We started in the upland pine forests, dominated by longleaf pine. Here we learned about how natural forest fires are actually necessary for a healthy ecosystem by burning off the dead plant matter on the ground, allowing the plants that live there to thrive. Many have unique adaptations for dealing with fire.
This is a grove of young longleaf pines are somewhere between 5 and 15 years old. They spend all that time growing a deep taproot, and then they will grow vertically after that.
Here is a pitcher plant bog, the first I have ever seen! They are carniverous plants that prey on insects that get trapped in their pitcher.
You can see some bugs trapped in there!
A beautiful orchid that grows in the bogs.
Layna fondling a poison sumac plant while walking on the boardwalk. Luckily she didn't touch the oils which cause a nasty itchy rash.
Blackwater Creek
After a long day of hiking in the woods the students got a little beach time and a delicious shrimp boil for dinner. Thanks UWF faculty members!
Tuesday we went out to Gulf Islands National Seashore to learn about shorebird and turtle conservation, sand dune and beach dynamics, and collect phytoplankton samples from the Gulf and Santa Rosa Sound.
Wednesday was spent on 2 boats in Perdido Bay on the border of Florida and Alabama to collect more phytoplankton samples and water quality parameters. Thursday and Friday were spent analyzing the data we collected. After huge amounts of rain 3 weeks prior to our arrival, we found huge amounts of primary production in the bay that was literally off the charts!
Overall it was a great week and we all learned a great deal. And now we look forward to our trip to Jacksonville for a week at UNF!
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