Madison Bommelaere 
09/30/2016
Coopers Bayou 

                  Coopers Bayou is a brackish estuary that lies in the heart of Safety Harbor, Fl. We kayaked around the mangroves learning how to distinguish white, red, buttonwood and black mangroves from each other; we also learned how to distinguish their seeds. We didn't see many fish besides mullet jumping, although I did fing a baby dog fish trapped in a oyster shell. I was very suprised to see a fish trapt in the shell I randomly picked up. The bank around the body of water was littered with mangroves and tons of other plant life, also the water was littered with the mangrove's seeds. The floor underneth the water was very soft and mucky, which prooves to be filled with nutrients and organisms. Mangroves are unlawful to remove because they are a great barrior for high winds and waves blocking the destructive forces from flooding the citys and knocking down weaker trees inland. The threats to the mangrove ecosystem are invasive species like the She oak(casurina), dredging, pollution, and develoupment. This was a very fun feild trip padeling around learinging about our own back yard. You can never know too much about where you live.