Eighty islands have disappeared, caused by factors which the USGS continues to study.

Yes, storms and hurricanes have been a factor...and sea-level rise.

Artificial canals have caused numerous changes, including the conversion of the intertidal area. The combination of canals from the gulf into freshwater marshes and storm surges has increased salinity and coastal erosion, leading to the conversion of thousands of hectares of marsh.

Since 1910 seven major hurricanes have devastated the mangroves, converting them to intertidal mudflats. In more upstream marsh locations, mangroves are migrating into and replacing marsh. As sea-level continues to rise, these shifts are likely to be permanent.

Smile..... however, the endangered small-tooth sawfish and roseate spoonbill, use the newly formed open-water habitats.

Disappearing Islands and Mangrove Forests Documented in South Florida:

By using historical charts and aerial photos, USGS scientists based in Florida documented that between 1928 and 2004, 80 islands have disappeared from Whitewater Bay, likely because of hurricanes, sea-level rise, and storm surges.

Traditionally the coast has been dominated by mangrove forests, but since 1910 seven major hurricanes have devastated the mangroves, converting them to intertidal mudflats.

Meanwhile, the combination of saltwater-bearing canals, storm surge, and sea-level rise has caused an increase in water salinity and coastal erosion, converting substantial marshland to open water and causing the disappearance of islands in Whitewater Bay, and the shrinking in size of numerous other islands.

Understanding the cause of island loss in Whitewater Bay may assist in management and conservation efforts of the more than 145,000 acres of mangrove forest from Cape Romano to Cape Sable. This study, The Disappearing Islands of Whitewater Bay, Everglades National Park.

Sea-Level Rise, Storms, Freezes, and Fire: Change in the Coastal Everglades:

They found that sea-level rise, major storms, altered fire regimes and artificial canals have caused numerous changes, including the conversion of the intertidal area, historically dominated by mangrove forests, to intertidal mudflats.

On Cape Sable, the combination of canals from the gulf into freshwater marshes and storm surges has increased salinity and coastal erosion, leading to the conversion of thousands of hectares of marsh to open water or to mangrove forests.

In more upstream marsh locations, mangroves are migrating into and replacing marsh. As sea-level continues to rise, these shifts are likely to be permanent with consequences for numerous at-risk species, such as the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, a species first found in the now-vanished marshes.

Not all consequences are harmful, though – the endangered small-tooth sawfish and roseate spoonbill, for example, use the newly formed open-water habitats.

This research reveals that as restoration proceeds, it is clear that climate change and other factors must be considered.

Can this natural continental drainage area, a swamp, like the Mississippi delta, be more than a crocodile wonderland, as rain forests are taken down? Is it a new deep-well prospect for U.S. oil and a-biotic fuel?