Large mammals, such as white-tailed deer, bobcats, grey foxes, black bears, and panthers, use wetlands for denning sites, movement corridors, escape cover and food. The largest reptiles in the United States, the American alligator and the endangered American crocodile, live in Florida's wetlands. Wetlands contribute to water supplies. According to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Guide to Recreational Lands, the area is extremely important for groundwater recharge as the aquifers are near the land surface. Wetlands provide protection from flood and storm damage.
Wetlands temporarily store flood waters, protecting property owners downstream from severe flooding.
They also slow floodwaters, lowering wave heights and reducing soil erosion. Researchers at the University of Florida discovered that when wetlands make up as little as 10 percent of the landscape, flooding decreases by 60 percent. When wetlands cover 20 percent of an area, flooding decreases by 90 percent. Wetlands may affect climate. It is speculated that by creating updrafts, wetlands in the Everglades trigger the summer rains vital to the water cycle of south Florida.