Biology of Sub-Tropical Florida

Mary Applegate

Dynasty Marine lab is one of the coolest places I have ever been!  I was overwhelmed by the volume of species Forrest had in his collection.  The knowledge and passion of this man are something that I hope to achieve in my career.  I would love a job such as this working with marine animals.  Feeding six varieties of sharks and touching an octopus definitely touched my heart!

Tim Cameron

Today we went to Dynasty Marine to view marine specimens.  Forrest Young is in charge of the lab and taking care of the specimens.  The area is usually closed to the public so this was a once in a lifetime chance.  We arrived just in time for the shark feeding.  Forrest took us up to the tank and fed the sharks squid and fish all while p [pointing out the different ones.  There were silk, sandbar, nurse, bonnetheads and more – about 40 specimens in all.  The best part of the day, by far, the ocean, was brought to all of us by Forrest Young.

 Jenni Emmons

Lignumvitae is the type of island you could be stranded on forever and not really mind.  As long as there was enough mastic fruit, coconuts, and water it could be paradise.

Megan Hinz

After a perfect day of visiting Lignumvitae State Park, seeing a dolphin, feeding the sharks and holding an octopus, I didn’t think this day could have gotten better, but oh did it.  As I was sitting at the picnic table pondering what I should blog about, joyous screams of Kaitlyn’s “manatee!” reached my ear.  And, after a much heated debate about whether it was Kaitlyn’s wishful thinking, or a rock, the little fellow popped his head out of the water to introduce himself as “Mannie the Manatee,” our own class manatee.  After a pleasant conversation on the importance of manatee conservation with Mannie an a few photo opportunities, Mannie left us with fond memories of our last night in the Keys.

Jen Hopkins

The Dynasty Marine Lab had the most diverse collection of marine life that I have ever seen.  I love to scuba dive, however, have never been able to see these species in such close proximity.  At the lab these species were up close and it was great to see them interact. 

Adam Luck

Before traveling to Lignumvitae Key today a couple of us, myself included, got buckets of fish an fed the 50-200 pound tarpons.  The best part was when I got down on my stomach atop the dock and stuck the fish in the water.  The pelicans wanted in on the fish frenzy so while was on my stomach I was being attacked from behind by a pelican while my hand was nearly chomped off by a fish and/or pelican.  One of the birds got his head stuck while trying to snatch my fish.  I was actually able to touch the pelican’s head to push him free.

Lignumvitae is perhaps the best spot we’ve visited.  Going there was like traveling to a different country that has yet to be touched by man.  One of the most interesting portions of the walk were all the orchids growing in the trees or seeing the mahogany seeds an how it grows upside down for maximum wind dispersal.  A big thank you to the park rangers Ben & Dustin.

 

Kaitlyn Mackie

Today we had quite the experience at Dynasty Marine.  We let an octopus suction to our fingers.  We couldn’t hold them due to their poisonous bite, but the suction was an out of this world feeling.

Chris Metz

Today we visited Lignumvitae State Park.  This allowed us to view some incredible Florida vegetation.  The most exciting thing was a huge wall in the middle of the island.  The interesting thing is that no one knew where the wall came from. 

After that we stopped by Dynasty Marine, a marina that houses all sorts of Florida marine organisms.  The highlight was seeing the operator.  Forrest Young feeds the largest sharks in a tank with over 40 sharks – very cool!

Karl Smith

Watching the sharks eat today was very enlightening.  It was cool to watch them circle around the top of the water before they went in or the kill.  The coolest attack was when one of the sharks jumped partly out o the water and splashed its tail fin around.

Kendall Tarrant

The forests of Lignumvitae Key were unlike anything I had ever seen before.  In Michigan, I’m used to lots of pines and maples in the dense forest areas.  We learned from our tour guides today that much of the island hasn’t been touched for a long time.  The lignumvitae trees were beautiful, almost bonsai-like with their skinny turning branches.  The rangers told us that some of these trees had been growing for thousands of years!  We were told that this Key had quite a few champion trees, or trees in a species that are the largest in the nation.  There was a huge short-leaved fig on the front of the island.  It is crazy to think that all of these record-breaking trees are on this one small Key.  I probably won’t get a chance to be in a place like this again.

Dori Williams

The thing that struck me most was the Lignumvitae tree.  I was so amazed by the claim that they were thousands of years old.  I was also surprised by the variety of appearances of the trees and their ability to adapt to lack of light and tipping over.