Tuesday, May 17th, 2016, we visited our fourth
snorkel site, Long Key Point, while staying at the Keys Marine Lab. The weather
conditions were optimal, with slight cloud coverage; however, the site did have
more wave action due to being on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island. Long
Key Point’s depth ranges from about 3.5 feet to 6 feet, which was relatively
deeper than any other previous site and covered more area by being an open
ocean snorkel site. This site had a hard bottom, meaning it was made up of
calcium carbonate (CaCO3) materials. Long Key Point’s waters
consisted of a higher richness of organisms (including fish, sponges,
invertebrates, echinoderms, arthropods, and algae), which means that there were
a larger variety of different species than previous sites. The organisms were
also much larger than observed in previous snorkel excursions, probably due to
not having a nursery-like structure for juveniles. This site consisted of heterogenetic
habitats. We also noted that there were more soft corals than hard corals. Soft
corals, like Plexaura, Gorgonia ventalina, Pseudopterogorgia,
and Pterogorgia, are able to dominate
this area because they can be more fluid in the way they bend with the high
wave energy. Our favorite organisms to see were the Giant Horse Conch (which is
actually a snail) and the Flamingo Tongue Snail (Cyphoma gibbosum). We would definitely recommend this snorkel site
to people who want to see the beautiful wildlife of Long Key, FL.
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Two Flamingo Tongue Snails, Cyphoma gibbosum |
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A Plexura
soft coral
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