Zapata National Park, Cuba Photograph by Rafael Sánchez   Cuba Flooded Grasslands and Savannas   2,200 square miles (5,700 square kilometers) -- about the size of Delaware Critical/Endangered

· A Watery Landscape
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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A Watery Landscape

Wetlands can be found all over Cuba, mostly in small patches. These swamps and marshes harbor a diversity of living things from carnivorous plants to colorful trees and small snails to Cuban crocodiles. Bird diversity includes ducks, herons, gallinules, and rails, as well as some endemic species.

Special Features

The southern Zapata Peninsula and its surrounding areas are home to most of Cuba’s wetlands. Swamps are a major type of wetland that are flooded most of the time, with vegetation growing on a layer of peat. Marshes are found all over Cuba, and one of the country’s most extensive marshes is the Laguna del Tesoro in Zapata. The biggest Cuban swamp is the Zapata Swamp. Another large expanse is the swamp located north of the Santo Tomas lake. Some of the seasonal wetlands in this ecoregion are extensive sawgrass prairies that remain flooded for half the year. In the ponds and slow streams found on the Zapata Peninusla, the tapeworm plant forms large meadows, filled with the plant’s graceful and slender leaves. As one moves further out of the swamp, clumps of cattails and thickets of the silver saw palmetto can be seen. The blue mahoe is a striking tree that is also found here. Its blossoms turn from yellow to orange to red as they mature and a tree can display all three colors at once. The blue refers to the blue hue the wood takes on when polished.

	The apple snail, an aquatic freshwater snail found all around the Caribbean, has a respiratory system adapted to life above and below water. On its right side, the snail has a system like the gills of a fish that allow it to breathe under water. On its left side, it has a lung to breathe air.

Wild Side

Birds in the Cuban Wetlands ecoregion include the Zapata sparrow, an endangered bird with only a small patch of suitable habitat left in the wild; the elusive Zapata wren, which is found only on the Zapata Peninsula; the colorful red-shouldered blackbird; and a number of rails and waterbirds. In deeper waters of the Laguna del Tesoro, a floating layer of duckweed and layers of water hyacinth and water lettuce develop. Submerged bladderwort plants form communities. These carnivorous plants use mechanically triggered vacuum bladders to trap small invertebrates and then use enzymes to digest their prey. The northern jacana is a medium-sized bird with a deep cinnamon coloring, a long neck, and extremely long, elegant toes, specialized for life in a waterlogged habitat. The jacana can walk, forage, and nest on top of floating vegetation. The endemic Cuban crocodile is found in coastal and swampy areas, along with the American crocodile and the non-native caiman, which has been so successful in its new home that it threatens the Cuban crocodile.

Cause for Concern

The Cuban Wetlands ecoregion is threatened by human developments, harvesting for firewood, and grazing livestock. Logging and grazing in swamps is problematic because it causes the swamps to shift to boggy meadows or wet savannas, changing the habitat and threatening species adapted to the swamp conditions.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.