Fred Howard Park

      My favorite field trip was Fred Howard Park. This underwater community was very fun to go look around. Observing all the animals that live close to the shore was very interesting. I saw a variety of different animals including two humongous horseshoe crabs. I even saw some actual sponges. Another dominant species was the pinfish, which seems to be a dominant species in any form of water in Florida lol. There even a couple of stingrays. For the field biology has been one of my favorite classes. I'm glad I took it

Fred Howard Park

I'd have to say that this was the most memorable & slightly embarrassing field trip but it was one of my favorites. I had only been snorkeling once before so it was neat to get to do it again. We brought an underwater 35mm camera to capture the grasses & wildlife but most did not come out because of the waters cloudiness :(

The reason this was an embarrassing trip? Who could forget me being singled out & "attacked" by the remora!

I was floating on my back over the grasses & felt something latch on & it would not let go as much as I flailed around! I panicked not knowing what it was & couldn’t run very quickly with the flippers on! Finally, I could see what it was & another classmate identified it. It followed me into shallow waters & a couple people tried to capture it but it was too fast. It was black & white, slender, about 5” long & very exotic looking. 

The majority of species found in this underwater meadow were the turtle & shoal grasses which seemed to be thriving. They were dense & plentiful. I did notice the difference in the grasses based on the amount of sunlight coming through the water. 

I had become a host for the remora, they are "sucker" fish & I was it's target. It was odd for it to be in the area because they are typically in open water latching onto large fish. Whatever it's reason for being there I had a good time & won't soon forget it :)

 

 This picture says it all, thumbs up for this field trip!

Brooker Creek Preserve

I would have to say my favorite field trip was to the Brooker creek preserve, due to the amount of diversity of flora and fauna within the park, and the different environments that interacted with one another during our exercise. Not to mention the adventure of plowing through swamps!! Woo!!
There were a variety of angiosperms and gymnosperms, the most prevalent being the slash pines, bald Cyprus, Oak, and Maple trees. The environments included a pinewood grassland, a floodplain swamp, and a canopy (at certain locations). Some of the creatures we saw in the environment were Water Moccasin, Black Racer, Pygmy Rattlesnake, Armadillo, weaver spiders, North American Alligators and I was able to see a Bald Eagle (woo!). Overall, I feel it was the best learning experience, due to the fact all our senses and

Brooker Creek Preserve

My favorite fieldtrip this semester was our last one to Brooker Creek Preserve. I liked it because it was farther away from urban development and there were several miles of trail that we could walk on.

The Preserve had a many different community types consisting of forested wetlands, oak hammocks, pine flatwoods and cypress domes. Brooker Creek, connected to Lake Tarpon, creates a floodplain swamp and part of the trail was flooded during our hike.

Pygmy Rattlesnake

The swamp environment is well suited to cold-blooded Reptilia. Snakes were basking in the sun everywhere during our trip. I saw four different species of snake two of which, a Pygmy Rattlesnake and a Cottonmouth were highly poisonous. We also spotted an alligator sunning itself on the banks of Brooker Creek, another reptile well suited to the tannin stained waters of a swamp.

 

Field Biology of Florida has been a great class and given me a deeper appreciation of the treasures in our own backyard.

- Derek Hopkins

Wall Springs Park

A school of fish at the spring

Wall Spring

Small Crab