Temperature -27 C
Humidity - 81%
Cloud Cover - Clear skies throughout the morning with a small amount of clouds moving in for late afternoon
It was our last full day in Florida and once we were ready we set off to Naples, just a few miles south of Bonita Springs. We were heading to the Everglades Wetland Research Park which was ran by Prof. Bill Mitsch, a world renown wetland ecologist. The centre is owned by the FGCU and sees many visiting researchers from across the globe. It's primary focus is that of nutrients regulation in the water along with water purification.
We were given a lecture on the alteration of hydrology caused by agriculture around Lake Okachobee and the knock on effects it has on the rest of the Floridian eco-system. The land east and west of Lake Okachobee is drained for agriculture and the freshwater is forced into the Okachobee estuary. This causes huge amounts of damage to Mangrove systems which can be destroyed if vast amounts of freshwater enter their brackish water habitats. Storm Water Capturement areas have been created with 57,000 hectares of wetland habitat created to try and absorb some of this freshwater.
The effects of run-off and nutrient leeching were also discussed. When large amounts of nitrogen and phsophorus enter the water huge algal blooms can be created leading to eutrophiciation where the eco-system is starved of oxygen. Through careful management the amount of phosphorus in the water has dropped by 82% however it must continue to drop to 10 parts per billion if it is to be acceptable. Nitrogen which leeched into the Mississippi River caused hyproxia in an area the size of New Jersey calling almost all the fish within the area as they were starved of oxygen.
We were then led on a tour of the centre where we saw a high-tech wetland laboratory which included extremely expensive machinery that could decipher the nutrient make up of soils and water. After leaving the lab we were then shown The Stockholm Wetlands Award which Prof. Bill Mitsch had been awarded.
10.000 Island Boat Trip!
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| The 10,000 Islands National Park |
We hopped on board a tour boat and drove off into the national park. The captain/tour guide began by explaining what laws were enforced to protect the park. He mentioned that the reserve has a huge population of crabs and other shellfish and has always been desirable for fishing. However regulations now state that no fishing can take place within in the park and that all crabbing/fishing boats must cast their nets out to see across the border of the park. By doing this it allows the reserve to act as a nursery for the target populations meaning they are less likely to be over exploited. You could judge how productive the waters were by simply looking at how many piscatarian species of birds were seen. Ospreys were nesting in large numbers, Anhingas were seen sunning themselves an many perches and Royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) and Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) were also seen.
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| Double-Crested Cormorant |
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| Royal Tern, often seen perching into the wind |
We were now sailing in a large body of water surrounded by Mangroves in almost every direction. It was here was saw a small resident pod of Bottlenose Dolphins. The captiain explained that this pod of Dolphins appeared darker skinned than they usually would for they spend their whole lives fishing in waters that are high in the chemical tanin. Tanin enters the water from Mangrove leaves that breakdown in the water releasing the brown and bitter dye into the water. The Dolphins were extremely inquisitive and as the boat picked up speed they began surfing the bow wake. There are numerous theories as to why they do this such as energy conservation as a greater speed can be reached with minimal effort when riding the bow wake.
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| An example of Dolphins riding the Bow Wakes |
A visit to Fakahatchee Wildlife refuge
After the boat tour we headed back to the minibuses and on our way home swung by the Fakahatchee Wildlife Refuge after receiving a tip off that there was a Bald Eagle nest visible from the boardwalk. We arrived and immediatly spotted a large Alligator bathing in a pond to avoid to heat. An Anhinga was also sunning itself next to the bank and would allow you to walk up to a few feet from it without any bother. We entered the reserve and walked along the boardwalk. We came to the Bald Eagle nest that was located about 50ft away from the boardwalk in the canopy of a tall Cypress tree. The single large chick could be seen excising it's flight muscles and at times hovering for a few seconds when it's wings caught enough lift.
On our way back from seeing the Eagle we heard a deep but lyrical hooting coming from the vegetation. After minutes of scanning the woodland we finally spotted the superbly camouflaged Barred Owl (Strix varia). It could have been calling for numerous reasons, such as territorial defense or perhaps it was attempting to flush out any small mammals that may be spooked by the call.
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| The Barred Owl has superb Camouflage |
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