Hitting the Beach!!!!

My experience at Bahia Honda Beach was very interesting in that at first it looked similar to beaches back home in St. Petersburg; however, beaches in St. Petersburg don’t have as many sponge and corals washing up and the water is not as clear.  As we walked along the water we were looking and identifying the variety of sea grasses, algae, and sponges that washed up. The accumulated grasses, alga, and sponges that washed up created what is called a wrack line. This is important for the ecosystem because all this debris breaks down and releases nitrogen and phosphorous back for use.  It was also cool to look at living organisms that inhabit the wrack line such as, amphipods, blue crabs, and sand hoppers.  Some algal species that we also found in or close to the wrack line was bubble weed, Sargassum spp., and Goniolithom.  Some sea grasses that we identified included Turtle grass, Manatee grass, and Shoal grass. Bahia Honda is a great place for tourist to come and swim at the beach and explore. It also has very beautiful campgrounds that include cabins on the bayside and showers. Unfortunately while walking along the shore there was a lot of trash that the group collected and through away. I overall enjoyed this site and despite the heat and found it to be very relaxing and would suggest others to visit.