11.3 IMPORTANCE TO THREATENED AND ENDAN- 

 GERED SPECIES 



The mangrove forests of south Florida 

 are important habitat for at least seven 

 endangered species, five endangered sub- 

 species, and three threatened species 

 (Federal Register 1980). The endangered 

 species include the American crocodile, 

 the hawksbill sea turtle, the Atlantic 

 ridley sea turtle, the Florida manatee, 

 the bald eagle, the American peregrine 

 falcon, and the brown pelican. The endan- 

 gered subspecies are the key deer 

 ( Odocoi leus vi rginianus cl avi urn ), the 

 Florida panther ( Felis concolor coryi ), 

 the Barbados yellow warbler ( Dendroica 

 petechia petechia ), the Atlantic saltmarsh 

 snake ( Nerodia fasciata taeniata ) and the 

 eastern indigo snake ( Drymarchon corais 

 couperi ). Threatened species include the 

 American alligator, the green sea turtle 

 and the loggerhead sea turtle. Although 

 all of these animals utilize mangrove 

 habitat at times in their life histories, 

 species that would be most adversely 

 affected by widespread mangrove destruc- 

 tion are the American crocodile, the 

 Florida panther, the American peregrine 

 falcon, the brown pelican, and the 

 Atlantic ridley sea turtle. The so-called 

 mangrove fox squirrel ( Sciurus ni ger 

 avicennia ) is widely believed to be a 

 mangrove-dependent endangered species. 

 This is not the case since it is currently 

 regarded as "rare", not endangered, and, 

 further, there is some question whether 

 or not this is a legitimate sub-species 

 (Hall 1981). As a final note, we should 

 point out that the red wolf (Cam's rufus ), 

 which is believed to be extinct in 

 Florida, at one time used mangrove habitat 

 in addition to other areas in south 

 Florida. 



11.4 VALUE TO SPORT AND COMMERCIAL 

 FISHERIES 



The fish and invertebrate fauna of 

 mangrove waterways are closely linked to 

 mangrove trees through (a) the habitat 

 value of the aerial root structure and (b) 

 the mangrove leaf detritus-based food web 

 (see sections 6 and 7). The implications 



of these connections were discussed by 

 Heald (1969), Odum (1970), Heald and Odum 

 (1970), and Odum and Heald (1975b) in 

 terms of support for commercial and sport 

 fisheries. 



A minimal list of mangrove-associated 

 organisms of commercial or sport value 

 includes oysters, blue crabs, spiny 

 lobsters, pink shrimp, snook, mullet, 

 menhaden, red drum, spotted sea trout, 

 gray and other snapper, tarpon, 

 sheepshead, ladyfish, jacks, gafftopsail 

 catfish, and the jewfish. Heald and Odum 

 (1970) pointed out that the commercial 

 fisheries catch, excluding shrimp, in the 

 area from Naples to Florida Bay was 2.7 

 million pounds in 1965. Almost all of the 

 fish and shellfish which make up this 

 catch utilize the mangrove habitat at some 

 point during their life cycles. In addi- 

 tion, the Tortugas pink shrimp fishery, 

 which produces in excess of 11 million 

 pounds of shrimp a year (Idyll 1965a), is 

 closely associated with the Everglades 

 estuary and its mangrove-lined bays and 

 rivers. 



11.5 AESTHETICS, 

 INTANGIBLES 



TOURISM AND THE 



One value of the mangrove ecosystem, 

 which is difficult to document in dollars 

 or pounds of meat, is the aesthetic value 

 to man. Admittedly, not all individuals 

 find visits to mangrove swamps a pleasant 

 experience. There are many others, how- 

 ever, who place a great deal of value on 

 the extensive vistas of mangrove canopies, 

 waterways, and associated wildlife and 

 fishes of south Florida. In a sense, this 

 mangrove belt along with the remaining 

 sections of the freshwater Everglades and 

 Big Cypress Swamp are the only remaining 

 wilderness areas in this part of the 

 United States. 



Hundreds of thousands of visitors 

 each year visit the Everglades National 

 Park; part of the reason for many of these 

 visits includes hopes of catching snook or 

 gray snappers in the mangrove-lined water- 

 ways, seeing exotic wading birds, croco- 

 diles, or panthers, or simply discovering 



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