We arrived at our first site of the day and the water was clear and shallow. Upon snorkeling in the bayside habitat, we found juvenile fish hiding within the seagrasses and small corals. The seagrasses, mostly
Thalassia
testudinum, offer heavy coverage for smaller organisms to grow and hide from predators. There was a deep channel splitting two sides of the spot, and it wasn't covered with any grasses, only sediment, which was composed of dead
Halimeda incrassata. The channel is from the heavy flow of the current that comes from the Gulf into the Atlantic. The site was low relief despite the deep channel, which allowed for boat scarring on the bottom. These boat scars remain for awhile and cause damage to the corals and seagrasses that takes years to recover from. There were no big fish or corals which played to the fact that so many of the species found were juvenile. There was also not a lot of diversity within the species of fish.
Some species we found include the carribean anemone (
Condylactis gigantea), tunicates, and the spaghetti worm (
Eupolymnia crasscornis).
Halimeda incrassata (center, dark green),
Thalassia
testudinum (tall, light green),
Penicillus capitatus (right, dark green)
Caribbean anemone (Condylactis gigantea)
Rose coral (Manicina areolata)
Caribbean anemone (Condylactis gigantea)
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