Hi guys!
I work as a graduate student assistant and aquarist at the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center. We are a small educational facility designed to showcase all of the research being conducted by the marine scientists and engineers at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, which is located in Fort Pierce, Florida. We have recently renovated the visitors center to include several aquariums that highlight some of our research areas. As a long time hobbyist and member of Reef2Reef I wanted to show everyone here some of the aquariums we have built.
Also check out two of my other threads about aquariums at the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/1...t-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.413700/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sponge-reef-at-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.409311/
The aquarium I would like to highlight is our first ever build that is part of our Marine Ecosystem Health Exhibit. This tank showcases the beauty and importance of seagrass ecosystems that are found in the Indian River Lagoon.
For those of you who are not aware, the Indian River Lagoon is an estuary (which is a mix of freshwater from inland and saltwater from the ocean) of national significance that runs approximately 156 miles along the east coast of Florida. It encompasses 6 inlets from Ponce Inlet in the north to Jupiter Inlet in the south and is made up of the Indian River, the Mosquito Lagoon and the Banana River.
The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) contributes nearly $8 billion to Florida's economy each year and it is the most biologically diverse estuary in North America. It is home to approximately 2,200 animal species and 2,100 plant species. Much of the animal diversity in the IRL is driven by our 7 different species of seagrass that grow throughout the estuary. Seagrasses are submerged flowering plants that provide a nursery ground habitat for the nearly 1,000 fish species that live in the lagoon. These fish serve as a huge source of recreation for fisherman as well as an important food source for many wading birds and upper level predators like dolphin. Seagrasses are also an important food source for the manatee population that live here in the IRL.
It is for these reasons that the seagrass in the IRL are of critical importance and why we have decided to highlight them in this build. Our researchers here at FAU Harbor Branch work to study seagrass by conducting transects to determine coverage in our local areas as well as the impacts that water quality have on the seagrass beds in the Indian River Lagoon. Unfortunately, there has been a significant decline in seagrasses coverage throughout the IRL, upwards of 60% loss overall. Much of this decline is due to increasing poor water quality, freshwater releases, algae blooms and increasing storm severity. Due to these losses we are seeing a decline in the abundance and diversity of fish in impacted areas. In order to combat these losses our research team is working to aquaculture seagrass in an effort to eventually transplant these critically important species back into the estuary.
This is a build that has gone through many ups and downs and I will be showing some of the difficulties that I have run into while trying to grow these fairly tricky species.
Current system supplies:
30 gallon Clear for Life Acrylic Aquarium
2 Aquaillumination Hydra 52 HD LEDs
Aqueon 1700 Return Pump
Reef Octopus Classic 90 HOB Skimmer
Jebao PP-8 Powerhead
Coralife 9 watt UV Sterilizer
Eheim 100 watt Heater
Humble beginnings:
6 inch live sand/mud bed
Floating seagrass fragments were collected from behind our campus after a significant storm and planted into our aquarium. We chose to showcase the three most common species found within our area of the IRL.
Thallasia testudinum (Turtle grass)
Syringodium fileforme (Manatee grass)
Halodule wrightii (Shoal grass)
Since all of the livestock was collected from the local environment, we found we were prone to many types of algae blooms. Our first was a cyanobacteria bloom that covered our sandbed and persisted until we found...
...our little superhero! This ragged sea hare devoured all of the cyanobacteria in our seagrass tank and made it look brand new again.
Another issue that we have encountered in this build is the presence of epiphytes. Epiphytes are small plants or algae that grow on the surfaces of other plants, in this case our seagrass. However, by finding the right grazers we were able to naturally control these epiphytes within our tank.
But its not all bad. While we have been through many difficulties with this tank we have also been able to see some really cool things.
This is a seagrass flower found on our Turtle grass. Our seagrass researches were very excited because this was the first time they had ever seen this particular species produce a flower.
After almost two years this aquarium has changed quite a bit. We have had a tremendous amount of growth and have also been able to house some really neat juvenile estuarine fish.
We currently have:
1 juvenile spot porgy
1 juvenile filefish (not identified)
1 sleeper goby (not identified)
1 algae eating blenny (not identified)
I hope everyone enjoys and learned something about the Indian River Lagoon and the importance of seagrass beds. I will keep everyone posted with pictures and updates as we make changes!
