Nature Near You is our offering to the community, If you would like to support our efforts, any donation is welcome. Please click the button below to contribute.
Over the past month, we’ve been exploring in Nature Near You and have gained a deeper connection with nature in our own backyards. We’ve realized the importance of slowing down, being observant, and recognizing nature in unsuspecting places. This Earth Day, we are going to take a look at our larger backyard – the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf is a very special place to us and for the many of you that visit it each year. To us, it is a place where we learn, play, and appreciate all of the wonders that live in that warm, salty water. Mangrove forests, sea grass beds, oyster reefs, and barrier islands that teem with life are integral components to our marine ecosystem. We look to a world where all people value, understand, and care for these marine communities, so that we can create a band of ocean-loving people that will protect and conserve these waters for the future.
For this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we are so excited to announce our partnership with Sylvia Earle’s Mission Blue and the Blue-Green Connections to protect The Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot. This partnership and collaborative effort will allow us to be a voice for The Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot, so that we can share the importance of our coastal waters.
Don’t forget to show your love for nature today and participate in our group project.
Hope spots
By: Sam Lucas
Mission Blue is founded and led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle to inspire exploration and protection of the ocean. At this time, less than 6% of the ocean is protected, while 12% of land is under some form of protection. Mission Blue hopes to change this through the creation of “Hope Spots”. There are 122 designated Hope Spots found throughout the world.
Hope Spot Characteristics
1. Diversity of species, or presence of an unusual or representative species
2. Unique habitat or ecological features
3. Populations of rare, threatened or endemic (an organism that is only found in a certain region) species
4. Migration, spawning or nursery areas
5. Significant historical, cultural or spiritual value
6. Economic importance to the community
Hope Spots increase public awareness of these areas, their importance, and why they must be protected. Mission Blue embarks on expeditions to Hope Spots, produces documentaries, and shares information through social media, articles, and tools such as Google Earth.
Locally, a Hope Spot was named in 2019 – the Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot! The Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot was recognized because it contains Essential Fish Habitat (EFH), a unique offshore rocky hard bottom habitat, blue holes, and oyster habitat. It begins in Apalachicola Bay, stretches south to Ten Thousand Islands, and expands out to the west.
Essential Fish Habitats
EFHs are areas that are deemed necessary for fish to survive. It is here in these habitats that fish reproduce, grow, feed, and seek shelter. Examples of EFHs are sea grass beds, coral reefs, kelp forests, bays, wetlands, rivers, and parts of the deep ocean. Located near coasts throughout the Hope Spot are extensive sea grass beds. Sea grasses are flowering plants that are adapted to live fully submerged on muddy or sandy bottom habitats. Sea-grasses are considered to be one of the most productive communities in the ocean. Their blades increase the surface area in the habitat and are often laden with algae, anemones, sponges, and bryozoans. They provide refuge for juvenile (young) fish and invertebrates who hide within the blades. Sea grass beds have the ability to improve water clarity and quality in the surrounding area. They slow wave action, allowing finer (small) particles to settle and take up excess nutrients in the water.
A unique section of the Hope Spot is an offshore rocky hard bottom habitat located near Tampa. This area is composed of underwater limestone mountains and covered with sand. It is home to a diverse living benthic community, meaning marine organisms that live on, near, or in the sea floor.
Blue holes are large underwater caverns, sinkholes, and springs that exist underwater along Florida’s continental shelf. Blue holes plunge down hundreds of feet into the limestone floor of the Gulf of Mexico. There are diverse biological communities that live and thrive near blue holes - marine organisms such as algae, corals, sponges, mollusks, echinoderms and a variety of commercially important fish species can be found here. Most Floridians know about springs and blue holes, but it is super cool to think about them under the ocean!
Oysters!
Oyster habitat is essential to the northern range
of the Hope Spot. In Apalachicola Bay, oysters
play a key economic and ecological role. From
the mid-19th century to the 20th century,
Apalachicola produced 90% of all oysters sold in
Florida. Oysters are a keystone species meaning
that the entire ecosystem largely depends on
them. They are excellent filter feeders -- one oyster
is able to filter 50 gallons of water a day. The
presence of a healthy oyster community leads
to improved water quality and health of habitat.
As oysters grow, they settle in large groups and
form what are called oyster reefs. Oyster reefs
provide nursery habitat and feeding grounds for
many fish, invertebrate and shorebird species.
They also create natural barriers that slow wave
action, helping to decrease erosion.
The establishment of the Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot helps bring to light the importance and great biological diversity of the area. It is home to almost 100 threatened species. Creatures like the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, the endangered scalloped hammerhead, blue whale, and North Atlantic right whale thrive along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot along with the 121 other Hope Spots throughout the world facilitate a wave of change, promoting community support for ocean conservation. The more that is discovered and shared about these areas, the better protected the oceans will be for future generations.
additional cool resources
Mission Blue Interactive Hope Spot Map
Click to explore Hope Spots around the world!
Marine Protected Areas
Click here to learn more about MPAs!
EFH Maps!