Seagrass bed, forty meters from a reef [1]

Alternative Title

HK-2 Reef T'Sect 40m

Creator

John C. OgdenFollow

Files

Preview

Creation Date

11-1-1977

Abstract

Photograph of a seagrass bed located along a transect line forty meters away from a reef at Research Station HK-2 at the Miskito Cays, Nicaragua. Seagrass beds like this are important ecologically because they stabilize the ocean bottom, provide habitat (especially for juvenile fish and invertebrates), improve water clarity, and are food for animals like sea turtles and manatees. The seagrass species seen in the photograph may include turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum) and manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme). The map (https://digital.lib.usf.edu/SFS0070396/00001/1j) in the "Cruise Narrative and Log" section of the Miskito Bank Expedition, Nicaragua binder of the Dr. John Ogden Florida and Caribbean Reef Collection shows the exact location of Research Station HK-2 at the Miskito Cays, Nicaragua. A transect is a research method used in ecology where a researcher lays out a line of a certain distance across a habitat with regular intervals marked on the line. The researcher then observes and records the number of occurrences of the object of study (such as a particular species of seagrass) at each regular interval on the transect line. Seagrasses improve water clarity when sediment suspended in the water column hits their leaves and then falls to the seafloor. This photograph shows sediment on the leaves of the seagrasses, demonstrating this process of trapping sediment. This photograph was taken near the Miskito Cays, Nicaragua during the research expedition of Dr. John C. Ogden and his colleagues to Miskito Bank, Nicaragua aboard the R/V [Research Vessel] Alpha Helix from October 13, 1977 to November 18, 1977 where their research included studies on seagrasses, fish, sea urchins, and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).

Keywords

Marine biology--Research, Miskito Coast (Nicaragua and Honduras), Ecological surveys, Marine plants, Seagrasses, Marine sediments

Extent

2 x 2 inches cardboard projector slide with Kodachrome 35mm color photographic film

Physical Collection

Dr. John Ogden Caribbean and Coral Reef collection

Digital Date

2023

Media Type

Color slides

Identifier

O19-00029

Recommended Citation

Ogden, John C., "Seagrass bed, forty meters from a reef [1]" (1977). Binder 4: Photographs and Images. Image 57.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ogden_images/57