I work as a graduate student assistant and aquarist at the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center. We are a small educational facility designed to showcase all of the research being conducted by the marine scientists and engineers at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, which is located in Fort Pierce, Florida. We have recently renovated the visitors center to include several aquariums that highlight some of our research areas. As a long time hobbyist and member of Reef2Reef I wanted to show everyone here some of the aquariums we have built.
Also check out two of my other threads about aquariums at the Ocean Discovery Visitors Center
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/1...t-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.413700/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sponge-reef-at-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.409311/
The aquarium I would like to highlight is our first ever build that is part of our Marine Ecosystem Health Exhibit. This tank showcases the beauty and importance of seagrass ecosystems that are found in the Indian River Lagoon.
For those of you who are not aware, the Indian River Lagoon is an estuary (which is a mix of freshwater from inland and saltwater from the ocean) of national significance that runs approximately 156 miles along the east coast of Florida. It encompasses 6 inlets from Ponce Inlet in the north to Jupiter Inlet in the south and is made up of the Indian River, the Mosquito Lagoon and the Banana River.
The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) contributes nearly $8 billion to Florida's economy each year and it is the most biologically diverse estuary in North America. It is home to approximately 2,200 animal species and 2,100 plant species. Much of the animal diversity in the IRL is driven by our 7 different species of seagrass that grow throughout the estuary. Seagrasses are submerged flowering plants that provide a nursery ground habitat for the nearly 1,000 fish species that live in the lagoon. These fish serve as a huge source of recreation for fisherman as well as an important food source for many wading birds and upper level predators like dolphin. Seagrasses are also an important food source for the manatee population that live here in the IRL.
It is for these reasons that the seagrass in the IRL are of critical importance and why we have decided to highlight them in this build. Our researchers here at FAU Harbor Branch work to study seagrass by conducting transects to determine coverage in our local areas as well as the impacts that water quality have on the seagrass beds in the Indian River Lagoon. Unfortunately, there has been a significant decline in seagrasses coverage throughout the IRL, upwards of 60% loss overall. Much of this decline is due to increasing poor water quality, freshwater releases, algae blooms and increasing storm severity. Due to these losses we are seeing a decline in the abundance and diversity of fish in impacted areas. In order to combat these losses our research team is working to aquaculture seagrass in an effort to eventually transplant these critically important species back into the estuary.
This is a build that has gone through many ups and downs and I will be showing some of the difficulties that I have run into while trying to grow these fairly tricky species.
Current system supplies:
30 gallon Clear for Life Acrylic Aquarium
2 Aquaillumination Hydra 52 HD LEDs
Aqueon 1700 Return Pump
Reef Octopus Classic 90 HOB Skimmer
Jebao PP-8 Powerhead
Coralife 9 watt UV Sterilizer
Eheim 100 watt Heater
Humble beginnings:
6 inch live sand/mud bed
Floating seagrass fragments were collected from behind our campus after a significant storm and planted into our aquarium. We chose to showcase the three most common species found within our area of the IRL.
Thallasia testudinum (Turtle grass)
Syringodium fileforme (Manatee grass)
Halodule wrightii (Shoal grass)
Since all of the livestock was collected from the local environment, we found we were prone to many types of algae blooms. Our first was a cyanobacteria bloom that covered our sandbed and persisted until we found...
...our little superhero! This ragged sea hare devoured all of the cyanobacteria in our seagrass tank and made it look brand new again.
Another issue that we have encountered in this build is the presence of epiphytes. Epiphytes are small plants or algae that grow on the surfaces of other plants, in this case our seagrass. However, by finding the right grazers we were able to naturally control these epiphytes within our tank.
But its not all bad. While we have been through many difficulties with this tank we have also been able to see some really cool things.
This is a seagrass flower found on our Turtle grass. Our seagrass researches were very excited because this was the first time they had ever seen this particular species produce a flower.
After almost two years this aquarium has changed quite a bit. We have had a tremendous amount of growth and have also been able to house some really neat juvenile estuarine fish.
We currently have:
1 juvenile spot porgy
1 juvenile filefish (not identified)
1 sleeper goby (not identified)
1 algae eating blenny (not identified)
I hope everyone enjoys and learned something about the Indian River Lagoon and the importance of seagrass beds. I will keep everyone posted with pictures and updates as we make changes!
