Introductions and Survival of Nonindigenous Species in Freshwater Systems

Human Population Growth

With a human population of 12.9 million in 1990--a 32.8 percent increase since 1980--Florida is one of the nation's fastest growing states (U.S. Department of Commerce 1990). This rapidly expanding population has increased the demand for more development and for supplies of water and thus altered most of the natural ecosystems of southern Florida. As a result, the disturbed areas--urban, suburban, and rural--are now paramount sites for introduction and establishment of nonindigenous plants and animals.