Download a river of grass

Mangroves
•Four species of tropical mangroves
can be found around the Gulf of
Mexico.
•Their extensive root systems
protect the coast from erosion and
storm damage.
•The mangrove here (inset)
is a red mangrove.
•Red mangrove (Rhizophera mangle)
is easily recognized by its distinctive
arching roots.
Mangroves
Mangrove forests are found in the coastal
channels and winding rivers around the tip of
South Florida.
Red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle),
identified by their stilt-like roots, and the
black (Avicennia germinans) and white
mangroves (Laguncularia racemosa) thrive in
tidal waters, where freshwater from the
Everglades mixes with saltwater.
Functions & values
The importance of mangrove
swamps has been well established.
They function as nurseries for
shrimp and recreational fisheries,
exporters of organic matter to
adjacent coastal food chains, and
enormous sources of valuable
nutrients. Their physical stability
helps to prevent shoreline erosion,
shielding inland areas from severe
damage during hurricanes and
tidal waves.
Analogy of the importance(s)
of a mangrove
Match
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Cleanse/filters water
nursery for babies
protect land
absorb minerals,
pesticides
– export organic
nutrients
– tremendous value
Efforts: planting mangroves
Mangrove juveniles
Red Mangrove
photograph By: Jim Phillips
P
Red Mangrove
photograph By: Jim Phillips
P
World-wide interest
www.garf.org/12/12mud/ 293353redmangrove.JPG
Status
• As these wetlands are increasingly threatened by the
damming of upstream sources, significant decline in
their integrity and productivity has been observed.
• Mangrove swamps have experienced loss of 3.2
percent since the 1950s.
• However, efforts are underway to enhance the
protection of these valuable ecosystems
• Several exotic species threaten to displace native
plants and animals in the Everglades.
Take an airboat ride through the Everglades and enjoy the
awesome images encountered in the Everglades National
Park, the only subtropical preserve in North America. As you
can see, it was this was a perfect day for an airboat ride.
The Everglades National Park takes up 1,508,529
acres of the Everglades many white mangroves line
the waterways.
described as
• A river of grass 120
miles long and 50
miles wide, but less than
a foot deep.
• Elaborate water controls,
such as levees
and canals, now disrupt
the natural flow.
• The future of the
Everglades is up to us.
• This rare ecosystem is threatened with extinction by
pollution and water being diverted away from it for
human use.
• Today, the Everglades is no longer a free-flowing river.
The only part that truly resembles this "original
Everglades river" is 1/10 of the original wetland now
found in Everglades National Park.
others living in the mangrove
forests
mangrove crabs
These little guys live
among the
mangroves
but, too many people means
loss of habitat and water
It is home to many endangered species
such as the American Crocodile, Florida
Panther, and the West Indian Manatee.
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Endangered species in
Everglades National Park:
American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Atlantic Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempi)
Atlantic hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Atlantic leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
Cape Sable seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritima mirabilis)
Snail (Everglades) kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus)
Wood stork (Mycteria americana)
West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)
Florida panther (Felis concolor coryi)
Key Largo wood rat (Neotoma floridana smalli)
Key Largo cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola)
Red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
Schaus swallowtail butterfly (Papilio aristodemus ponceanus)
Garber's Spurge (Chamaesyce garberi)
and where is Everglades
National Park, a river of grass
• Throughout much of the
shallow river grows an
unusual plant called
sawgrass.
• Watershed begins near
Orlando and Disney
World and empties into
the Gulf of Mexico.
profile
Slight changes in elevation (only inches), water salinity, and
soil create entirely different landscapes, each with its own
community of plants and animals.
uniqueness of the Everglades
"There are no other Everglades in the
world. They are, they have always
been, one of the unique regions
of the earth, remote, never wholly
known. Nothing anywhere else is like
them....“ Marjory Stoneman Douglas
REFERENCES
US Environmental Protection Agency,
www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/mangrove.html
Florida State Watershed, www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/watershed/
photo/imglg_mangrove.jpg
Reef Aquarium Farming News, www.garf.org/12/12mud/
293353redmangrove.JPG
www.sfwmd.gov/.../2_wrp_ce_info/ 2_wrp_ce_photos7.html
Everglades National Park ,
ttp://www.nps.gov/ever/visit/index.htm
Anphog's Wild World of Photography, Photos © Frank Lazeski