PLANT-AND-ANIMAL [COMMUNITIES]
To know [Everglades], you must become acquainted with some of its diverse [communities]. The physical conditions determining the existence of a particular community may seem subtle—just a few inches difference in elevation, or an accumulation of [peat] in a depression in the [limestone] bedrock, for example. But often, the change in your surroundings as you step from one community to another is startling—for it is abrupt and complete. In Everglades, the dividing line between two [habitats] may separate an almost entirely different association of plants and animals.
Use the trails that have been laid out to help you see the [communities]. They make access easy for you; the rest is up to you. Be observant: notice the stemlike root of a saw-palmetto in a damp pothole of the pineland; look closely at the periphyton that plays such an important role in the glades [food chain]. Note the difference in feeding methods of wading birds; each species has its own niche in the [habitat]. Most of all, get into the habit of thinking of each animal, each plant, as a member of the closely woven web of life that makes up an integrated community.
Tropical Hardwood [Hammock]
Generally, in south Florida, hardwood [hammocks] develop only in areas protected from fire, flood, and saline waters. The land must be high enough (1 to 3 feet above surrounding levels) to stand above the water that covers the glades much of the year. The roots of the trees must be out of the water and must have adequate aeration. In the park, these conditions prevail on the [limestone] “ridge” (elevation of which ranges from 3 to 7 feet above sea level) and some spots in the glades region. On the limestone ridge, in areas bypassed by fires for a long period, hammocks have developed. Pines grow in the surrounding areas, where repeated fires have held back the hardwoods.
The moats that tend to form around glades [hammocks], as acids from decaying plant materials dissolve the [limestone], hold water even during the dry season; the moats thus act as barriers protecting the hammock vegetation from glades fires.
When the white man took over southern Florida, these [hammocks] were luxuriant jungle islands dominated by towering tropical hardwoods and palms. Stumps and logs on the floors of some of the remaining hammocks, attesting to the enormous size of some of the earlier trees, are sad reminders of the former grandeur of the hammocks. While most of south Florida’s hammocks have been destroyed, you can still see some fine ones protected in the park. At Royal Palm Hammock, near park headquarters, Gumbo Limbo Trail winds through a dim, dense forest with welcome coolness on a hot day.
Stepping into a jungle [hammock] from either the sunbathed glades or the open pine forest is a sudden, dramatic change. The contrast when you enter Gumbo Limbo Trail immediately after walking the Anhinga Trail is striking. While the watery world of Anhinga is dominated by a noisy profusion of wildlife, the [environment] of Gumbo Limbo will seem to be a mere tangle of vegetation. But the jungle hammock, too, has its [community] of animals—even though you may notice none but mosquitoes. Many of its denizens are nocturnal in their habits, but if you remain alert you will observe birds, invertebrates, and perhaps a lizard.
TREE SNAILS
There are 52 color forms of Liguus fasciatus found in south Florida.
