Thursday, January 11, 2007

A Cold Blustery Day in Florida


Yes, even in SW Florida we have cold blustery days. But at Sanibel Sea School, our intrepid adevnturers go out to learn about and explore our natural bounty. Yesterday, the Robbins family of Carbondale, Illinois braved the elements to explore the mangrove communities on the north side of Sanibel. One of the things we learned is that mangrove forests, which grow in the intertidal zone are a great place at low tide to escape the howling winds and have some importnat, serious fun.

We also leaned that mangrove forets support a plethora of other organisms, ranging form worms to molluscs, crabs, fish, birds and even racoons.

And sometimes different species of mangrove trees can be told from one-another based on the taste of their leaves! Black mangroves secrete salt from their leaves, while red mangrove's leaves are not as salty.

Jany Robbins demonstrates the leaf tasting procedures.