Isotria Blog: Kayaking - Miguel Bay, FL

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Kayaking - Miguel Bay, FL

Florida has so many wonderful outdoor activities and while on vacation here I have been doing as many as possible! Yesterday, I had a really nice kayaking trip with my Dad to Miguel Bay - a small bay at the southern portion of Tampa Bay. It was cool, the water was calm and clear, and it was nice and sunny. We saw an abundance of wildlife in the beautiful habitat of mangrove swamps and seagrass beds.

Here I am going through small islands of mangroves. Mangroves provide very important habitat for countless marine organisms such as fish, birds, and in some places crocodiles.

The Red Mangrove - Rhizophora mangle, is identified by its long prop roots and its propagules that resembles a long seed pot.

The beginning of a propagule - soon it will look like a long thick green bean which detaches and floats in the sea until it finds a suitable place to attach, grow roots, and become a new tree.

The low tide exposes oyster beds.

Barnacles grow on dead mangrove branches.

Turtle Grass - Thalassia testudinum

Shoal Grass - Halodule wrightii (bottom, left) and Manatee Grass - Syringodium filiforme (top, right).

Horseshoe Crab - Limulus polyphemus

Hermit Crab shell changing station.

Sea Stars - Echinaster graminicola, most common sea star around tampa bay.

Sea Star - Echinaster graminicola. This sea star can be distinguished from its sibling species that also lives in the area Echinaster spinulosus. E. spinulosus has blue/gray coloration between the spines where E.graminicola is reddish brown. It is slightly more spiny than E. graminicola, and I've also noticed that E. spinulosus tube feet are yellow, where E. graminicola are orange. E. graminicola is usually found in shallower water as well.