Observation is the Key!

This past week we spent at the Keys marine research lab. We adventured to many different habitats including coral reefs, hard bottoms, mangroves, and sea grasses. The uniqueness and species diversity of these different habitats was incredible. Each has adapted to live in it own specific environment and have distinct characteristics that allow them to thrive in their areas.

(Coral skeleton)

We saw how corals have adapted to live in low nutrient and high wave energy areas. They have developed calcium carbonate skeletons that allow them to sustain and be protected from the dangerous environments they inhabit. They also live with symbiotic organisms such as zooxanthellae and cyanobacteria. These organisms get a place to live while they donate energy via photosynthesis to the corals. These organisms make up most of the food base for many organisms such as the fish that inhabit these areas. They also lower the wave action in the reefs and provide shelter for even more organisms.

(Angel fish amid some macro-algea)

The hard bottoms are mostly colonized by seagrasses, sponges and macro-algea with few corals. These areas are adapted to these areas in several ways. They are able to attach to substrates which keep them in place in the soft sediments they are also able to increase sedimentation in the area due to the buffering of the waves. This increases the sedimentation and nutrients in the soils as well as holding the soils together. They also provide a major food source and habitat for the organisms that live in these areas. However they require high amounts of light for photosynthesis.
                                               
                                                                  (Mangrove prop roots)
Mangroves are a very important and fascinating ecosystems. they actually increase the land mass by catching particles and over time this sedimentation creates island or extends the land mass out. Mangroves have adapted to living in high salinity and low oxygen waters by expelling salt from their leaves and obtaining oxygen through their leaves. Their roots also provides a surface for many organisms to colonize and a hiding place for many other organism. They also play a very important part in the nitrogen cycle in converting nitrate to a usable form.
                                                 
                                                                   (Turtle grass bed)
Seagrasses were some of the most interesting environments to study. Seagrasses provide food shelter and protection from the waves, making them abundant in species diversity. Seagrasses also provide a place for epiphytes to grow which creates an entirely new base of the food chain and increasing the species diversity. Seagrasses are able to survive in low nutrient environments because they are able to pull nutrients out of the soil as well as store energy in their roots systems. Which allows them to quickly regrow after a destructive event.
Over all the ecosystems that we visited in the Keys were each unique in both the organisms that inhabited them as well as their methods for success in their environment. Observing these ecosystems was incredible and so eye opening.