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"Cape Haze is a Florida place where the sense of wilderness and encounters with the
genuinely wild persist-- where there remains the chance to experience our state's
original bounty and heritage of nature. That's what aquatic preserves are all about."
Ernest D. Estevez, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Coastal Ecology, Mote Marine Laboratory
Key Accomplishments
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Seagrass Monitoring
Seagrasses are a submerged habitat that serve as an indicator of estuary health. Seagrass
health depends on good water clarity, so changes in water quality, hydrology and salinity
directly affect seagrass abundance and diversity. To characterize seagrass conditions, annual
monitoring was established in 1998 at 50 sites throughout the region, including 2 sites in Cape
Haze. Each fall, data is collected from the shoreline to the deep edge of seagrass beds to
determine species type, abundance, maximum depth, water chemistry, sunlight availability and
sediments. With help from research partners and the use of aerial photography, the seagrass
data is examined for changes over time. The results are presented regularly at scientific
conferences. Overall, seagrasses appear to be relatively healthy throughout the region, though
there has been some loss of acreage and density over the 7 year time period of the study. The
sites in Cape Haze show healthy, stable seagrass populations supporting strong fisheries in
this aquatic preserve.
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Cape
Haze Aquatic Preserve
