Water Lettuce feeds Florida manatees through the winter. The biggest threat to their food source is the State of Florida which insists that this plant must be treated like an invasive. The Ichetucknee State Park, year-round home to some and winter home to many manatees, organizes removal events before and during the winter months, when manatees are in greatest need of nourishment.
The Florida Gar also use the Water Lettuce matts to spawn, ensuring the survival of this prehistoric fish. Here is a short clip of a female gar shooting through the water lettuce mat, followed by the males to complete their annual spawning which follows the lunar cycles through the fall, winter and spring.
Crawdads, spiders, beetles, small fish, and birds favor these plant mats which also filter harmful nitrates from water bodies. So please, do not remove this beneficial plant from our waterways from the fall through spring. Save the water lettuce for our manatees winter grazing and for gars’ annual mating. Save the Water Lettuce and thank you Lars Andersen for the use of your video.
OSFR President Joanne Tremblay
joanne.tremblay@oursantaferiver.org
“Giving Our River A Voice”
