Natural Coastal Communities of Florida

Florida’s 3 Zones: Highlands/Ridgelands/Upland Plains Innermost zones Highlands – mostly clay Upland plains – sandy clays over deep limestone (karst topography) Ridges (Sandy Hills) – remnants of ancient dunes Lowlands – exposed only recently Flatwoods to flats, also display karst topography Coastal Zone Salt marshes and mangrove swamps Estuaries where salt and freshwater mix

Coastal Zone can also be grouped into the following categories: Mineral based communities Consolidated and unconsolidated substrate in the subtidal, intertidal and supratidal Faunal based communities Sponge bed, coral reefs, worm reefs Floral based communities Algal bed, seagrass beds, tidal swamp and tidal marsh

Consolidated substrate – hard Coquina – limestone composed of broken shells, corals, and other organic material Relic reefs Unconsolidated substrate Beach, mud flats, clay, sand bar, shell bottom, soft bottom

Faunal Based Communities Coral Reefs 2 classes of Cnidarians are reef builders – Anthozoa and Hydrozoa 34 different species of corals have been identified on coral reefs found in the Florida Keys Barrier reefs – line shore Patch reefs – dome shaped Factors affecting reefs: Temperature Light Salinity Currents pH

Hard Corals Brain coral Elkhorn coral, branching coral Rose coral Star coral

Soft Corals Sea fan Sea feather

Faunal Based Communities Mollusk Reef Oyster reef Expansive concentrations of sessile mollusks Numerous other sessile invertebrates live on or around these reefs Planktonic larvae (spat) require hard substrate (the reef) to settle Affected by salinity, disease, etc.

Faunal Based Communities Sponge Beds 3 dominating species: Branching candle sponge Florida loggerhead sponge Sheepswool sponge Yellow tube sponge Fire sponge Lavender tube sponge

Faunal Based Communities Worm Reefs – Sabellariid Reefs Large conglomerates of tubes of Sabellariid worms of species, Phragmatopoma lapidosa Threatened by beach restoration Provide shelter to a number of species

Floral Based Communities Algal Beds Examples are Sargassum, Oscillatoria Blooms can cause problems with other species

Floral Based Communities Seagrass Beds Turtle grass, manatee grass, shoal grass Light penetration greatly affects seagrass growth

Floral Based Communities Tidal Marsh Expansive of grasses, sedges, and rushes Most abundant in Florida north of the frostline Typical animals: osprey, fiddler crabs, periwinkle, catfish, red drum, killifish, snapper

Osprey

Fiddler crab

Periwinkle

Red drum

Killifish Least killifish

Snapper

Floral Based Communities Tidal Swamp – Mangrove Forrests Shorelines of low wave energy along southern Florida Red Mangrove, Black Mangrove, White Mangrove

Both tidal marshes and mangrove swamps serve as nursery grounds for many of Florida’s important recreational and commercial fish and shellfish

Red Mangrove

Black Mangrove

White Mangrove