Fred Howard Park
Around 90°F
09-23-2016
Throughout the day I was increasingly surprised by the
obviously vast amounts of sea creatures present in the seagrasses. Truthfully,
in the past, I have always avoided mucking through seagrasses while in the
water when the clear, sandy areas always seemed more appealing, so I had no
idea how much there was so close to the shore. Though using the seine net
yielded little results it was not difficult to capture hermit crabs in the
grasses, view needle fish and minnows swimming about, and even what I am pretty
sure was a sea scallop.
What I loved the most about this trip was the snorkeling.
Again, another first for me. It felt like a total separation from normalcy the
moment I put my head underwater; an entirely different type of ecosystem from
anything on land and teeming with life. I was able to watch many different
types of fish (none of which I can name) weaving their way through the shoalgrass
and investigate live sea sponges as I followed what seemed like sandy trails
through the flowing grasses.
Seeing the sea oats up close made it clearer how they become
an anchor for sands to become dunes. Although I came away with a sunburn that
is only now beginning to fade after some days, it is something I look forward
to doing again soon. It was an experience that made a real impact on my view of
just exactly how immense the ecosystems underwater are now. Truthfully, I have
never been a water person. The idea of being in that different of an
environment with unknown creatures has always frightened me. Perhaps I’ve watched
too many television shows during Shark Week. Just having this experience has
bolstered my confidence and dropped my level of fear. I’m even considering
scuba diving in the future, as I want to see more ecosystems further off the
coast.
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