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Florida's Geography:
Florida contains 45 terrestrial ecosystems. Some of these include subtropical islands, rocklands, prairies, sandhills, scrubs, flatwoods and floodplain forests (11).
Animals & Plants:
In central Florida, the topography is low and flat, which makes the land very wet (15).
The Orlando wetlands, a man-made ecosystem, houses many different species and plants.
Theses plants and animals "not only contribute to the diverse ecosystem, the state park also absorbs more carbon than it releases. This process allows the Orlando Wetlands to also be known as a 'Carbon Sink'" (14).
The Cattails and Giant Bulrush help to extract a majority of the nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. "Cattails and Giant Bulrush utilize phytofiltration which is a process some plants undergo...which allows them to take many harmful toxins from the ambient soil and water" (14).
This image shows Cattails and Giant Bulrush in the wetlands (14).
Florida's biota was once thought of as "peculiar" because of the southern geographic location. And these peculiarities seemed to be the result of a series of adaptations, due to the subtropical environment (13).
The Orlando Wetlands also contain rare and uncommon birds. These include Rosegate Spoonbills, Little Blue Herons, and Tri-colored Herons.
This is a google image of a Blue Heron.
"Reef fish assemblages are a multi-species complex of reef-associated fish." And they are affected by several biological/environmental factors. Topgraphy, temperature, depth and benthic habitat are a few examples. Additionally, these fish also affect the population of species that inhabit the surrounding area (12).
"Assemblages typically change with latitude where the number of families, genera, and/or densities of species specific to warmer climates decrease poleward into colder climate regimes" (12).
They're a part of these main ecoregions: Dry Tortugas (DT), Florida Keys (FK), Southeast mainland (SE), and Bahamas Fracture Zone (BF)" (12).
Climate Risks, Enviornmental Threats, and other factors
The climate affects Florida's wildlife in several ways. Climate change will result in rising sea levels, warmer temperatures (both underwater and on dry land), changes in rainfall patterns, and storm events (16).
"Climate change is also expected to increase dissolved carbon dioxide concentrations in the water, making seawater more acidic. This change will likely cause harm to Florida's coral reefs" (16).
Animals have often migrated in the past due to climate change (17). However, that can be hindered from human intervention.
Aside from climate change, there are some environmental risks in Orlando:
Nutrient runoff in Urban Wetlands cause algae blooms to create toxicity.
Overconsumption of local water systems deplete fresh water aquifers.
Deforestation increases habitat loss.
Human construction (18)
Lastly, there are several invasive species that affect this state. But a primary species is the lion fish species. This fish eats juvenile reef fish along the coast (19)
Works Cited:
https://unsplash.com/photos/city-skyline-across-body-of-water-during-daytime-Tyn3-Cljx-A
https://unsplash.com/photos/a-city-street-at-night-with-buildings-lit-up-DrhFrjxrQpc
https://www.britannica.com/place/Orlando-Florida
https://www.forbes.com/sites/julietremaine/2019/07/11/best-attractions-in-orlando/?sh=504ab7b2344a
https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/images/fcc/climateofflorida.pdf
https://weatherspark.com/y/17721/Average-Weather-in-Orlando-Florida-United-States-Year-Round
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/weather/2022/08/08/florida-s-climate-is-not-like-the-rest-of-the-country
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/af/arms/trp.rxml
https://riskfactor.com/city/orlando/1253000_fsid/wind
https://statesummaries.ncics.org/chapter/fl/#:~:text=During%20July%2C%20typically%20the%20hottest,months%20of%20June%20through%20September.
http://www.landscope.org/florida/natural_geography/#:~:text=Florida%20is%20home%20to%2045,scrubs%2C%20flatwoods%20and%20floodplain%20forests.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1459&context=occ_stuetd
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/03/Vol-2-No-7.pdf
https://ideasforus.org/the-ecology-of-the-orlando-wetlands-and-your-next-visit/
https://eros.usgs.gov/earthshots/orlando-florida-usa
https://myfwc.com/conservation/special-initiatives/climate-change/impacts/#:~:text=Florida%27s%20wildlife%20communities%20are%20likely,events%20as%20the%20climate%20changes.
https://climateadaptationexplorer.org/impacts/species
https://ideasforus.org/branches/orlando/
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/florida/stories-in-florida/combating-invasive-species-in-florida/
https://fcit.usf.edu/florida/docs/g/geology.htm#:~:text=These%20sedimentary%20formations%20consist%20of,Florida%20was%20of%20coral%20formation.
https://floridadep.gov/fgs/geologic-topics/content/flooding-and-erosion#:~:text=Human%20development%20and%20construction%20activities,by%20storms%20or%20tropical%20systems.
https://floridadep.gov/owper/water-policy/content/water-supply
https://orange.wateratlas.usf.edu/watershed/?wshedid=11&wbodyatlas=watershed
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