8th Observation -

This Sunday, I went "slogging" at the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. "Slogging" is an activity in which you literally walk through a swamp. I didn't get the opportunity to take pictures because of the wet environment and the fact that it was raining all day on Sunday.
The Fakahatchee Strand is a linear swamp forest, about twenty miles long by five miles wide and it runs from north to south.It is located on the west side of South Florida. It was created by years of erosion by the moving water. It is considered a canopy and it serves as a habitat that includes wet swamps, prairies, tropical hardwood hammocks and pine rock lands. Some plant species include Bald Cypress Trees, Royal Palms, many species of Orchids, and many others.
Some wildlife include the Florida Panther ( which is rarely seen), White-tailed Deer, Black Bears, Anacondas, Everglades Mink, Terrapins, and the Eastern Indigo Snake may be found in this area. Also many birds and wading birds live throughout the canopy.
It was an interesting experience to get to slog and it was my very first time doing so. I went with a group from a Florida Master Naturalist Program. At first I thought the experience was going to be worse and more disgusting to say the least. But it turned out that it was an enjoyable experience. Inside the canopy was beautiful and I saw many things I would have not had the opportunity to see elsewhere. The day turned out to be really fun, and even though your entire lower half gets completely soaked, I think it was worth it.

7th Observation - Everglades National Park

For my 7th observation I visited the Everglades National Park, which is a wetland habitat. Everglades National Park, which protects over 1.5 million acres, is the 3rd largest national park in the lower 48 states, behind Yellowstone National Park (2nd) and Death Valley National Park (1st).The everglades serves as a marsh area that many different types of species inhabit. There are two types of seasons in the everglades, which are the wet season and the dry season. Most hot summer days are punctuated by quenching afternoon thunderstorms that bring life-giving water to the park. In the 1900's the settlers attempted to drain the Everglades in efforts to build on the land underneath the marsh. This however never occurred and the attempted draining only damaged the area. This is a major reason why the Everglades are so protected and important to us today.
The drive was only a few hours from Fort Lauderdale but was worth the amount of wildlife I saw during my trip. Some bird species I saw and took pictures of were the Anhinga (aka the snake bird because when it swims and hunts all you see is it's long neck, which may be mistaken for a snake), the Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Silver Ibis, Great Egret, and the Brown Pelican.The Everglades Ecosystem provides a home to over 350 documented species of birds.I also saw a plethora of American Alligators. They were everywhere and even though they didn't move much and seemed to just be soaking up the sun, they were just as intimidating. Some of the birds were brave enough to get close to the gators in order to hunt and I don't think I wold have the guts to do that. I had the pleasure of seeing a Rat Snake being caught right out of a Rosemary bush. The man who caught the snake was a snake wrangler from the Amazon and allowed everyone to take pictures. I also saw many crabs and even an American Crocodile. You can distinguish between the croc and the gator by snout size and teeth arrangement.
Overall my trip the the Everglades was very exciting. I saw many species and the park was a lot larger then most of the sites I had previously visited, which was a big plus. The Everglades are an important factor to Florida's marine life and their habitats. Many tourists and visitors also indulge in kayaking, canoeing, wading, site seeing, and bird watching throughout the park so it is an area for humans to enjoy as well.

6th Observation-Lake Osceola

This weekend I visited the University of Miami and went to learn about the lake that resides on campus, Lake Osceola. Although this lake is in the middle of a college setting, many creatures depend on it for shelter. Alligators have been seen sun bathing on the shores and swimming through on any given day. Some fish species found in the lake are Largemouth Bass, Cat fish, and Flying fish. Since April 22 is Earth Day, the university has a special day celebrating Lake Osceola called Hug the Lake. Students gather around the lake and hold hands in honor of Earth Day. I enjoyed visiting this site because the lake was beautiful and serene. I also liked the fact that the school embraced the importance of the lake and all it's inhabitants and are appreciative of Lake Osceola.

