Tuesday 4th March, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

28C, 100% humidity
On Tuesday we made an especially early start, in order to travel across state to The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. This is a 147,392 acre wildlife sanctuary that encompasses the northern vestige of the original Florida everglades wetland system. It offers public recreational and educational facilities as well as functioning as a refuge for native wildlife. It is almost entirely made up of Everglades marsh habitat, with a 400-acre bald cypress swamp constituting the rest.

BALD CYPRESS SWAMP

Resurrection ferns on the
branches of cypress trees

Our first port of call was the boardwalk through the swamp. Almost immediately after entrance, we observed resurrection ferns at around head height, growing in amongst the bald cypress trees. It is an epiphyte, gaining nutrients largely from the air and from water and nutrients that collect on the surface of the host tree's bark. It is most commonly found on cypresses but has been found occasionally on rocks and dead logs. 
We also made out a catbird call - one of many more northern birds that visit the area for the fair climate. We also heard a small group of pileated woodpeckers in the canopy, both their call and drumming.
A small Brazilian pepper tree was found within the swamp, an invasive species brought to Florida from South America as an ornamental plant. Millions have been spent by the government trying to remove them. Melaleuca (which we encountered yesterday) is also found here, after they were introduced to Florida to help stabilise the banks of waterways. Their tendency to drop their seeds at the first sign of stress (ie. any attempt at removal or burning) makes them a difficult species to control, however moths have recently been released as a biocontrol method. At this point, it is too soon to tell whether the moths are having any real effect on the Melaleuca populations. 
Plants are not the only type of invasive species in Florida; the state plays host to approximately 50 species of exotic fish in its waterways as well.
Further along the boardwalk, we regarded a Southern Leopard frog, one of the native tree frog species under threat from the presence of the Cuban tree frog. 
After leaving the cypress forest, we were shown a short presentation on the everglades and the wetland research currently being carried out at the reserve. Much of the work in progress at the moment by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service here is to reverse the effect of phosphorous enrichment in the Everglades. 
One such research project is LILA: Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment. LILA is a 80 acre model of the Everglades, allowing researchers to attempt restoration methods within this 'living laboratory' before applying them to the Everglades themselves.

WETLAND MARSH

Moving onto the second area of the refuge, we saw alligators - one adult and a number of juveniles - in a roadside ditch pool. The opposite pool was teaming with sailfin mollies, with large colourful males actively displaying to smaller females. Sailfin mollies thrive in shallow surface waters, such as the ditch we observed them in today, as well as swamps, estuaries and marshes. They are also incredibly tolerant of both high salinity and low oxygen environments. 

American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis

Within the marsh area, we observed a number of wading/wetland birds:

• Little Heron (sub-group of the green-backed herons)
• Blue-Winged Teal
• Glossy Ibis
• White Ibis
• Great Egret
• Little Blue Heron
• Turkey Vulture
• Anhinga

One other notable plant species found in the reserve is the water hyacinth. Despite being an invasive species and pest throughout Florida, it serves an important purpose within Loxahatchee. The water hyacinth's root colour changes dependent on various nutrient deficiencies, and so is a valuable indicator species of water quality.

Juvenile Eastern Lubber grasshopper showing
yellow colouration

We also encountered a large number of juvenile Eastern Lubber grasshoppers, exhibiting yellow and orange colouration, which are found throughout Florida. In the case of this species, eggs require a number of months of cool weather, and then hatch in the event of higher temperatures. Florida was experiencing a heat wave whilst we visited, which may explain slightly premature hatching of the grasshoppers in such large numbers.