Big Sponge…
…is located on the south side of Long Key, FL.
It’s called Big Sponge because there are some very big
sponges or Porifera living on the
substrate filtering the water column like sponges do.
This was our first snorkel dive of the day and after jumping
into the warm azure waters of the Florida keys we observed patchy fields of Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii commonly referred to
as turtle grass and shoal grass respectively.
Shoal grass |
Turtle grass |
So we ask, are there any turtles in the area to eat the
grass and most likely the answer is yes from time to time. Though we just
didn’t see any today. But if we did most likely it may be a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).
Green Sea Turtle |
Underwater we observed Big Sponge to be a near shore marine
environment with a sandy hard bottom that supports a diversity of sea grass
species, alga, sponges, corals, sea cucumbers, and small fishes.
The water was relatively clear with about 10-12 feet
visibility for an overcast day.
It took a while to locate the big Loggerhead sponges, but
once found excitement unleashed as snorkeler’s heads popped above the water
sharing with everyone the quarry had been found. You could hear beckoning
calls, “hey you guys, over here, we found’em, there’s big sponges and they’re
really cool!!
Loggerhead sponge |
Amazingly, upon closer investigation, was that each big
sponge seemed to have it’s own small ecosystem living around it. There were
Christmas Tree Worms poking their feathery arms in and out of their sponge
apartments, lobsters hanging inside and underneath the large sponge bodies,
small wrasses and gobies were playing house, as well as occasional juvenile
French Angelfish and lane snapper.
All this water activity, discovery and excitement in just
one hour; this is what makes marine science and diving worth every moment!
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