In a blog post last week, we discussed two different ecosystems in the Everglades: freshwater sloughs and freshwater mark prairies. Those are just two of many of the ecosystems within the Everglades.  

Each ecosystem looks and acts different and helps the circle of life. On an airboat tour with Captain Mitch, you will pass by many of the Everglades’ ecosystems. For this blog post, we wanted to share some information with you on two more ecosystems in the Everglades.  

Cypress: Cypress trees are found in the Everglades in one of three distinct formations. They are a deciduous conifer that can survive in standing water. It’s common to find a cluster of cypress trees in the shape of a dome. Cypress strands occur where cyrpress trees grow in a long, linear shape parallel with the flow of water. Stunted cypress trees (dwarf cypress) grow where there is less than favorable growing conditions. 

Marine and estuarine:  In the Everglades, the largest body of water is Florida Bay, which has more than 800 square miles of marine bottom covered by submerged vegetation. Seagrass and algae provide food and shelter to many marine organisms which sustains the food chain. There is also a lot of corals and sponges, fish, crustaceans and mollusks that call the waters of the Everglades home.  

As you can see, there’s lots of moving parts that make these ecosystems thrive, so it’s important to protect and care for all these different ecosystems as they all play a critical role in the lifecycles of endless plant, animal, and insect species.  

Want to see a few different ecosystems up close? 

Come on down and enjoy a fun trip out on the water exploring the Everglades on an airboat tour that leaves from Everglades City. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Private Airboat Tours  is open 7 days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).  

To book an airboat trip in the Everglades, call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 239-695-3377 or click Everglades airboat tour page. 

In a blog post last month, we discussed two different ecosystems in the Everglades: pinelands and hardwood hammock. Those are just two of many of the ecosystems within the Everglades.  

Each ecosystem looks and acts different and helps the circle of life. On an airboat tour with Captain Mitch, you will pass by many of the Everglades’ ecosystems. For this blog post, we wanted to share some information with you on two more ecosystems in the Everglades.  

Freshwater slough: A freshwater slough is a low-lying area of land that channels water through the Everglades. They are marshy rivers. They are deep and maintain flooded throughout the year. They move about 100 feet per day. The Everglades has two sloughs: The Shark River Slough known as the “River of Grass” which is the larger one, and the smaller and narrower Tayor Slough. Both sloughs discharge into Florida Bay. There are other sloughs that flow through to western Florida Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands.  

Freshwater marl prairie: Freshwater marl prairies are short-hydroperiod marshes and have a diverse low-growing vegetation in them. The marl allows slow seepage of the water but not rapid drainage. They look like freshwater sloughs, but the water is not as deep. There are large areas of them bordering the deeper sloughs of the Everglades. These marl prairies are created by thin, calcitic soil that has accumulated over limestone bedrock.  

As you can see, there’s lots of moving parts that make these ecosystems thrive, so it’s important to protect and care for all these different ecosystems as they all play a critical role in the lifecycles of endless plant, animal, and insect species.  

Next week, we will discuss about the following ecosystems:  cypress and marine and estuarine.  

Want to see a few different ecosystems up close? 

Come on down and enjoy a fun trip out on the water exploring the Everglades on an airboat tour that leaves from Everglades City. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Private Airboat Tours  is open 7 days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).  

To book an airboat trip in the Everglades, call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 239-695-3377 or click Everglades airboat tour page. 

The Burmese Python is an invasive species to the Everglades, causing a lot of destruction. In July, 5,000 Burmese pythons have been captured in the Everglades since hunters have been paid to track them down since 2017. The program to hunt down pythons is run by  the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  

Scientists guess there are between 100,000 and 300,000 pythons in the Everglades. 

Registered hunters can earn a minimum wage for up to 10 hours of work a day, plus a bonus for their catch. They can receive $50 for each python measuring up to four feet plus $25 more for each food measured above four feet long. Hunters who catch a nesting female python will earn an extra $200. 

Pythons can easily reproduce in the Everglades because they have no real predators. Female pythons can lay up to 100 eggs.  

By reducing the number of pythons in the Everglades, hunters are helping bring a balance back to the ecosystem to the Everglades. 

Unfortunately, it has been estimated pythons have already eaten/killed more than 90 percent of mid-sized mammals in the Everglades. Pythons can eat more than their own body weight and grow up to seven feet long in their first year of life. Researchers are worried bird species will be wiped out in the Everglades, especially since they aren’t prepared to deal with this invasive predator. 

The answer to restoring the wildlife balance in the Everglades lies in the reduction/eradication of the pythons. To get a permit to hunt for pythons, click Everglades python permit page. 

The pythons lower animal populations by eating them, but they also harm the population who eats them! These snakes’ bodies hold high levels of mercury, which can poison any animal or reptile that eats them. The pythons’ presence is changing the entire ecosystem of the Everglades 

If python hunting isn’t your thing, visit the Everglades in a much more relaxing way… on an airboat tour! An airboat tour will give you a glimpse of the Everglades’ native, wonderful wildlife that is still around, despite pythons. To book a tour, click the Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours  page or call 239-695-3377. 

The Cape Sable seaside sparrow is an endangered species in the Everglades. In order for this bird to survive in the Everglades, an ideal water level for this bird must be maintained, and that is no easy task.  

Between April and July, the sparrow builds its nests a mere six inches off the ground, so it needs a water level high enough to keep it away from predators and low enough, so the nest doesn’t wash away.  This bird is nicknamed the “Goldilocks bird” because its habitat conditions have to be “just right” for it to survive. In 1981, there were an estimated 6,656 Cape Sable seaside sparrows in the Everglades, but by 2002 there were only around 2,624 of the birds around. 

The sparrow lives in six different locations of the Everglades, usually rocky grass prairies with muhly grass; the Everglades is the only ecosystem the bird exists in.  In these short-hyrdoperiod prairies, there is somewhat dense, clumped grasses with open space for the sparrows to move around. The sparrows’ nests are cup-shaped, and the bird itself is only 5 inches long. The sparrow is a dark olive gray in color with a brown back and light gray with dark olive color lines on the sides; there are small patches of yellow feathers around the eyes and the bend of the wings. These birds feed on grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, spiders, and seeds from the grass. They are known to have short-range movements and do travel far away from their nesting areas outside of the breeding season. A sparrow usually only lives to the age of four. 

According to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the condition of the sparrow is so dire and they’re trying to do anything they can to save them, even if this means giving one pair of sparrows the opportunity to breed. They believe this year will be the worst breed year they’ve seen for the sparrow in decades. 

Spot the Sparrow 

The Capble Sable seaside sparrow is disappearing. A change in a mere couple of centimeters of water in the sparrow’s habitat can determine whether or not the birds can or will breed. Scientists and officials are continuing to work on restorations plans that will protect the bird and its environment without causing too many problems elsewhere. Getting the Everglades back to its original state, will help this bird and many other species. The restored water flows which will help keep the rise of sea level at bay.  

If you’d like an opportunity to see a sparrow fly by, an airboat tour may be your chance. Airboats can bring you all around the Everglades to places you cannot get to by foot. To explore the Everglades, contact Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours.  

Captain Mitch’s Everglades Private Airboat Tours  is open 7 days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).  

To book an airboat trip in the Everglades, call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 239-695-3377 or click Everglades airboat tour page.