37
the Everglades per se, but also in peripheral sanctuaries such as Florida Bay, the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the Florida Reef Tract. The scope and
degree of pollution is not a minor consideration as agriculture and urbanization have
proven to be toxic to the natural environment in many different ways. Toxicity and
environmental degradation take many forms but keynote observations show that
runoff from agriculture is the major culprit followed by effluent disposal in ocean
outfalls (during the tourist season and with high rainfall events) along the Florida
Reef Tract (e.g., Finkl and Charlier 2003a, b; Finkl et al. 2005). The reef tract is
additionally insulted by upwelling of nutrient-rich ground waters that are derived
from the EAA (e.g., Finkl and Krupa 2003).
Still further insults to the natural environment result from the introduction of
exotic plants and animals. Some exotic invasive species were deliberately introduced (e.g., Malaleuca, Casuarina, Brazilian Pepper tree, water hyacinth) while others were accidental as in the case during when some reptiles escaped from captivity.
Pet owners who found snakes and iguanas too difficult to keep as they over time
matured into larger animals deliberately released them into the Everglades. Whatever
the mode of introduction to the Everglades ecosystem, these exotic invasive species
have for the most part thrived in their new environment, finding it rather salubrious,
to the detriment of native species. It is perhaps somewhat surprising that there is not
more concern among Floridians that pythons, cobras, and mambas now inhabit
these subtropical wetlands. Pythons are, for example, now challenging alligators as
the top predator population in the Everglades. Common sense suggests that as their
food supply dwindles, they will search for new sources and eventually work their
way into adjacent urban areas. This problem is not only a threat to indigenous
Everglades populations, but also to residents and their pets in urban areas.
This list of invasive exotic species is hardly exhaustive and could go on, but this
vignette makes the point that the Everglades ecosystem is not only under threat from
invasive flora and fauna that change the ecosystem but that the wetlands are changed
forever. Attempts to control exotic populations have failed, even with removal programs for Malaleuca and Casuarina, there has been no reduction in the numbers of
reptiles that are now proliferating unchecked in their new environment (e.g., Finkl
and Makowski 2013a, b). The unfortunate fact is that eradication of invasive plants
and animals is impossible and with these new species populating the Everglades, the
ecosystem is now irreversibly changed from what it once was. It thus seems ludicrous to advertise ‘restoration’ of the Everglades. Environmental change induced by
human action has gone too far. For the sake of simplicity, re-interpreting an old
nursery rhyme can make the point as follows:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again
This quatrain, with external rhymes and a trochaic meter, succinctly gets the
point across that no matter how much time, effort, and money is put into ‘restoration’ of the Everglades, it can never be put back together again. This is reality, a sad
1 The Florida Everglades: An Overview of Alteration and Restoration
the Everglades per se, but also in peripheral sanctuaries such as Florida Bay, the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the Florida Reef Tract. The scope and
degree of pollution is not a minor consideration as agriculture and urbanization have
proven to be toxic to the natural environment in many different ways. Toxicity and
environmental degradation take many forms but keynote observations show that
runoff from agriculture is the major culprit followed by effluent disposal in ocean
outfalls (during the tourist season and with high rainfall events) along the Florida
Reef Tract (e.g., Finkl and Charlier 2003a, b; Finkl et al. 2005). The reef tract is
additionally insulted by upwelling of nutrient-rich ground waters that are derived
from the EAA (e.g., Finkl and Krupa 2003).
Still further insults to the natural environment result from the introduction of
exotic plants and animals. Some exotic invasive species were deliberately introduced (e.g., Malaleuca, Casuarina, Brazilian Pepper tree, water hyacinth) while others were accidental as in the case during when some reptiles escaped from captivity.
Pet owners who found snakes and iguanas too difficult to keep as they over time
matured into larger animals deliberately released them into the Everglades. Whatever
the mode of introduction to the Everglades ecosystem, these exotic invasive species
have for the most part thrived in their new environment, finding it rather salubrious,
to the detriment of native species. It is perhaps somewhat surprising that there is not
more concern among Floridians that pythons, cobras, and mambas now inhabit
these subtropical wetlands. Pythons are, for example, now challenging alligators as
the top predator population in the Everglades. Common sense suggests that as their
food supply dwindles, they will search for new sources and eventually work their
way into adjacent urban areas. This problem is not only a threat to indigenous
Everglades populations, but also to residents and their pets in urban areas.
This list of invasive exotic species is hardly exhaustive and could go on, but this
vignette makes the point that the Everglades ecosystem is not only under threat from
invasive flora and fauna that change the ecosystem but that the wetlands are changed
forever. Attempts to control exotic populations have failed, even with removal programs for Malaleuca and Casuarina, there has been no reduction in the numbers of
reptiles that are now proliferating unchecked in their new environment (e.g., Finkl
and Makowski 2013a, b). The unfortunate fact is that eradication of invasive plants
and animals is impossible and with these new species populating the Everglades, the
ecosystem is now irreversibly changed from what it once was. It thus seems ludicrous to advertise ‘restoration’ of the Everglades. Environmental change induced by
human action has gone too far. For the sake of simplicity, re-interpreting an old
nursery rhyme can make the point as follows:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again
This quatrain, with external rhymes and a trochaic meter, succinctly gets the
point across that no matter how much time, effort, and money is put into ‘restoration’ of the Everglades, it can never be put back together again. This is reality, a sad
1 The Florida Everglades: An Overview of Alteration and Restoration