What Is A Biome?

      A biome is a very large area, anywhere, that contains living organisms. Each biome contains different resources and a lot of biodiversity. There are many different types of biomes, such as grasslands, tundras, coral reefs, and even deserts. As travelers, we like to explore as many different biomes as possible.

Question: What is another type of biome not listed on the map above? 

Sources:

Content - http://eschooltoday.com/ecosystems/what-is-a-biome.html

Picture - http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/B/Biomes.html

Our Biome: The Florida Reef

The Florida Reef is a coral reef off the coast of Florida. We are travelers and chose this place for its great beauty and diversity. This reef has been preserved as best as possible and has many organisms living there.

Question: Why is it important to preserve ecosystems?

Sources: 
     Content: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Reef
     Picture: http://reefrelief.org/learn/coral-reef-of-florida-keys/

Two Real World Examples Of Our Ecosystem

     While we were visiting the Florida Coral Reef, we decided to do some research on other coral reefs around the world. Upon doing so, we found the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Another very intriguing coral reef is the Belize Barrier Reef right off the coast of Belize. Both of these reefs have hundreds of different types of fish, and a diverse amount of corals. 

Great Barrier Reef

Belize Barrier Reef

Question: What is another famous coral reef?

Sources: 

   Great Barrier Reef Info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrier_Reef

   Belize Barrier Reef Info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belize_Barrier_Reef

What To Find In The Florida Reef

The view underwater at the Florida Reef was beautiful. There were many multicolored coral were on the ocean floor and starfish and anemone rested on top. Different schools of fish swam in all different directions. We even saw a few sea turtles!

Question: Why is a big diversity in the organisms in the ecosystem better for the environment?

Sources:
     Content: http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=2&detID=1221
     Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=009BWHG1aHA

A Second Producer In The Coral Reef

   Another producer that we found lives in the Florida Reef is the marine algae. This algae is a producer because it creates it's own food for itself, and it is also food for other animals. Studying these different types of marine life down in the Florida Coral Reef is very interesting.

Question: What other types of marine organisms eat algae? 

Sources: 

  Picture - http://bpoilspillcrisisinthegulf.webs.com/gulfofmexico.htm

  Content - http://www.ask.com/question/coral-producer

A Producer In The Florida Reef

One producer we saw at the Florida Reef was the phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants in the water that the fish eat.









Question: Why is a producer an important part of the ecosystem?

Sources: 
     Content: http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=2&detID=1221
     Picture: http://www.dtplankton.com/phytoplankton.html

A Mid-Level Consumer In The Florida Reef

   While visiting the Florida Reef, we observed the different levels in the food web of the reef. After studying it for awhile, we came to the conclusion of about three different levels in this web. The first level are the producers. It is basically just the phytoplankton on the ocean's surface. The next level is the  primary consumers, which is the coral, sea turtles, and fish. Finally, the last level is the secondary consumers. These include sharks, star fish, barracuda, jelly fish, sea snakes, and sea slugs. 

Question: What are some other organisms that live in the Florida Coral Reef?

Sources: 

   Picture & Content - http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=2&detID=1221

A Top-Level Predator In The Florida Reef

Lionfish are a big threat to the small fish living in the Florida Reef. Lionfish are an animal that is very dangerous to the Florida Reef. These fish are poisonous and are very vicious hunters. While at the Florida Reef, people encouraged us and others to fish for lionfish. There were even competitions.

Question: Why must the lionfish be hunted?


Sources: 
      Content: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/29/140042773/lionfish-threaten-coral-reefs-near-fla
      Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_j4AInyC7M

Why The Florida Reef Is Valuable

     While visiting the Florida Reef, we came up with a few reasons as to why the Reef was so valuable to us and all the other people who have visited it. For example, the Florida Reef is the only true reef in the United States. As opposed to other reefs, the Florida Reef is intact and contains many marine organisms in their natural habitats. Also, the reef provides protection from the harsh waves constantly crashing down on the coast.

 

Question: Why is it important that the Florida Coral Reef doesn't get destroyed by human interaction?

Sources: 
  Picture - http://forums.miamibeach411.com/general-discussion/162-saving-florida-coral-reefs-documentary-film-invitation.html
  Content - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Reef

Human Interactions With The Florida Reef

After recently traveling to Florida to explore the Reef, we've come to the conclusion that humans have greatly impacted the Florida Coral Reef. The main problems are as follows:

• Overfishing: 95% of aquarium fish comes from coral reefs.
• Pollution: runoff from land, trash in the ocean, and poor water quality due to the copper found in the ocean. 
• Disease: human pollution and destruction o the biome has created harmful diseases to the organisms such as Aspergillus in sea fans
• Digging of Canals: a serious threat to the marine life's ecosystems

Question:

    What is one way to decrease human impact on the Florida Coral Reef?

Sources: 

Content - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_with_coral_reefs#Other_issues

Picture- http://reefguardian.org/CRM/DownloadSite/FLORIDA/FloridaKeys.html