Tree Islands

Both the sawgrass and wet prairies are dotted with teardrop shaped islands known as tree islands.  These islands come in many varieties such as cypress domes, bayheads, willowheads, tropical hardwood hammocks, and mixed forests, but in this section I am going to focus on the bayheads and willowheads.  These islands receive their names from the trees that dominant the canopy of the island.  Both bayheads and willowheads play a crucial role in creating plant and wildlife diversity throughout the Everglades region. 

The islands are formed by a slight rise in elevation, sometimes only a matter of inches.  Even such a minor change results in less frequent flooding allowing woody shrubs and trees to take hold.  These trees in turn provide shelter for birds, mammals, and reptiles which spend parts of the day feeding in the open prairie but must find shelter to rest or hide from predators.  If deer stand in open water they can develop hoof rot, which can be fatal. Bayheads, willowheads, and other tree islands where deer can find dry land are crucial to the white-tailed deer’s survival in the open prairie.  Many birds including the endangered Snail Kite, wading birds, and many song birds use these islands as a place to nest.  Alligators often contribute to the formation of these islands when they build their large nest mounds and many times a female will claim one island as her own during the breeding season.  Without these islands, the Everglades prairies would have a much lower diversity than we see today.