The Water - Where It All Begins

Aloha and welcome to week two in FIO Marine Field Studies.

After bidding farewell to USF St Pete, knowing we will return for more great adventures during week six, our caravan set course Sunday 18 May 2014 for distant Pensacola, home of the Argonauts and the University of West Florida. It was a beautiful seven-hour scenic drive through the northern part of the state referred to as the panhandle. We witnessed first hand quite a bit of standing water left from the heavy rains earlier this month at the roadside and into the adjoining plains and fields where it appeared trees had emerged from lakes. Little did we know at that time what there was to be discovered about the affect all that precipitation had upon the lands and waters around Pensacola.

Upon arrival we settled into the dormitories and then attended a reception by Biologist, Dr. Jeff Eble where the week’s learning activities were reinforced.

Our focus was:

Coastal plant communities and watershed management;

Barrier island ecosystem dynamics; and

Estuarine primary productivity and bacterial production

Monday morning came quickly as we traveled into the Black Water and Yellow river state forest with UWF’s Dr. Eble and Biologist Dr. Dick Snyder, along with special host Ranger Ian Stone of the Florida Forest Service. 

Ranger Stone, Dr Snyder, Dr Eble, Wally

You might ask why we started in the forest if we are studying marine biology. Well I did and this is what we found out. We know that water rolls down hill and when it starts at the top of the hill it may accumulate many things, such as sediments, minerals, plant matter, leaves, etc. on its journey back to the ocean as part of the hydrological cycle. So it is important to know where the water begins it’s journey and therefore answers many questions about all the different things we find as the streams enter the ocean and deposit their gifts. 

The watershed has everything to do with the ocean especially acting as the buffer we refer to as the coastal ecosystem or an estuarine environment. 

We saw hundreds of species of plants and worked at learning their scientific names. Dr. Snyder and Ranger Stone were great instructors and found to be a world of knowledge as their passion was displayed for the wonderful planet we live on.

Watershed obligate wetland species. Hillside with 3-4 inches of water that will eventually reach the ocean. Where the water journey begins

Down stream from hilly wetlands above. Stream by Krul Lake. Water mass is getting larger heading to the ocean.

Tuesday began just as early but was even more exciting knowing we would experience the middle part of the water’s journey back to the ocean as we traveled down to the beach and salt marshes and on to the land designated Gulf Islands National Seashore. 

Our instructors for the day were Dr. Jeff Eble, Biologist Dr. Jane Caffery, and Biologist Dr. Alexis Janosik with special guests Marc Nicholas and Monica Hardin from the National Park Service. They shared their knowledge and duties surrounding Species Management primarily nesting shore birds, marine birds and marine mammals and their protection as well as public education and efforts to keep the park accessible during nesting season, which is a monumental effort considering all the area they must protect with just a few rangers. 

Marc Nichols sharing about nesting sea birds

Monica Hardin taking us closer to view nests

Posted protection

Mobile protection, Speed limit it 20 mph. Please obey, thank you.

Nesting Grounds

 The remainder of the day was spent learning to seine net at the beach on the Gulf of Mexico side of the road investigating what species of marine critters inhabit the sands and cuspate formations along the shoreline. The brilliant white sand beaches of this high-energy coastline are found only here and these pure milky quartz crystals are considered well sorted. Our attention was directed to the wind blowing this sand across the beach and how sparse vegetation would allow it to gather near the root system and build up to what would eventually become a sand dune or fore dune due to is respective position on the barrier island profile.

We crossed the road to other side with many more surprises and experiences entering the realm of the back dunes and salt marshes heading into the Back Bay. We continued with seine net sampling of the quieter and more still waters finding completely different aquatic flora and fauna marine species that reside and brood in these more protected water spaces. Sampling the mud and sand looking for more species diversification we were not disappointed. It seemed there are animals everywhere; you just need to know how and where to look for them. And they all play a supporting role in the coastal ecosystem of life as the water continues its journey back to the ocean.

On day three we found ourselves venturing onto the water in boats to explore and investigate the waters of Perdido Bay close to the point where the stream of water from watersheds like Black Forest and Yellow river meet completing its journey back to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Upper Perdido Bay, Water mass is very large now. It has almost completed the journey back to the ocean.

Down to the sea in boats!

Dr. Jeff Eble, Dr. Wade Jeffery, Biologist and Dr. Jane Caffery directed us in many experiments with specialized ocean equipment that collects water data, such as temperature, salinity, turbidity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and bottom sediment samples. We also collected surface and bottom water samples at several strategic points in Perdido Bay to determine photosynthesis by phytoplankton in the lab back ashore later in the week.

Bottom sediment sample

Excellent skin treatment, probably not this type of mud though.

The sound with Gulf of Mexico in the background. The water made it to the ocean. The process starts all over again with evaporation..

 Days four and five, Thursday and Friday respectively, offered us in house lab work with the opportunity to follow through on our field experiments, data collection, and water sampling. We used microscopes and field guides to identify small marine animals, 

Learning microscopic critters old school via chalkboard!

More critters

performed assays of filtered water, and used radiometric and bicarbonate procedures for determining photosynthetic and bacterial productivity levels.

Spinning the samples at high speed until separation

Samples ready for spinning.

On their way to be analyzed for phytoplankton photosynthesis primary production

Our time at UWF was extra ordinary, and the scientists, administrators, facilitators and everyone else that helped to make our visit possible as well as enjoyable, we offer our sincere and heart felt gratitude for your support as we travel the beautiful state of Florida studying Marine Science. We hope that you look forward to more blog sessions and sharing our experiences and discoveries as this course and the summer continues. So, Aloha Oi for now; next stop the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Osprey country!