Florida PantherNet

Cypress trees need certain water
levels for reproduction and survival

Water is of profound importance in south Florida. Slight changes in the amount of water changes the amount of moisture in the soil and influences the types of plants that grow as well as the likelihood of fire. In turn all the animals that depend on certain plants for food or shelter are affected.

Reproduction and survival of young plants and click for research project animals may be affected by too much or too little water. Cypress cannot germinate when soils are flooded. However, when soils are drained and fire allowed, cypress die and are replaced by other trees, including the quickly spreading exotic melaleuca (Ewel 1990). Deer give birth during the dry season (end of November to end of March) when the marsh is most likely to be dry. Fawns are likely to be at least 3 months old when the summer rains return.

Studies have found fewer deer in areas that are either too wet or too dry (Fleming 1994). On the other hand, coyotes, potential competitors of panthers, thrive in drier conditions created by drainage and clearing of forests.

The Florida Canals

Used to drain wetlands for houses and agriculture, the canals seriously altered the natural water flow in south Florida.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, humans have drastically altered natural water flows and fluctuations in south Florida. Canals were dug to drain wetlands for houses and agriculture. Vast quantities of water are pumped from the ground to irrigate crops and meet the needs of growing cities and suburbs. Today water is stored in huge man-made impoundments known as water conservation areas. These impoundments were designed to serve farmers, ranchers, and urban south Florida as well as Everglades National Park in times of water shortages. But at times when there is too much water, excess water is pumped from farmlands into conservation areas and then into Everglades National Park to prevent flooding of subdivisions built in the path of the water's natural flow.

Much of the water that flows from the extensive agricultural lands in south Florida to protected public lands is contaminated with fertilizers, pesticides, and animal wastes. "Thus even where wilderness has been set aside as extensive preserves, the influence of people is ever present, even in the remotest swamps." (Maehr 1997:34)

What happens when excess water is released?

Fawns risk drowning in high water
levels. Smaller animals, like raccoons,
face starvation as their food supply
is covered by water.

In 1966 hundreds of deer drowned and many smaller animals, including raccoons, starved because water covered their food supply. Rainfall was again high in 1997 and animals were again at risk from large releases of water from the water conservation areas. One of the last breeding colonies of the endangered Cape Sable class project idea seaside sparrow, which nests in grasses close to the ground, may be destroyed if water is released from the water conservation areas.