species becomes invasive.

Wildlife hospitals like the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital (SNC) take in and treat native wildlife, but it is illegal for the SNC and anyone else in the State of Florida to release non-native species into the local ecosystem. That means, the SNC can only admit injured or orphaned native animals for rehabilitation and release. Unfortunately, any non-native animal that might come our way would legally have to be euthanized or provided a forever home. Since we cannot always guarantee the space for all non-native animals and do not prefer to euthanize a healthy animal, we encourage finding other places that are specifically meant for taking in and sheltering non-native species.