In Class Video

The video we watched during our last class period really opened my eyes to many things. I like how we broke the different sections of the video up with discussions. I found it made the videos easier to follow, and I took in what they were discussing much better. One of the most interesting things I found in the video was that they can be different trees and plants that are harmful to the environment. It is easy to think that all plants are helpful and necessary to environments, but that is wrong. If a plant is located in an area that it is not originally from it can be very dangerous and harmful to the environment. I found it interesting and smart that they are people dedicated to taking out the non-native plants from areas in order to keep the areas healthy. We learned mainly about the non-native plants in a part of Africa, but I wonder where else in the world they are causing a huge problem.

Exploring the Sanctuary

Our second field trip to Corkscrew Sanctuary was awesome! I absolutely loved walking around the sanctuary; learning about the different types plants, animals, and functions of the ecosystem out there. Going on the field trip I was hoping to see a variety of wild life, and we definitely did! It began with seeing a deer feeding off in the distance, and that was followed by a woodpecker, an alligator, an owl, and another alligator with seven babies. My favorite wildlife to see had to be the owl, and the mother alligator with her babies. Owls to me are so mystical it is like they are in another world completely; so peaceful, intelligent and elegant. I honestly probably could have watched the owl all day long. The mother alligator with her babies was another site I could have watched all day. I have seen many alligators before, but never have I seen them with their babies in the wild. It was incredible to see, and to watch the interaction of the mother and baby alligators. My favorite part of watching them was when one mother and a baby went into a shallow water area near them, and went fishing. I was surprised to see the baby hunting their own food at such a young age! It truly was something I am so happy I got to witness. I experiencing things like we did because it makes me want to go out and emerge myself in nature as much as possible!

Great White in the Florida Keys

Growing up in the Florida Keys, I always try to follow the local news down there, especially since I go home to visit any chance I get. In recent news there has been three great white sitings in the last couple months. One sighting really made headlines when a shark diver down in Marathon, got back into the water out of his diving cage, to capture photos of the great white shark. Even more recently about three days ago, one of my friends who was out shark fishing for a class caught a great white shark and posted a photo of it on Instagram. The shark was about 10-12 feet long, so not very big for a great white. And it was caught about 7 miles off shore of mile marker 74, which is a little north of Marathon. Growing up I only remember truly one great white shark experience, when I was about 7 year old my mom woke me up in the middle of the night, and we went to a marina and saw a massive great white shark hanging from a crane, that a man had caught. Thinking about what we talked about the first day of class I am curious what is causing great whites to travel to the South Florida warmer waters. I am also curious to see if more and more will continue coming over the years and if so is it climate changes, or lack of food resources where they normally stay causing it?