A recent study by the University of Florida showed significantly higher levels of pollution in the sediment of the Everglades, an extension of surface water and reed 160 by 80 kilometers, known as the river rushes. In the place inhabited hundreds of species of wildlife, including crocodiles, large white herons, bald eagles, bobcats, armadillos and manatees. A pollutant that has been found is mercury, considered dangerous because it accumulates in the body for years and can lead to nerve and brain damage. …show more content…
Mercury poisons, threatening death to those at the end of the chain, such as alligators and panthers animals.
"We have to be very careful with what we eat and not going to eat fish contaminated with mercury," says Cypress. Within the Park posters warn that eating fish from Everglades, especially the bass, can seriously affect health.
Phosphorus – another pollutant - which is widely used as fertilizer, comes from the sugar industry north of the Everglades and has led to overcrowding and excessive growth of plants, especially the Totora (cattail), a reed that grows up to 4 meters high.
The Totora, is an invasive species that displaces native flora and occupies large areas of the Everglades that can no longer be populated by fish, amphibians and birds. This situation ends with the base of the food chain and is causing the extinction of hundreds of native species like the alligator, manatee, big mouth bass, blue heron, wild cat, short-tailed hawks, among others. On the other hand, the Totora blocks the flow of water in low