Special Adaptations to Survive

Amphibians and some insects lay their eggs in water as an adaptation to the wet conditions. These eggs hatch and the emerging larva have gills through which they "breathe" oxygen from the water. The larva grow and undergo a metamorphosis into air-breathing terrestrial adults. Once adults, these organisms continue to live their lives near aquatic ecosystems such as a wetlands so that they can lay their eggs in the water.

Map

Everglade's Food Web

The Everglades (Florida Map)

The Everglades National Park is 1.4 million acres of wetland in southern Florida. Its water source begins near Orlando in the Kissimmee waterway then flows southward through sawgrass prairies and finally meeting the sea via Florida Bay.