Marine Paradise

I definitely feel like I ended the semester right with this last field trip. It was an unbelievable experience. I went on a day trip to a small beach up in Boyton, where I did some snorkeling and explored some mangroves. My surf and turf experience was great. Underwater I saw all sorts of fish from small, blue Damsels to some big Yellowtail Snapper swimming in and out of all the reefs. There were several reefs each about 10-15 ft wide and in 10-12 ft of water. Though most were man made they still made awesome homes for these little creatures. The negative to this reef location was that it was located close to an inlet so many boats came flying out of it made tons of noise. I’m not sure exactly what kind of effect it has on wild life in this area but I am pretty sure that it probably has a negative one.

On land I saw a different type environment, one flooded with green, salty, leafy mangroves. These mangroves were huge and covered the beach location like in many places in Florida. Lizards roamed the sidewalks next to these Mangroves and with the presence of any person quickly disappeared. Closer towards the sand a tiny, yellow crab crawled in and out of holes searching for who knows what.

Overall the beach is located in a somewhat secluded part of Boyton beach. Though this beach was once pretty much completely isolated, the city has tried to keep it as pristine as possible by only allowing the development of homes nearby and has left out the commercial lifestyle. The community has helped maintain the habitat surrounding this beach by strongly reinforcing the rules of what you are allowed to fish for, protecting sea turtle nesting and performing weekly test in the water to insure all is good. These minor efforts are huge in making sure this beach is ran in a sustainable way so that it can be used and experienced the same way over and over again.

Like stated above the city has performed several tasks to ensure the protection of such an ecosystem. The noisy inlet provides acute complications now, but the constant lighting of the boats and activity going in and out of the inlet can cause long-term effects to sea turtle nesting sites because it can disorient the baby turtles and inhibit their entrance into the ocean.

As far as the beach goes I would say it is different then ones seen on the west coast. The water is much clearer, deeper and provides a more tropical ecosystem in the water. However, the maintenance of both marine habitats on the west or east coast is pretty much the same. We must ultimately respect the wildlife and put in place restrictions so that we the people do not destroy the marine ecosystem. The community has restrictions in place for this location and continues to enhance the marine wildlife here by placing rocks underwater in order to make more artificial reefs for the sea creatures. The methods used are not particularly unique but still very efficient in providing homes for the marine life.