South Florida

Southern Florida is a region all its own with large metropolitan areas like Miami, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale lining the eastern coastline contrasted by vast flooded grasslands. Much of this area is protected land dedicated as Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. South Florida experiences just two seasons, wet and dry, characterized by humid, rainy summers and mild, dry winters. Everglades National Park sits only feet above sea level making this region especially vulnerable to sea-level rise due to climate change. The wide expanses of flooded grassland and marshes are like one giant freshwater river. Where this freshwater meets the sea creates a distinct habitat for several endangered plant and wildlife species. With sea-levels on the rise it’s unknown how this increased salinity will impact the area. What’s more is that over the past two decades the park has experienced a rise in non-native species, most prominent and troublesome being the Burmese python. Many pythons were released into the everglades ecosystem after pet owners could no longer take care of the large snake. Where the problem arises is that the Burmese python is native to Asia and has no predators to control its population numbers in the everglades. This snake reproduces quickly and in large number and is likely the reason mammal population numbers have dropped sharply over the last decade.