Mangrove biocube
Species List...
Crassostrea gasar
Littorina angulifera
Crassispira albinodata
Bryopsis sp.
Order Isopoda
Cancellaria sp.
Family Nereidae
Spirorbis spirorbis
Cladophora sp.
Testudinalia testudinalis
Unidentifiable
Menaethius monoceros
Order Isopoda
Family Sabellidae
Pseudoceros texarus
Order Dictyotales
Family Columbellidae
Family Terebellidae
Lutjanus griseus
Sphyraena barracuda
Haemulon sciurus
The area...
The sample of mangrove root for this Biocube was found at the coordinates 25º 5' 3"N and 80º 26' 40" W. The sampled area was in a canal in Key Largo, Florida off of Rock Harbor. Due to its proximity to shore, the Biocube was in one foot of water. These mangroves provide a nursery for fishes and small organisms as well as protect the land from hurricanes and flooding. The immense mangrove communities scattered amongst the Florida Keys are a vital ecosystem, not only to the organisms in the water, but to humans as well.
Impacts...
Due to the ever growing industrialized areas, mangroves are being destroyed for more usable land. Despite the immense population of mangroves, the clearing and filling of mangrove forests are becoming detrimental. The removal of the mangroves can lead to many complications in the ecosystem, because the nurseries for fishes and other organisms is gone and the mangroves no longer protect the land from flooding and hurricanes. These mangrove forests are also negatively impacted by the pollution, like garbage and plastic debris There is also problems with runoff such as oils and gas from boats and fertilizers and waste from on land developments.
The Mangrove Biocube had the second to lowest biodiversity of the four locations with twenty-one species in one cubic foot. In this cube most of the biomass was the mangrove itself and the many mangrove oysters among the roots. Despite the low species count, the mangroves had a variety of different organisms making it a stable ecosystem.
Biodiversity...
Interesting finds...
The Littorina angulifera or Mangrove Periwinkle is a species of sea snail that lives on the roots of the Red Mangrove and feeds on the various algae. The Mangrove Periwinkle is ovoviviparous, meaning that the eggs hatch inside snail and are released as veliger* larvae. The Mangrove Periwinkle is also believed to have medicinal benefits and often used to cure coughs and shortness of breath.
*Veliger: the planktonic larva of a sea snail
