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Natural Coastal Communities of Florida

Discover the diverse ecosystems of Florida's coastal communities, including the highlands, upland plains, ridges, and lowlands. Explore the mineral-based, faunal-based, and floral-based communities that make up the coastal zone, such as coral reefs, mollusk reefs, sponge beds, worm reefs, algal beds, seagrass beds, and tidal marshes. Learn about the different species and factors that affect these communities.

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Natural Coastal Communities of Florida

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  1. Natural Coastal Communities of Florida

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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 http://www.dep.state.fl.us/geology/geologictopics/rocks/anastasia.htm

  5. 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

  6. Hard Corals Elkhorn coral, branching coral Brain coral http://reefguide.org/keys/pixhtml/symmetricalbrain2.html Star coral Rose coral

  7. Soft Corals Sea fan http://marinebio.org/oceans/coral-reefs.asp Sea feather

  8. 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.

  9. Faunal Based Communities • Sponge Beds • 3 dominating species: • Branching candle sponge • Florida loggerhead sponge • Sheepswool sponge Yellow tube sponge http://reefguide.org/keys/yellowtube.html Fire sponge http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Tedani_ignis.htm Lavender tube sponge

  10. 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 http://www.floridarambler.com/florida-best-beaches/best-snorkeling-in-florida/

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

  12. Floral Based Communities • Seagrass Beds • Turtle grass, manatee grass, shoal grass • Light penetration greatly affects seagrass growth http://www.flmapr.com/grass.html

  13. 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

  14. Osprey http://www.wildflorida.com/wildlife/birds/Osprey.php

  15. Fiddler crab http://www.jaxshells.org/0024aa.htm

  16. Periwinkle http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/category/periwinkles/

  17. Red drum https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/RedDrum/RedDrum.html

  18. Killifish Least killifish https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/southflorida/everglades/marshes/glossary/leastkillifish.html

  19. Snapper http://www.floridasportsman.com/sportfish/muttonsnapper/

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

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

  22. Red Mangrove http://www.pbcgov.com/erm/natural/mangroves.htm

  23. Black Mangrove http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/extension/4h/ecosystems/_plants/Black_mangrove/index.html

  24. White Mangrove

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