Often effects of water pollution are not always seen for what they are, as pollution stems from many sources. Domestic sewage and industrial wastes, mine drainage and pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers, are all sources of pollution which are a growing hazard which endanger health and eliminate many areas from recreational use, with loss of plant life and animal life. These types of pollution are easily recognized. It has been discovered that some exotic weeds produce methane gas. Examples are Water hyacinths and Duckweed, and Florida Elodea.
But taken a step farther we see lush growths of vegetation and assume all is well. But ever so often, these overgrowth's are the end result of to much nutrient, in the water causing rapid take overs by plant life. When water becomes industrial or municipally polluted or poisoned by red tide, the result is sea plants and creatures that are dangerous to eat. This proves that marshes and swamps and other wetland and ocean areas do not need additional fertilizers that agricultural lands do. Wetlands are naturally productive on their own.
A ecosystem can support only a certain number of organisms and still function adequately. If this number is exceeded, the ecosystem will suffer and begin to degrade.
Not all green plants in wetlands are consumed by grazers. In fact, few aquatic invertebrates feed on submerged aquatic plants, those being primarily detritus feeders.
All uneaten leaves, as well as, twigs and dead branches, that accumulate in the wetlands are taken over by bacteria and worms and aquatic insects that produce detritus. These creatures use some of the energy that resides in dead plants and animal remains, but in the process release mineral nutrients and organic compounds that enable wetlands ecosystems to be self-perpetuating.
Wetlands play many important roles:
1. Controlling of flood waters
2. Recharging groundwater
3. Filtering pollutants
4. habitat for waterfowl & other wildlife
5. Support for fisheries
6. Sanctuaries for rare & endangered species
7. Educational & recreational purposes
Please feel free to express your thoughts and opinions. Do you have any exotic plants or animals where you live?
The dense sea grape thickets along the beaches and the mangrove forests along the bays once kept many exotic life-forms from entering Florida's, ecosystem. The Mangroves filter and purify coastal waters and their fallen and decaying leaves provide nutrients for a myriad of larval and juvenile creatures that use it's root system for a nursery and the roots stabilize the shorelines.
But mankind introduced many new exotic plants and trees into the region.
The Australian Pine was introduced to Miami Beach by John Collins to protect his fruit trees from salty breezes.
The Sea Mahoe is a salt-tolerant ornamental that escaped from hotel gardens and is now found in remote hammocks of the Everglades National Park, where birds have carried its seed pods. Another
ornamental shrub is the Brazilian Pepper, which produces red fruit that birds eat and deposit the seeds along riverbanks and in the swamps.
While most introduced species offer some benefits by definition, an exotic enters a area where there are few or no biological controls affecting it's species. This leads to a population explosion in which the exotic invariably overwhelms some native species usually of far greater benefit to man and the local habitat. South Florida alone contains more introduced plants and animals than any other region in the United States.
