UWF Week

      It was a great week at UWF in Pensacola.  We went from the upper forest in Black Water State Park all the way down to the Gulf Islands National Seashore on the Gulf of Mexico.  We learned so much throughout our journey around Western Florida and Alabama.  

      In Black Water State Park we learned all about controlled burns and how they help to maintain stability throughout the environment.  We also did a species abundance exercise which we then later analyzed in our final discussion.  The forests are a very important starting source for many of the nutrients that eventually lead from the wetlands down into the bays and ultimately out the channels into the Gulf.  It was fun to learn about the fire burning techniques.  I found it particularly interesting that in order to have a fire burn hotter you have to space the fires out more which is somewhat counterintuitive.  When fires are set in closer proximity to one another they run into each other faster and burn out. 

     During our second day we travelled down to Pensacola beach and Santa Rosa Islands to learn about the Sea turtles and birds.  It was great to be able to see the Snowy Plovers and Least Turns in action in their natural environments.  We were informed that the sea turtles as well as the snowy plovers and least turns are in constant danger of predation by wolves, foxes, raccoon and other predatory birds.  However, the number one cause of death for the least turns and snowy plovers are the drivers in the area.  In order to curb this the parks department in the area has set speed limits of 20 MPH in the areas that the birds are highly populated.  After using the seine net on the beaches and learning about rack lines and longshore currents we made our way over to the dunes on the bay side and learned all about the stabilizing grasses and woody plants that contribute to the biodiversity in the area.  We gathered some interesting samples with the seine net in the salt marsh and in the bay.  Some of the species we gather include but are not limited to pinfish, croakers, mullet, gobies, pipefish, bluecrabs, and even a large spade fish.  Another interesting fact to learn about was the chemical  and color composition of the sediment in the areas surrounding the bay.  We learned that not only do the infaunal bethic invertebrates respire but the sediment itself also respires in a way that releases  sulfur and CO2 into the environment. 

     The last field day we spent out on two pontoon boats in Perdido Bay sampling the water in 6 different locations throughout Florida and Alabama.  At the first site I checked the secchi depth which tests for turbidity.  A black and white checkered disc is dropped into the water column and without polarized glasses you are suppose to record the depth at which you can longer distinguish the difference between the two colors.  We also checked salinity, temperature, depth, conductivity, CDOM and fluorescence with the CTD that gathered data which we later analyzed in the computer lab.  We took water samples with the Vandorin bottle and also gathered data with the YSI.  At the last two sample sites we gathered light data in order to calculate the attenuation coefficient which is the rate at which light disappears with depth.  We noticed that all the samples in the upper part of perdido bay were more turbid and had very low salinity.  This was most likely due to the extreme rainfall that has occurred in the are recently.  As we got closer to gulf and down into lower perdido bay we noticed that there was a large increase in salinity along the bottom.  The last day in the field out on the boats was my personal favorite.  I enjoyed learning about all of the equipment and seeing the data in real time.  After spending all day Thursday in lab we got the chance to see the Pensacola Wahoo's play in a minor league baseball game.  It was great to have the whole group there and so nice to watch the game on the Pensacola Bay.  The week was really awesome.  I learned so much about the area and the staff at UWF was great!!  

Here are some pictures of the week to highlight some of the great moments.