Extract Topic Research

Hello! Over the past few days, I have conducted research for the topic of my 5-minute extract: "The Florida Everglades in the modern-day." Take a look at what information I found!

Climate Change

• The terrain is flat and surrounded on three sides by rising seas.
• Effects include:
• Sea Level Rise
• South Florida sea-level measurements are consistent throughout the region and some measurements date back to the 1840s, making it one of the most complete records in the United States. The monitoring station in Key West measured the average rate of sea-level rise to be 13 cm per century. This finding is consistent with the global estimate as well.
•  This human-caused accelerated warming threatens to outpace the ability of flora, fauna, and processes of the Everglade to adapt.
• Seawater leaks into freshwater ecosystems and salinates equifers. 
• The Everglades are already feeling these effects.
• Change in weather patterns:
• Storms and hurricanes
• During the past 20 years, tropical storms and hurricanes have become more intense.
• Hurricane wind speeds and rainfall rates are likely to increase as the climate continues to warm.
• Flooding
• Since 1958, the amount of precipitation during heavy rainstorms has increased by 27 percent in the Southeastern U.S., leading to a larger flooding problem.
• More intense rainstorms can increase flooding because rivers overflow their banks more frequently, and more water accumulates in low-lying areas that drain slowly. Sometimes, the water remains in these areas for days.
• Warming waters
•  Coral bleaching, or the whitening of coral due to loss of algae, occurs because of rising water temperatures. Rising temperatures harm the algae that live inside corals and provide them food. Coral bleaching weakens corals and can eventually kill them. 
• Coral reefs provide critical habitat for a a range of species and small shell-producing animals are important parts of the food chain, as they are the prey of larger animals. 
• Warming waters could harm Florida’s marine ecosystems, fisheries, and tourism.

Urban Development

• Change in species behavior
• Flora
• Northwest of Everglades National Park in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, mangroves have expanded and grown inland into what were previously freshwater environments. 
• In the Florida Keys, freshwater pine forests are shrinking and are being replaced by plants that live in saltwater
• Fauna:
• Out of 1,200 species tracked by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, 25% are likely to lose at least half of their current habitat due to sea-level rise alone. 
•  Florida’s species ability to migrate and adapt to climate change is severely compromised now due largely to human modification of the terrain. Up to 76% of 236 surveyed species were deemed unlikely to be able to relocate inland in response to rising sea level due to urban development.
• Sea-level rise+urban development=recipie for disaster for native species.
• Pollution
• Pollution levels have exploded due to urban development.
• There was a vast increase in farms that use chemicals. Run-off brings these chemicals into the Everglades' rivers and streams. High levels of phosphorous and other chemicals poison the waterways, such as the Kaloosahactee river and other estuaries, and wreak havoc on Atlantic and Gulf Coast marine species.

How to Help

• Reduce carbon footprint
• Recycle- lower amount of trash that goes into a landfill.
• Carpool- Reduce the number of cars that are driving on the road and polluting the environment.
• Don't waste energy- Turn off appliances and unplug them when not in use
• Put a weatherstrip on windows and doors- Keep the heat or cooling from escaping your residence, reduce the runtime of your air conditioning is running. 
• Replace vehicles with electric cars- Transform from fossil fuels to renewable energy

All of this information is really important for developing this extract. Stay tuned for more!

Sources:

https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/climatechange.htm

https://floridaclimateinstitute.org/docs/climatebook/Ch12-Stys.pdf

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-08/documents/climate-change-fl.pdf