Back to UNF!

This week we went back to UNF for a study of the diversity within the marine systems on the coastline. We looked at the saint johns river and how the water changes as it flows from the mouth of the river out to the ocean and the organisms that live in the different types of water. It was really cool to see how quickly the water changes over such a distance and how each area is colonized with different organisms. We also we to the beach and traveled down the coastline to see the different ways that currents carry sediment and how places that were once full of water are now totally dry. Seeing boat docks on a desert plain was pretty funny. then we performed a 24 hour diel study where we observed the tides, water quality, and organisms that live in the lake and estuary at the GTMNERR over a 24 hour span. One of the things I learned about in this study was the tides. When the tide is going from low to high it is called a flood tide and when it is going from a high tide to a low tide it is called a ebbing tide. The variety of organism that we caught in this study was incredible. It was an amazing experience to be able to see the different parts of the ecosystem function together as one. I think that this taught me the most this week and has really opened my eyes to seeing nature as a whole.

(us on our journey down the Saint Johns river)

(us using the 70 foot sein net during our diel study)

(some of the coquina outcroppings and tidal pools we visited on our beach expedition)