Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas

National Parks, Homestead, Florida

Preliminary effects of the January 2010 cold weather on flora and fauna
in Everglades National Park
February 2, 2010

David Hallac, Jeff Kline, Jimi Sadle, Sonny Bass, Tracy Ziegler, and Skip Snow

Introduction

Everglades National Park (EVER) recently experienced two weeks of cold temperatures.
During this time, air temperatures at Royal Palm often went down to 5° Celcius (41°
Farenheit) or below overnight and daytime high temperatures peaked at around 18 to 20°
Celcius (64 to 68° Farenheit) (Figure 1). On January 11, 2010, air temperatures dropped to
below freezing and reached a low of -2.0° Celcius (28° Farenheit). The air temperatures at
Royal Palm for the first two weeks of January represented the coldest period recorded over
the last ten years. It was so cold that ice was observed on the surface of the water at the
Taylor Slough bridge on Monday, January 11, 2009. These cold temperatures had impacts
on both plants and animals in EVER. Cold temperatures can have acute impacts, which may
result in direct animal and plant mortality during or shortly after cold events. Sub-acute
and chronic cold impacts include an overall reduction in the health of plants and animals,
which may make them more susceptible to disease and predation; these secondary effects
can cause mortality of plants and animals some time after the cold weather passes. We
present preliminary observations of the January 2010 weather on plants, manatees,
crocodiles, pythons, native marine fish, and non-native freshwater fish in Everglades
National Park. We compiled observations from our own aerial and water-based surveys
and from reports provided by recreational anglers, fishing guides, visitor and resource
protection Rangers, park scientists, cooperating scientists, and others.

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 Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas
National Parks, Homestead, Florida

Figure 1. Hourly temperature readings (in degrees Celcius)from January 1, 2010 to January 19,
2010 at Royal Palm, Everglades National Park, Florida. For reference, 0 degrees Celcius is
equivalent to 32 degrees Farenheit and 20 degrees Celcius is equivalent to 68 degrees
Farenheit.

Vegetation

Plants, especially leaves, can be damaged by cold temperatures. Damage is typically caused
when frost forms. Ice crystals can form in and on the leaves, causing the plant’s cells to be
damaged and die. Fairly substantial frost damage was observed on buttonwood trees and
mangroves in coastal marshes around Whitewater Bay. In the east Everglades, hardwood
hammocks incurred frost damage on 30-50% of the canopy. Much of this canopy damage
was on gumbo limbo trees. Cocopum was also impacted on many tree islands. Our
observations suggest that these impacts may be limited to short-term leaf loss and the
larger trees should recover. Approximately 40 species of tropical shrubs in the pinelands,
including pineland croton, an important host and nectaring plant for two butterfly species
that are candidates for listing as threatened and endangered, were frost damaged. The
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 Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas
National Parks, Homestead, Florida

majority of observed croton plants were damaged. An important observation is that the
larval Florida leafwing butterflies (caterpillars) were impacted by the cold as
approximately 50% of the individuals were observed dead or without nearby food sources
at three locations in the pinelands. This is a concern because it is currently thought that
EVER has the only remaining population of the Florida leafwing butterfly in the world. The
largest population of Cape Sable thoroughwort, also a candidate species, found adjacent to
the coastal prairie trail appeared to have little, if any, damage. Eleocharis, alligator flag, and
some other wetland plants experienced some cold–induced damage.

Old world climbing fern, a non-native vine, incurred substantial frost damage, which will
help to control the these invasive plants that can shade out native vegetation. Brazilian
pepper, another invasive exotic, was also impacted in coastal areas.

Manatees, Crocodiles, and Pythons

Manatees are thermoregulators, meaning that they attempt to maintain a constant body
temperature. However, they cannot thermoregulate very well once water temperatures
dip below 20° Celcius (68° Farenheit). During the recent cold weather, in central
Whitewater Bay, eastern Whitewater Bay, Whipray Basin, and Willy Willy, bottom water
temperatures were at or well below 20° Celcius from around January 1 until January 19 – a
duration of almost 20 days (Figure 2). Moreover, water temperatures dipped to between 5
and 10° Celcius for several days. During cold spells, manatees often use natural warm
water refuges to prevent their body temperatures from becoming too cold. Interestingly,
manatees often use warm water refuges that are frequently found in deeper areas where
haloclines cause reverse thermoclines. Simply put, manatees often seek refuge in deeper
areas where a layer of salty bottom water helps to trap heat and allow for warmer
conditions near the bottom. However, during extended periods of cold weather, even the
warmer bottom waters can cool; consequently, few thermal refuges were likely to have
been available in the park over the last several weeks.

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 Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas
National Parks, Homestead, Florida

Figure 2. Hourly bottom temperature observations from January 1, 2010 until January 20,
2010 at Central Whitewater Bay (CW), Whipray Basin (WB), East Whitewater Bay (WE), and
Willy Willy (WW) in Everglades National Park, Florida. Red lines indicate cold temperatures
that are stressful to manatees and snook.

Over the last two weeks, more than 60 dead manatees have been observed throughout the
park’s marine waters (Figure 3). Over 70 dead crocodiles were observed. It is likely that
more manatees and crocodiles were killed by the cold, but were obscured by mangroves
and difficult to see during our aerial surveys. It is also noteworthy to report that a
crocodile, tagged as a hatchling in 1986, succombed to the cold in the Buttonwood canal.

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 Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas
National Parks, Homestead, Florida

Figure 3. Dead manatee observed in Whitewater Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida on
January 13, 2010. Photo by Pat Ford.

