Task 2 Everglades National Park

INT1 Task 2: Everglades National Park
By: 000390818 Kinzel, Derek L.
Location
 The Everglades National Park is located in southern Florida, at 25.3167° N, 80.9333° W.
Biotic Components
 Indigenous Plants
 Catopsis berteroniana
 Ficus aurea
 Colubrina elliptica

 Indigenous Animals
 Felis concolor coryi
 Trichechus manatus latirostris
 Crocodylus acutus
Abiotic Components
 Average yearly precipitation is about sixty inches, with most falling between June and October.
 Average summer temperatures are over eighty five degrees.
 Elevation ranges from sea level to just shy of ten feet.
 Summer humidity percentages hover in the mid-nineties!
Current Human Impact
 Sugar agribusiness has the largest impact on the everglades.
 Pesticides containing sulfur and phosphorus from sugar cane crop runoff kills most bacteria in the damp marshes that prevent harmful algae. The few bacteria that aren’t killed produce methylmercury, a fatal compound that bioaccumulates as it rises through the food chain.

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This has caused irreparable damage to underground freshwater aquifers by the intrusion of plant killing saltwater from the ocean.
Future Human Impact
 Pollution runoff from sugar cane may eventually sterilize and destroy the Everglades.

 The melting of the polar ice caps through greenhouse pollution, even gradually, could completely submerge the Everglades forever.

 Further diversion of fresh groundwater resources will push thirsty predators that have the capability to kill humans into more densely populated areas.
Guidelines
 Implement hefty fines to punish offenders in order to pay for cleanup of runoff waste.

 Incorporate tax breaks and further incentives to shift energy demand to renewable sources.

 Monitor biotic components for signs of a decrease in levels of harmful chemical

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