General Information about Tampa Bay

Transcription

1 General Information about Tampa Bay 400 square miles Watershed is 6 times that size Over tributaries Phytoplankton is the primary producer More than 200 fish species Five counties: Pasco, Polk, Pinellas, Manatee, and Hillsborough Four major rivers: Hillsborough, Alafia, Little Manatee, and Manatee 40,000 pairs of 25 different species of birds. Most diverse in North America. Largest estuary in Florida Nursery for young juvenile fish Average depth= 12 ft. Largest shipping channel= 43 feet deep More than 4 billion gallons of oil, fertilizer components, and other hazardous material pass through the bay each year.

2 Definition: Semi-enclosed body of water, where the FW from the rivers, meets and mixes with the SW from the ocean. Salinity Range: Between ppt (highest at the mouth of the bay) Major Pollutant: Nitrogen Excessive amounts lead to algae growth and cause eutrophication. Most of it comes from residential runoff (more than 50%) 25% comes from power plants and cars Other Threats: habitat loss due to population increase 1. Mangrove Forests (Red, Black, and White) 2. Salt Marshes 3. Sea Grass Beds (Turtle, Manatee, and Shoal) 4. Sandy Bottom Beaches 5. Oyster Beds

3 Crucial habitat Nursery for juvenile fish Fertile, nutrient rich sediment 70-80% of juvenile species grow up here Many microhabitats that prevent erosion Tourist attraction: boating, water skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, etc Recreational fishing Commercial fishing, crabbing, scalloping, etc Abiotic Biotic

4 Fish Marine Sea Marine Inverts

5 Grows like grass: has long rhizomes that extend horizontally. Root hairs: absorb nutrients and bacteria Functions: Nurseries for juvenile organisms Food Deposit and stabilize coastal sediment Reduces turbidity Habitats and homes to many epiphytes o Epiphytes: organisms that live on other organisms Birds / manatees/ humans eat rhizomes Fragmentation and loss of leaves = detritus= huge part of the food web. Hydrophytes: grow beneath the water Prop Scars: are caused by boats that drive through the grass beds. Tear up rhizomes and leave long patches of barren sediment. Looks like tracks.

6 Turtle Grass, Thalassia testudinum Shoal Grass, Halodule wrightii Manatee Grass, Syringodium filiforme

7 Thalassia testudinum Halodule wrightii Syringodium filiforme Most common Mini version of Cylindrical, not seagrass turtle grass flat About 42% of all Less than ½ inch May grow up to seagrass coverage wide one foot Can live in many Grows about 15 substrates inches Mixed with turtle Range of salinities: Usually holds the grass ppt distinction of being More tolerant of Long, leafy blades, there first. For this low salinities and grow in bundles of reason, it is known high three to seven. as a pioneer species. temperatures About ¾ inch thick Can grow about two feet More than 113 species of algae attach to its leaves

8 Terms to Know: Propagules: seeds of red mangroves Prop Roots: grow from the trunks and branches; provide support, aid in supplying oxygen to the underground roots. Pneumatophores: aerial roots, fingerlike projections that stick up out of the sediment, and serve as ventilation system for gas exchange. Characteristics Simple leaves, complex roots: function to conserve water and supply oxygen to a plant that lives in anoxic sediment. Oval, thick, leathery leaves When old leaves fall off, it relieves the plant of some of its salt load. Have stomatas, which are openings in the leaves for gas exchange. Aerial roots / Stilt Roots: grow in looping arches= stability. Above ground, an aerenchyme works with lenticels (little marks on the surface) to supply oxygen to the root system. Once in the mud, the roots branch out into clusters called anchor and nutritive roots. Prop roots and pneumatophores= form a tangle that slows the movement of water, causing suspended materials to sink to the bottom.

9 : Branches and canopy are nesting sites for birds and insects Roots anchor shoreline Provide food Provide shelter, shade, and covering Habitat / nursery Supports epiphytes Prevents erosion Natural landscape Red Mangroves, Rhizophora mangle In the water / closest to the water Really high prop roots / stilt roots = prevent erosion and provides stability. Thick leaves reduce water loss Seeds are long pencil shaped seedlings called propagules.

10 Black Mangroves, Avicennia geminans More like a bush Between red and white mangroves Fingerlike projections that stick up out of the sediment are called pneumatophores. They serve as a ventilation system. Salt glands on the surface of the leaf that secrete salt. The leaves glisten. Seed= fruit embryo

11 White Mangroves, Laguncularia racemosa Looks like a tree Grows higher in elevation by land No visible root system Two visible salt glands at the base of the leaf Yellowish / green leaf Seeds look like a sunflower seed

12 Roots are at the culm. Rhizomes connect the root system. Smooth Cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora Must be exposed to the air Restricted to the intertidal zone due to the latter requirement. Exposed to high salinities due to evaporation Live in anoxic sediment (low oxygen) Biological filters for terrestrial runoff Facultative Halophytes: tolerate SW and FW conditions. Grow in tufts of vertical stems connected by rhizomes. Leaves have a thick cuticle to slow water loss. Vertical stem called the culm, produces additional stems called tillers (form at the base, making it look bushy). Highly developed vascular system for efficient transport of water. Leaves have salt glands that secrete salt to the outside, which prevents salt toxicity.

13 Importance: Refuge, feeding ground, hiding spot Nursery Detrital food chains Stabilize sediments to prevent erosion Recycles Phosphorus, filters runoff (removes toxic organic pollutants)

14 Sessile= don t move Prevalent near mouths of rivers and areas where there is a steady amount of FW. Snook and redfish LOVE them! Euryhaline: species that can tolerate a broad range of salinity (exestuary) Free swimming larval stage, which allows them to disperse to other areas. Once they attach to a surface= oyster bed Reefs are usually orientated at right angles to tidal currents and occur generally at the point of lower salinity. Currents bring food to the oysters and carry away their waste. Tidal currents also play a role in clearing sediment from the oysters. Provide habitats for: algae, sponges, hydrozoans, bryozoans, polychaetes, mollusks, echinoderms, and barnacles. Reefs provide protection, surface for attachment, habitat, prevent erosion, filter the water, and food.

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