CW4:Jalc8098

From Environmental Technology

Revision as of 21:43, 24 February 2006

a) Water management is the most critical issue for the Everglades. We, as humans, are disrupting the natural flow of water. By messing up the flow we are ruining feeding and nesting conditions. Such conditions include the wet and dry seaons. Dry seasons are crucial for feeding and nesting birds, and then the wet season is when the area gets replintished.

b) Marine/Estuarine-shelters fish, shellfish, corals, and sponges. Mangroves-red, black, and white mangroves is a good nursery for shrimp and fish. This is also where wading brids go for the dry season. Coastal Prairie-This is an area of heavy winds and harsh conditions where you can find desert plants. Freshwater Marl Prairie-marl grows on the limestone and it allows for slow seepage for the area. Freshwater Slough-the flow is now faster in this area and they contain tree-islands. Shark River Slough and Taylor Slough are the two main sloughs. Cypress-crypress trees can grow in water. They have groups that grow together called cypress domes. Hardwood Hammocks-these areas rarely flood and are only a few inches into the land. There are natural moats formed around this area to prevent fire. Pinelands-this sits on the limestone ridge. This is also the most diverse habitat in the Everglades.

c) Prbably the Alligator. It lives in the freshwater lakes, rivers, and swamps. It eats insects, crabs, crayfish, fish, frogs, snails, turtles, snakes, coots, grebes, wading birds, raccoons, otters, deer, other alligators, and even dead animals.

d) A manatee is also called a 'sea cow' they have a lot in common. Except the manatee is a marine mammal. In the winter months they move to the Florida Bay; they are adapted to the tropics. They are vegetarians, eating sea grasses and aquatic plants. Their problems are humans. We are taking it's habitat. And since manatees often are at the top of the water they are hit by boat propellers.

e) Fires are an important part of the Everglades. It restores the life, and with out the fires many species would face extinction and the diversity would be gone.

f) A rock was formed by silt and sand settling at the bottom of the sea forming into a limestone for thing to grow on. It continued building up through the Ice Age. Mosses then began to grow and when they died more rock was formed. These changes in elevation have induced changes in vegetation, and now mangroves, pines, and cypress have flourished.