Tarpon Springs
On the bright sunny day of September 23, the temperature at the beach in Fred Howard Park was averaging out somewhere in the low 90s. We first started talking about the sea-grasses such as: shoal grass which is flat and thin with high tolerance and can be found in shallow water; turtle grass which is flat and fat, can be found between shoal and manatee grass; manatee grass which is round and firm, can be found out in deep water. With two nets, the class separated into two groups that would cast their net to try catch glimpse of the underwater ecosystem. While capturing small, shiny silver fish and needle fish, hermit crabs would scurry past our feet.
The time to snorkel and explore the ocean floor was upon us. Placing the mask on and diving underwater was like entering a mysterious and busy world. I saw many fish swimming about, going in all different directions. At one point I began to follow a certain stripped fish, named Simba, to see where he would lead me, and I was not disappointed. Simba had led me to this huge cluster of rhodophyta (red algae). I got lost in my own little world under the sea.
After our little adventure down in sea-grass beds, the class trekked to the opposite side of the beach. There we learned that a food source for animals living on/near the shore is sea wrack. Back behind the sea wrack, inland, were man made sand dunes. These sand dunes help fend off beach erosion. The farthest sand dune from the shore was littered with sea oats. Sea oats are rhizomatous, or creeping rootstalks, which is roots and shoots from the sea oat's nodes often being sent out usually underground.
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