5th Observation-Gumbo Limbo

Earlier today I visited the park Gumbo Limbo, located in Boca Raton. This park was very interactive and had a lot of various activities one could partake in. There were games and displays inside with plants and labels all around the outside deck. In the front of the main building there were large replicas of different species of sea turtles such as the Loggerhead, the Green, and the Leather Back. There was also a butterfly garden on the south side of the area with many picnic areas right next to the sea. Some trees and plants in the park were the Papaya Tree, the Lamb's Ear, Spanish Stopper (which has a skunk like smell), the Pigeon Plum, Lance Wood, Wild Lime, and Iron Wood. Gumbo Limbo was the most abundant tree and it is also known as the "Tourist Tree" because it has a "skin" that is red and peels off the tree. This is the same as when tourists come to visit Florida their skin burns and peels. Another fun factor of the park was that there were open salt water tanks with sea life. There were Nurse Sharks, Remora, Bonnet-head Sharks, Turtles, and other various types of fish. Overall the park was very beautiful and very kid friendly. I enjoyed walking through and seeing all the different types of wildlife in this up close setting.

Interview

I interviewed a graduate student, Chris LaPointe, at Nova Southeastern's Oceanographic Center. I learned alot from Chris and actually found we had similar qualities. We are both originally from the north and he is doing alot of studies on coral reefs, which is what I want to persue. I learned what Coastal Zone Managament was and what exactly was studied in the field of Marine Biology. I also learned how he took samples from sea grass and the reefs by doing "sweeps." I learned that Chris was using satelitte imaging, underwater cameras, and GPS coordinates for his graduate project on studying the ocean floor of a specific section in Hawaii. When Chris told me about what other students are doing for their projects, it got me excited and thinking about what I could possibly be doing in the future.

Seagrass Restoration:
http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/tech_sci/restsea.htm

Coral Reef Conservation:
http://coralreef.noaa.gov/

Ocean Floor Mapping via Google Earth:
http://earth.google.com/ocean/

4th Observation-Lauderdale Diver

Today I visited a local diving shop, Lauderdale Diver which is located in Fort Lauderdale. The shop had a variety of supplies and everything you need to start a diving adventure. They had top selling brands such as: Aqua Lung, Oceanic, O'Neill, Body Glove, and Sealife. The products they sell were all in regards to diving and snorkeling. They were supplied with tanks, snorkels, fins, goggles, wetsuits, rashgaurds, bags, cameras, dive lights, gloves, hoses, knives, sunglasses, and masks, basically anything and everything you need. They also had diving lessons available to sign up for and that covered all levels. Lauderdale Diver also provided daily dive trips and even had a special feature that allows you to organize a dive trip anywhere in the world! The dive levels range from Open Water, Advanced Open Water, EFR, Rescue Diver, Dive Master, Assistant Instructor, and other specialty courses that zone in on a certain aspect, such as Coral Reef Restoration. They also allow children as young as 10 years old to get Discover Scuba and Open Water Training. Lauderdale Diver also allows you to rent equipment if necessary. The staff was very friendly and insightful on diving and all of the products. The shop made me excited to obtain my scuba license, which I plan on getting this summer. It showed me all the cool things I would be learning about and eventually will be extremely accustomed to and comfortable with. Scuba Diving is obviously a huge aspect of Marine Biology and that is how most graduate students start the projects they do for their master's degree. The shop basically just got me excited and ready to jump in the water.

3rd Observation-John U. Lloyd State Park

I visited the John U Lloyd State Park which is located in Dania Beach right where the Oceanographic Center lies. This park consists of very lush plants and interesting wildlife. It is a beautiful site and is a beach that is being preserved. John U Lloyd himself was a Broward Country attorney for 30 years and the site was named after him due to the fact that he led the efforts in preserving the area. John U Lloyd Park is home to many sea creatures and marine plants. Many mangroves are present in this area which are of huge importance to the environment. They are contorted trees that extend into shallow edges of the sea and there are three different species; the red mangrove, the black mangrove, and the white mangrove. Mangroves are an essentially tropical tree species and usually do not appear in regions with temperatures under 66 degrees F. Mangroves serve as nurseries for many juvenile fishes, crustaceans, and are rookeries (nesting sites). Some creatures which I came across at the park were: Man O War, Cowfish, and Ghostcrabs. The beach was beautiful and the park is 251 acres. John U Lloyd State Park is also home to Loggerhead sea turtles and is one of 33 parks that have beach indexing that provide valuable sea turtle data to researchers around the world. This is the perfect location for me to observe since it resides so closely to the graduate school, and many NSU OC graduate students and faculty study, observe, and research this park.