SWOOP!

We made it to UNF in Jacksonville just in time to explore various coastal shores in the area. On Monday we started off in Ponte Vedra Beach across the Guana Tolomato reserve, where we learned how the plants native to large dunes are adapted to the lack of water and high salinity by having an extensive root structure and water storing mechanisms. We also learned how the long shore current is created by the North East winds pushing a current depositing the sediment in various areas along the shore. These areas are heavily impacted by nearby housing development and the rising sea level. They also treat these areas with prescribed burns just like the long leaf pine forests in Pensacola. This is a constantly shifting very dynamic environment, where the species consist of mainly adapters rather than high competitors. 

After Ponte Vedra we traveled more south the Vilano beach where we observed a stabilized inlet, where it is managed to not migrate down by two parallel jetties on either side. It needs to be maintained at a certain depth in order for ships to pass so it must be constantly dredged. 

Then we traveled to the furthest southern point of Marineland. This is a unique beach habitat because coquiina strucures have fromed there over the years serving as a rocky inter tidal zone in this area. You can see the distinct zonation of species at low tide and how space is the limiting factor in these areas. 

Then we head to Mantanzas inlet which holds habitats for very important keystone species the Gopher tortise. These tortises burrrow tunnels under the dunes which serve as refuge for almost 16 species at a time. The inlet that the dunes are located on is constantly shifting back and forth because there are no jetties to buffer the migration.

On the second day we went out aboard the genetic drift and the osprey where we traveled all the way up the St. Johns river, one of the only Northern flowing rivers in Florida. We got to see all the anthropogenic effects on the river such as bridges and cities right by the shoreline. We used tools like the YSI, plankton tow and Secci disk to develop water quality samples, then analyzed the data back at the lab. 

Our 24 hour study at the GTM is up next!