Fred Howard Park
Tarpon Springs, FL
September 23, 2016

Today we went to Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs, Florida where we learned about the importance of native coastal ecosystems. In Florida, native coastal ecosystems add to the overall diversity of the state. Just from the shore of the beach there are various habitats that different plants and animals favor. The small coquinas that inhabit the swash zone provide food for small coastal animals such as birds and crabs. There many types of seagrasses both in and out of the water that animals can eat and also provide shelter for many fish and benthic organisms. As a group, we snorkeled through the seagrasses on the shore and saw turtle grass, manatee grass, and shoal grass. Within the grasses, many types of algae could be seen between the sea grasses along with sponges, fish, and benthic animals. We also talked about the importance of sea wrack, something that I had never considered the significance of. Sea wrack is important for the coastal animals, as it provides a food source for them since there is not much for them to eat on the coast. There were a few sand dunes that were present on the beach. The sand dunes on the beach provide a system that prevents beach erosion. The roots of the sea oats on the dunes have an elaborate root system that keeps the sand within the roots and therefore prevent erosion. 

sea wrack on the beach shore 

Howard park beach side 

Sand dunes 

Sea oats on the sand dunes