Freshwater Ecoregion of the World : #156 Florida Peninsula
Major Habitat Type: tropical and subtropical coastal rivers
Freshwater habitats: This ecoregion is characterized by a variety of aquatic habitats that is virtually unequaled elsewhere in North America. Though intermittent streams are few, there are abundant marshes, swamps, mangrove swamps, ponds and lakes, springs, and large rivers. In fact, Florida in total has more artesian springs than any other region of the world, with one hundred major springs occurring beside or within the channels of the Suwannee River or its main tributaries alone (Carr 1994). The lower reaches of all the rivers that flow into the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico experience the effects of tides and are often inhabited by both euryhaline (salt-tolerant) freshwater and marine species, including tropical peripheral species (Gilbert 1992).