9
Everglades was a safe haven for several species of large wading birds, such as the
roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), wood stork (Mycteria americana), great blue
heron (Ardea herodias), and a variety of egrets (Ogden 1994). Also unique, is the
brackish mix of salt and freshwater, making it the only place on Earth where alligators and crocodiles coexist side by side (Mazzotti et al. 2008).
Once a concerted effort to drain the Everglades was made in the early twentieth
century, large tracts of swamp were transformed into productive farmlands and cities such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale began expanding along the coast and inland
to the newly drained marshlands. As the population grew, so did the need to develop
more land and provide flood control to the new residents of southern Florida. In
1948, the U.S. Congress created the most expansive water management system in
the world, and today, this network of man-made canals, levees, and water control
structures channel and discharge approximately 6400 m
3
of water daily from the
Everglades into the ocean (Light and Dineen 1994; Perry 2008) (Figs. 1.3 and 1.4).
Fig. 1.2 View from Florida Bay looking northwards toward the southernmost margin of the
Florida Everglades. The northern edge of Florida Bay or the southernmost edge of the Everglades
in the interface or ecotone between the bay and the freshwater Everglades wetland ecosystems. In
the northeastern part of Florida Bay, the ecotone is characterized by shallow marl soils that are
dominated by scrub forests of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle, background) and by open flats
of broadhead spikerush (Eleocharis cellulosa). These estuaries (foreground) are nursery grounds
for many species of juvenile fishes and invertebrates. The flow of freshwater from the Everglades
area is the major determinant of the conditions in Florida Bay. However, the ecology of Florida
Bay is currently showing signs of stress in the form of large die-offs of seagrass, with Thallassium
testudinum (i.e. turtle grass) being affected the most. These die-offs are usually followed by a
decline in conditions, including toxic blooms of phytoplankton and algae (Credit: C.W. Finkl)
1 The Florida Everglades: An Overview of Alteration and Restoration
Everglades was a safe haven for several species of large wading birds, such as the
roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), wood stork (Mycteria americana), great blue
heron (Ardea herodias), and a variety of egrets (Ogden 1994). Also unique, is the
brackish mix of salt and freshwater, making it the only place on Earth where alligators and crocodiles coexist side by side (Mazzotti et al. 2008).
Once a concerted effort to drain the Everglades was made in the early twentieth
century, large tracts of swamp were transformed into productive farmlands and cities such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale began expanding along the coast and inland
to the newly drained marshlands. As the population grew, so did the need to develop
more land and provide flood control to the new residents of southern Florida. In
1948, the U.S. Congress created the most expansive water management system in
the world, and today, this network of man-made canals, levees, and water control
structures channel and discharge approximately 6400 m
3
of water daily from the
Everglades into the ocean (Light and Dineen 1994; Perry 2008) (Figs. 1.3 and 1.4).
Fig. 1.2 View from Florida Bay looking northwards toward the southernmost margin of the
Florida Everglades. The northern edge of Florida Bay or the southernmost edge of the Everglades
in the interface or ecotone between the bay and the freshwater Everglades wetland ecosystems. In
the northeastern part of Florida Bay, the ecotone is characterized by shallow marl soils that are
dominated by scrub forests of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle, background) and by open flats
of broadhead spikerush (Eleocharis cellulosa). These estuaries (foreground) are nursery grounds
for many species of juvenile fishes and invertebrates. The flow of freshwater from the Everglades
area is the major determinant of the conditions in Florida Bay. However, the ecology of Florida
Bay is currently showing signs of stress in the form of large die-offs of seagrass, with Thallassium
testudinum (i.e. turtle grass) being affected the most. These die-offs are usually followed by a
decline in conditions, including toxic blooms of phytoplankton and algae (Credit: C.W. Finkl)
1 The Florida Everglades: An Overview of Alteration and Restoration