Week 10: Field Trip to Fort Myers Beach

This week our plants database files were due and we had a field trip to Fort Myers Beach Historic Cottage and Matanzas Pass Preserve. We first went to Historic Cottage which was moved there in 1930s. We were given a brief history of Fort Myers beach and we enjoyed some treats by a wonderful lady! :)

 

Then we went to Matanzas Pass Preserve.

Our assignment was to find and identify twelve plants, including white, red and black mangroves.

Different mangrove species protect and stabilize low lying coastal lands. Mangroves serve as feeding, breeding, and nursery grounds for a variety of fish, shellfish, birds, and other wildlife.

 

 

 

 

 

                                               Black Mangrove - Avicennia germinans

 

Red Mangrove - Rhizophora mangle

Sabal Palmetto Palm Tree

Brazillian Pepper

More red mangrove and their roots

Crab

 

 

 

Sable Palmetto

 

Species identified: Homo Sapian (Alex)

Mangroves are also pivotal in an ecosystem's biodiversity. They are important for erosion and have many different creatures residing in them!

Beautiful scenery:

Unknown fish!

We also learned alot about mullets and their history in Fort Myers Beach. In the 1930's up until very recently, mullet were quite abundant in numbers and were caught in cotton nets. Mullet fishing was quite a valuable trade, and brought in much economic revenue. However, through lobbyist parties the nets were banned which caused a downturn in the mullet frenzy. Also, overfishing caused a decline in the numbers of mullet as well.

We also learned about oysters and their critical importance in water restoration. They can purify ridiculous amounts of water, which is why there is an oyster restoration project currently ongoing in the Estero River. Not only are they good for water restoration, but they are allegedly yummy to eat too!