A world of water: Water, water, everywhere, and with it a world of wildlife.In Sarasota, the natural world is a world of water--lakes, rivers, beaches and swamps--many worlds actually, many ecosystems, all depending on water for their existence. To the west, across Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is an estuary located off the west coast of Florida in the United States. The bay and its surrounding area appeared on the earliest maps of the area, being named Zarazote on one dating from the early 1700s. , lie the barrier islands, where giant sea turtles return to the summer beaches of their births to lay their eggs in the sugary sand. Inside the bay, where the wave energy is lower, mangroves line the shores. These strange trees are vital to the health of local fisheries. Their submerged roots are a haven for young game fish; and the leaves they shed underpin an entire food chain, sustaining an incredible array of micro-organisms, food for fish, birds and crustaceans. Inland, not far to the east, runs the "Wild and Scenic" (an official designation) Myakka River; and here, too, is the spectacular park that bears its name. At 45 square miles, it's the largest state park in Florida. An assortment of watery habitats exists within its boundaries, including lakes, sinkholes, wet prairies, marshes and riverine riv·er·ine adj. 1. Relating to or resembling a river. 2. Located on or inhabiting the banks of a river; riparian: "Members of a riverine tribe ... swamps. Wildlife is abundant here, and habituated to man; long-legged wading birds wander among basking turtles and sunbathing alligators, and white tail deer browse the river's edge. Throughout Sarasota County among the rural communities, cattle ranches and citrus groves, lie hundreds of lakes, ponds and seasonal wetlands (or thousands-- their number fluctuates with the duration and intensity of the rainy season), oases for migratory waterfowl waterfowl, common term for members of the order Anseriformes, wild, aquatic, typically freshwater birds including ducks, geese, and screamers. In Great Britain the term is also used to designate species kept for ornamental purposes on private lakes or ponds, while in like white pelicans, cormorants and ducks. Closer to town, courtesy of the Sarasota Bay National Estuary Program, habitat restoration projects such as Quick Point Preserve and Coquina coquina Limestone formed almost entirely of sorted and cemented fossil debris, most commonly coarse shells and shell fragments. Microcoquinas are similar sedimentary rocks composed of finer material. Baywalk at Leffis Key offer visitors a glimpse of Florida before Columbus. Nature trails wind through saltwater wetlands and sheltered lagoons, where white egrets stalk bait fish Bait fish are small fishes caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. in meadows of seagress. On Siesta Key's Point of Rocks, fossilized fos·sil·ize v. fos·sil·ized, fos·sil·iz·ing, fos·sil·iz·es v.tr. 1. To convert into a fossil. 2. To make outmoded or inflexible with time; antiquate. v.intr. slabs of an ancient beach lie in green, jumbled heaps, cloaked with shaggy mats of macro-algae, stippled stippled /stip·pled/ (stip´'ld) marked by small spots or flecks. stippled covered with many small dots. stippled cells see basophilic stippling. with razor-sharp barnacles. On Lido Key, a canoe trail winds through crowded colonies of mangroves. The canopy closes overhead; little black mangrove crabs scuttle up oyster-coated prop roots; and sponges, caught in the shifting tide, roll like tumbleweed tumbleweed, any of several plants, particularly abundant in prairie and steppe regions, that commonly break from their roots at maturity and, drying into a rounded tangle of light, stiff branches, roll before the wind, covering long distances and scattering seed as under the hull of your craft. In Sarasota, the natural world is a world of water, informed by the tides, the rivers and the rain. Here are some postcards from the water's edge. |
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