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While surfing the web today, I stumbled upon a slideshow of the Everglades here:

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/everglades-national-park-slideshow/

Which reminded me that many photos that previously required expensive licensing were just released for noncommercial use by Getty Images last week.  In a quick search, over 18,000 wetland related photos are listed by Getty, but not all are free to use. Many images can now be embedded in a webpage at no cost provided that Getty is credited and a link to the licensing page is visible. Its a great way to utilize both historic and world class photography that had previously been too expensive for a low budget website. Take a look.

http://www.gettyimages.com

 

 

 

As another consequence of climate change, slightly higher temperatures which are preventing cold snaps (less than 25 degrees) in parts of Florida have enabled Mangroves to move northward and thrive. Typically colder nights constrains and limit cold sensitive plants migration, by killing plants and seeds, but the difference of a degree or two, is enough to shift the balance to favor a particular species.

Using LANDSAT images from the mid 1980's through 2011, scientists reviewed changes found in 24,000 acres of coastal land capable of supporting either salt marsh or mangrove forest. In this period, mangroves expanded into 4,200 acres, essentially doubling its presence, and in many cases displacing salt marsh. The black Mangrove, considered the most cold tolerant, was found to have expanded the most at the northern fringe of the study area between Cocoa Beach and  St. Augustine.

Read the original article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/31/science/without-winter-freezes-mangroves-are-marching-north-scientists-say.html

 

I guess im not the only one who noticed the Bald Eagles in Rockville Centre, it made the front page of Newsday! It must have been a slow news day. Its ironic to note that additional acreage was clearcut only months ago only a few hundred yards from the sightings.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/bald-eagles-move-into-hempstead-lake-state-park-1.6677743

 

 

Wetlands in the News

05 May 2024