Biscayne Bay Lab Report

Introduction Biodiversity plays a key a role in the ecosystem (Mace et al. 2011) and aquatic habitats are the most diverse in the world. The species that inhabit these ecosystems have evolved and developed adaptations over millions of years that have helped them survive. In this lab, we endeavored to gain a deeper understanding of the different variables that determine the species composition of two vastly different aquatic ecosystems in Biscayne Bay. Communities that are more biologically diverse seem to be more productive than communities that have less diversity, plus when disaster strikes they tend to maintain a certain level of stability. But, more evidence has been revealed that states that extinctions are changing the key processes

(Hooper et al. 2012) The main objective of this lab was to determine the factors that affect the species and composition of the different aquatic communities on two beaches in the Biscayne Bay area as the test sites. Although, much research has been conducted on habitat complexity, there's still a lot to be learned before we will be able to have a comprehensive understanding of both the structural and mechanical complexity of certain habitats and its effect on ecological communities. (Tokeshi et al. 2011) The two sites on Biscayne Bay were chosen because of their close proximity to one another as well as the varying topographies of the different sites. Windy Beach, like its name, is a very windy area, which increases the possibility of sediment being stirred up. Plus, since there are only a couple of structures between Haulover Pass and this beach, there's more direct water flow coming from the ocean. It is also important to note that, sediment-stabilizing rocks, especially on the east side, protect Windy Beach. Sheltered Beach, on the other hand, doesn't have a direct path of the water flow from Haulover. It's

1, there is a wide variety of aquatic life that calls the Biscayne Bay area home. Using the CPUE method, we discovered the following species: Barracuda, Mojarra, Bay Anchovy, Lane Snapper, Needlefish, Schoolmaster Fish, Crab, Hermit Crab, Puffer, Permit, Checkered Puffer, Silverside, and Grunt living just off the shores of Sheltered Beach and Windy Beach. We also found that the population of Mojarra was significantly higher than the other type of fish, followed by Silverside, Barracudas, and Bay Anchovies.

Table 1: Variety of Aquatic Life in the Biscayne Bay Area

Measurements taken at the study site show that the majority of fish caught were under 50mm in length (Table 2). In addition, the majority of the bigger species of fish were approximately 150 mm in length or larger.

Table 2: Fish Populations and Average Length

Majority (approximately 675) of the fish were captured at Sheltered Beach, with approximately 350 fish caught at Windy Beach. Also, there was more diversity in the species of fish found in Sheltered Beach and Windy Beach was home to the majority of the barracudas that were