Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Source: Wikimedia Creative Commons
the Everglades
An example of the delicate ecological balance that exists in the Everglades is provided by
the case of apple snails that occupy the region (see Economist, 2005b). Apple snails lay their
eggs on the blades of grass that grow throughout the Everglades. The success of apple
snails' attempts to reproduce is critically conditioned by the height at which they place their
eggs on the grass stems and the level of the water in the region. If they lay their eggs too
high up the grass, the stems bend and break. If the eggs are laid too low then rising waters
can engulf them. Just as the survival of the snail eggs is conditioned by water levels in the
Everglades, so does it determine the fortune of the other species, such as the snail kite bird,
that eat the snail eggs.
Key readings
Economist (2005b) 'Water, bird, man: A vast environmental project in Florida with lessons for the post-
Katrina clean-up', The Economist, 6 October
