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Climate:
This South Florida park, has an average of 56.4 inches of rain every year. The park has an average maximum temperature of 85 Fahrenheit and average minimum temperatures of 65 Fahrenheit. Although summers are hot and humid, the high temperatures are tempered by frequent thunderstorms. The summer wet season extends from about mid-May to November, with temperatures ranging into the low 90s (30 to 35 degrees Celsius). The majority of the year's average annual rainfall (nearly 60 inches, or 152 cm) falls during the wet season. Continental cold fronts generally cannot penetrate as far south as south Florida during the summer, so warmth and humidity build. Thunderstorms arise when warm, moist air masses combine with an unstable atmosphere. Thunderstorms can be as brief as a few minutes or as long as several hours. As cooler air glides inland from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, thunderstorms can erupt along sea-breeze fronts. At times, these thunderstorms can be an almost daily occurrence. Sometimes these storms move very slowly, enabling them to drop several inches of rain. The largest amounts of rainfall typically are associated with tropical storms and hurricanes.
Geography:
The Everglades contains many geographical natural features over its large range of wildlife, such as these ecosystems that are needed to sustain life. These types of environment below, contain important abiotic factors for different organisms' survival.
Hardwood Hammocks:
Tropical hardwood hammocks are closed canopy forests, dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi-deciduous tree and shrub species, mostly of West Indian origin. Tropical hardwood hammocks are habitat for a few endemic plants and are critical habitat for many West Indian plant species when the northernmost portions of their ranges extend into South Florida. Tropical hardwood hammocks also provide important habitat for many species of wildlife, including nine federally listed species.
Pinelands:
Pinelands, otherwise known as pine rocklands, are forests that take root in exposed limestone substrate in south Florida. Rugged Terrain is canopied almost ebntirely by slash pine. The pinelands, like the hardwood hammock are found on higher ground, making it a dry habitat. The saw palmetto covers most of the ground space of the pinelands.
Mangroves:
Mangroves are essential to life in the Everglades. They stabilize the coastline and reduce erosion from storm surges, waves, and tides. They provide a safe habitat for birds, reptiles, fish, and other animals seeking shelter from Everglades predators. The three species are native to Florida: red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) and White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa)
Coastal Lowlands:
The Coastal Lowland is a narrow strip of relatively low ground between the sea and the cliffs leading to the Plateau. Because of its proximity to the sea its climate is wetter than that of the Plateau, with fewer extremes of temperature. Salinity levels vary greatly among the lowlands, yielding a variety of salt-tolerant communities that thrive here. These communities are characterized by succulents and other low-growing, desert-like plants that can withstand the harsh growing conditions of the coast.
Freshwater Slough:
A slough is a low-lying area of land that channels water through the Everglades. These marshy rivers are relatively deep and remain flooded almost year-round. Though they are the main avenue of waterflow, the current remains leisurely, moving about 100 feet (30 meters) per day. A slough is often defined as a backwater to a larger body of water, such as a river or bay. In the case of rivers, they are often formed where old channels once flowed and are now cut-off from the main current. many fish live in these habitats and mammals such as deer, come to drink and bathe in these waters.
Freshwater Marl Prairie:
Marl prairies are wet prairies that allow for a slow seepage of overland water and exist in the Everglades, usually bordering deeper sloughs, and contain low-growth vegetation. These relatively short-hydroperiod marshes are typified by a diverse assemblage of low-growing vegetation. A complex mixture of algae, bacteria, microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces, periphyton serves as an important food source for invertebrates, tadpoles, and some fish.
Cypress:
Common throughout the southeastern United States, the cypress tree (Taxodium spp.) is a deciduous conifer that can survive in standing water. These trees grow in swampy, wet soil and full sunlight. These trees provides for many species of animal. Animals such as, white-tailed deer, minks, raccoons, pileated woodpeckers, purple gallinules, egrets, herons, alligators, frogs, turtles, and snakes are often found in cypress swamps.
Marine and Estuarine:
Estuaries are where rivers discharge into the sea. They are semi-enclosed bodies of water, connected to the open sea, but where the sea water is diluted by fresh water from the land. Seasonal fluctuations in salinity influence the distribution of organisms in the estuary. For example, the Florida Bay, the largest body of water within Everglades National Park, contains more than 800 square miles of marine bottom, much of which is covered by submerged vegetation. Rivers discharge into the sea, just like the Florida bay, to create a Marine and Estuarine ecosystem. Fish, shellfish, and migratory birds are just a few of the animals that can live in an estuary.
More on the abiotic factors of the Everglades ecosystem (these are essential to life):
Water: Water is one of the most important abiotic factors in this ecosystem because the Everglades is a wetland, and all of its various species rely on this resource for their survival. Also, the Everglades ecosystem provides drinking water for one-third of Floridians and irrigation for much of the state's agriculture. The wetlands improve water quality by filtering out pollutants and absorbing excess nutrients, replenish aquifers, and reduce flooding. Without water, the marshes would dry up, the river of grass would cease to flow, plants would dry up, the fish would have no home, the other animals would have no water to drink, and there wouldn't be enough water for human populations that rely on the Everglades as their main water source.
Sunlight: The sun is the main source of energy in an energy pyramid, allowing plants to undergo photosynthesis. The energy captured by chlorophyll can be used in photosynthesis to make glucose. Glucose is a plants main source of energy. When a plant gets limited sunlight, photosynthesis slows down. And all of the animals in the Everglades rely on sunlight to keep the many producers in the wetland alive because many animals eat these plants and some even live in them. These producers also supply most of the oxygen levels in the Everglades, which every animal needs. These oxygen levels have be high in order for organisms to undergo cellular respiration. Without sunlight the Everglades ecosystem wouldn't be able to support or sustain life.
Soil: Marl and Peat are the names of the two of the soils that are found in the Everglades. Soils, such as Marl and Peat are crucial for the survival of the Everglades ecosystem. Many plants and aquatic plants live in these soils, and their needs to be plants in order to sustain life. Water and nutrients are supplied to the plants through the soil. Some organisms even make their homes in these soils, such as the decomposers. Decomposers perform a valuable service as Earth's cleanup crew. Without decomposers, dead leaves, dead insects, and dead animals would pile up everywhere. Soil provides ecosystem services critical for life as it acts as a water filter, a growing medium, it even increases biodiversity, and it even supplies most of the antibiotics used to fight diseases.
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