Long Key Point Site Summary- Jade Hemberger and John Moorman

Compared to many of our other sites like Coffins' Patch, Long Key Point is a shallow, hard-bottomed, inshore habitat with greater turbidity due to the nearby channel and boat activity. The most dominant primary producers of Long Key Point were macroalgae such as Sargassum, Laurencia, and Pennicilus and seagrass beds. There was a greater diversity of echinoderms and invertebrates at this site than the others as well. Most of the flat, rocky floor was dominated by seagrass and sponges such as the vase sponge and loggerhead sponge with Thallasia being the most dominant seagrass species. However, this site had a lesser diversity of corals consisting mostly of the soft corals. The bottom of Long Key Point had low relief with the exception of a channel running through. The flat surface seemed to encourage an even coverage level which contributed to benthic grazing. An interesting find was a fiberglass boat hatch which gave shelter to thousands of tiny hermit crabs and a small nurse shark!