Getting Outside the Gator Hole

A few weekends ago the other interns and I decided to take a weekend away from the gator hole (what our dorm is affectionately called) and explore a bit of south Florida different than the swamp. On a Friday afternoon we took off from Corkscrew for a camping trip at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. As we set up our tents by the light of our car headlights we were anxious to wake up in the morning and explore the sound just over the trees from our campsite. The following day met us with a few surprises! We were not prepared for the hoards of sand fleas that like to hang around in early November which meant we were walking around in pants, long sleeve shirts, and socks and sandals. This put a bit of a damper on hanging out in the sun on one of the State Parks two beaches so while Amy and Lara went kayaking, Randy and I decided to hop on one of the snorkeling boats out to explore the offshore reefs! The ride out to the reef was worth the trip, with sparkling blue water that was almost turquoise at spots and so clear you could see the bottom even at 25 ft.

As we swam along the surface of the Altantic ocean I snapped photos so that I could later identify all that we saw along our 4.5 hour excursion. Occasionally taking deep breaths and diving down to get a closure look of the world going on below us is how I got these two snapshots of what we saw! One of the most common corals we saw were Gorgonians, commonly called sea fans, which is a soft coral. Even in the photo above you can see the Gorgonians swaying with the current. Hidden behind the sea fans may be another type of soft coral called Plexaura, also known as sea rods, although it's hard too see. The orange coral with the white tips is Milleporina or fire coral. Used for defense and capturing food fire corals have a neurotoxin in their polyps that if touched will leave a stinging sessions and/or rash at the point of contact so be careful to avoid accidentally grazing this coral! Circling this patch of coral is a Parrot Fish (Scarus spp.). They are a reef fish and like to feed on the algae on the corals and reef bottom. Seen weaving between the sea fans is a French Anglefish (Pomacanthus paru). This species will act as cleaning stations in the reef removing and eating parasites from other reef fish! These are just a few of the colorful corals and fish we saw out in the water. Too soon the captain called us in for the last time and we began our trip back into shore. The following morning we packed up, rather quickly in the rain, and head back home to Corkscrew. Our weekend of exploration was over but we were already planning for our next exciting trip!