The crocodile weighed approximately 200 kilograms (450 pounds) and was almost 4
meters (13 feet) long.

We have had many reports of dead Burmese pythons, a non-native snake that is established
in the park. However, we also have reports that live pythons have been observed. We are
analyzing data from our radio-tagged pythons to better understand the impact of cold on
their survival and movement patterns.

Marine and Estuarine Fish

We have compiled over 150 observations that indicate large areas where many marine fish
were killed in Florida Bay, Whitewater Bay, Gulf Coast rivers, and other marine areas.
These species include pilchards, barracuda, needlefish, hogfish, ladyfish, cowfish, bonefish,

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 Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas
National Parks, Homestead, Florida

snook, tarpon, gray snapper, mullet, catfish, goliath grouper, filefish, lookdown, mojarra,
jack crevalle, pinfish, burfish, grunts, redfish, bull shark, bonnethead shark, nurse shark,
lemon shark, flounder, spadefish, and angelfish. The observations suggest that tens, if not
hundreds, of thousands of common sportfish species, such as snook and tarpon were killed
by the cold. Snook experience cold stress at temperatures below 15 ° Celcius (60 °
Farenheit), so it is not surprising that so many snook died this January (Figure 2). Large
aggregations of dead fish were found in many areas where circulation is limited, such as the
Flamingo marina (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Dead snook, tarpon, and goliath grouper observed in the Flamingo Marina at
Everglades National Park, Florida on January 20, 2010. Photo by David Hallac.

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 Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas
National Parks, Homestead, Florida

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently extended the no-
harvest season for snook until September 1, 2010 and implemented a temporary
prohibition on the harvest of bonefish and tarpon until March 31, 2010. Catch and release
fishing is still allowed. We are continuing to compile data on the spatial extent and severity
of the fish kills in the park. We are reviewing these data with the FWC and discussing
additional management actions that may help to reduce impacts on sportfish populations
that have been most impacted by the cold.

Non-Native Freshwater Fish

Water temperatures in many areas and habitats fell to levels that are lethal to most of the
non-native freshwater fish species in the park. The non-native freshwater fishes are
generally of tropical origin from Central and South America, Africa, or Asia. The native
freshwater fishes are temperate species that are better able to handle cold temperatures
than the non-native species. In natural solution holes, we observed dead walking catfish,
pike killifish, African jewelfish, Mayan cichlid, and black acara. At the Anhinga Trail, many
Mayan cichlids, jaguar guapote, walking catfish, spotted tilapia, spotfin spinyeels, and
Asian swamp eels were observed dead. Overall, there are fewer floating dead fish in
Anhinga Trail than in the 2001 cold snap when thousands of Mayan cichlids, oscars, and
spotted tilapia were killed. One reason may be due to the water levels which were almost
0.3 meters (1 foot) higher in Taylor Slough this year than in 2001. This suggests that there
may have been more fish on the marsh in this area. Fish on the marsh were likely exposed
to colder temperatures than those in deep artificial habitats like Anhinga Trail.

Overall, the water temperatures during the cold snap reached levels lethal to many non-
native species in much of the marsh and we have observed fish kills of non-native species
both in unnaturally deep water areas at our popular visitor destinations and in natural
habitats. These cold conditions help to control unwanted non-native species that may
interfere with the natural character and function of the Everglades. However, there are
both natural habitats (some deep solution holes) and artificial habitats (canals, borrow
ponds, and ditches) in which some non-native fish appear to have found refuge. Deep
solution holes are rare on the marsh surface and it appears that holes with surface water
may have gotten cold enough to kill many non-native fishes. The recent fish kill highlights
the role that deepwater thermal refuges play in helping non-native fish survive. For
example, the bottom temperatures in the L-31 West canal (an artificial deepwater habitat),
which is along the park’s eastern border, did not get cold enough to impact most exotic fish
(Figure 5). However, water temperatures in the marsh areas, such as the Shark River
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 Biological Resources Branch, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades and Dry Tortugas
National Parks, Homestead, Florida

Slough, plummeted to low levels that did induce mortality in many exotic fish species.
Reducing the depth of the unnatural habitats, through the elimination of and partial filling
of canals and borrow pits, may result in cooler temperatures and better control of exotic
fish during cold weather events.

24 OT bottom 24
P35 Surface
22 22
P36 bottom
20 NP206 bottom 20
L31W bottom
Peacock bass-15oC
Water temperature ( C)

18 18
o

Oscar-12.9oC
16 16
Jaguar guapote-12.0oC
14 14 Spotted tilapia-11.2oC
Brown hoplo-10.0oC
12 12
Walking catfish-9.8oC
10 10 Pike killifish-9.7oC
African jewelfish-9.5oC
8 8
Mayan cichlid-9.0oC
6 6 Orinoco sailfin catfish-9.0oC
Black acara-8.9oC
4 4
Asian swamp eel-8.0oC
2 2 Blue tilapia-6.2oC
0 0
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Figure 5. The bottom temperatures recorded at the 5 marsh locations and a nearby deepwater
canal (L-31W) in Everglades National Park, Florida. Various horizontal lines indicate the
published lower lethal temperature limits for 13 of the 14 most common non-native species
found in Everglades National Park.

Conclusion

Air and water temperatures throughout the entire park’s marine and estuarine areas
dropped to very low levels causing temporary impacts to plants, massive marine fish kills,
substantial impacts to exotic fish populations, and manatee and crocodile deaths. A more
detailed report on the impact of the January 2010 cold weather will be prepared and
developed as a technical report over the next several months.