The "Big Sponge" site was our third snorkel site visited on Tuesday, June 9th. We arrived at the site around 1:30 pm during an incoming tide. The site is relatively high energy as indicated by the large presence of many sponges. Sponges are filter feeders so they need an area of high water flow and a hard bottom to grow, which we also saw at the site. The benthos was a sandy bottom with some full and broken shells, as well as other medium grain sediments. Corals were not as present at this site as they were at the other sites we visited that day, but there were some. However, there was a variety of fish species present at this site, which many of them used the sponges as a means of refugee or habitat. The depth of the site was approximately eight feet with little to no waves present. Water visibility was fairly clear, so it was easy to snorkel the area and see the marine life.
There did seem to be high fishing in that area along with boat traffic. The site gave evidence of anthropogenic impacts in the form of "lobster refugee" which can be explained as an open ended box placed at the bottom to catch lobster and crabs. Overall the site seemed to be a healthy shallow shoreline/ high energy habitat with not too much impact from anthropogenic factors.
By: Darren Rose and Chelsea Barfield
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