Old Dan Bank: Meg and Brooke

            Tuesday, June 9, we explored three different sites, and we got to survey the first site, a sea grass bed called Old Dan Bank on the bay side of the Keys. It was a beautiful sunny morning with scattered cloud coverage at 9:20 am and low tide. The current was the strongest out of all the sites we visited. Echinoderms were commonly seen, where as fish were sparse. The site was dominated by sea grasses and algae, which provided a great nursery for juvenile and other small fishes. Thalassia and Halimeda covered the sandy bottom and corals were dispersed throughout the ecosystem. Long tubules that resembled thick fishing line covered the sandy bottom, which we later learned were the extensions of a polychaete, the spaghetti worm. As you approached the long tubules, the spaghetti worm would retract quickly, which kept us very entertained. Old Dan Bank provided a great environment to apply our knowledge from the classroom. We were able to identify all of the algae, sea grasses, and corals that were present at this site. Overall, Old Dan Bank was a great learning experience for all of us.