On Saturday, we started our day at 8 am with a lesson on mangroves and sponges. We learned that there are 3 types of mangroves in Florida, the red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle), black mangroves (Avicennia germinans), and white mangroves (Laguncularia racemosa). We also learned that sponges attach to the roots of R. mangle. This is a symbiotic relationship as the mangroves provide carbon for the sponges and the sponges provide nitrogen for the mangroves.
After the lecture, we got on the boat and headed out to the bight. We spent about an hour and a half snorkeling and observing the area closest to the roots of R. mangle. Not too far away from the boat was a small opening in the wall of mangroves, so a few of us went deeper into it. We saw so many sponges on the roots of the R. mangle just like we learned in the morning, as well as many different kinds of fish.
We came back in for lunch at our cottages and a short while later we were back out at Long Key State Park, at the rocky shore of Lime Tree Bay. This was a new location for us and was incredibly interesting to snorkel in. We saw our first stingray, as well as many spiny lobsters (Panuliris argus). The spiny lobsters were all packed into a cylinder shape further from the rocky shore while the stingrays were blending into their surroundings under rocks. Compared to the other habitats this one had a lot more substrate and vegetation closer to the shore, but the further away we swam, the more bare the bottom became.
When we got back from the state park we had a delicious dinner of parmesan crusted tilapia then watched the documentary “Deep Dive” and talked about our research projects. “Deep Dive” is a 20-minute documentary created by FiveCore Media students at Goshen College. It shares the history of the Goshen College J.N. Roth Marine Biology station in Layton, and it was very fascinating to learn about our relationship with the Layton community. After the documentary we spent the rest of the night hanging out, talking, watching the sunset, and relaxing in the hot tub.
Ashley Christison, ’25
