Habitats Near KML

The Keys Marine Lab is unique in the Keys as its location allows easy access to all of the major habitat types in the area. The Map above gives the locations of habitats near the lab that we often visit with researchers and educators. Click on the habitat types below to launch descriptions of each habitat type and links to photos of those habitats taken by KML employees and visiting researchers. Click Here to see the map above full size in Google Maps. As there are more sites available to visit than can be listed here, please contact the KML science coordinator before your trip with your specific needs and we will most likely be able to accommodate you.

Coral Reefs

The elkhorn coral Acropora palmata was one of the most important reef building corals in the Caribbean before disease, bleaching, and other factors knocked down its abundance 90-95% in many areas. Here you see a small stand of Acropora at Looe Key with a black grouper in the background.

Click Here for a pdf of nearby reef habitats.

Coral Reefs

The coral reefs in the Florida Keys make up the most extensive living coral reef system in North America, most of which can be accessed from the KML, either directly by boat or by trailering KML vessels to the upper or lower Keys. Nearest to the laboratory is Tennessee Reef, located 5 miles south of Long Key, although any reef or patch reef between Alligator Reef and Sombrero Reef is accessible without trailering. Experienced KML staff can help you locate the specific coral species or type of reef necessary for your research throughout the Florida Keys. KML staff also know of many “less-traveled” reefs which often make excellent research sites. Many nearby, shallow patch and barrier reef areas are quickly accessed from the laboratory for educational groups. Contact the Laboratory if you have specific questions about coral reefs in the Florida Keys.

Inshore

- Coral Gardens
- 11' Mound
- East Turtle Shoals

Reef Line

- Tennessee Reef & Ledge
- 3 Peaks

Artificial Reefs

The bridge rubble was dumped 30 years ago during the construction of the new overseas highway. These piles are full of fish and invertebrate life.

Click Here for a pdf of nearby artificial reef habitats.

Artifical Reefs

In addition to the natural reefs, the Florida Keys are also home to a number of artificial reefs. Formed by dumping man-made structures of a variety of sizes into the water, these artificial habitats provide shelter for marine fish and invertebrates, open areas for hard and soft corals to colonize, and may take some pressure off of some of the natural reefs in the FKNMS. Many of these reefs have been underwater for years and are now well-colonized by marine life. Near the Long Key, one of the most significant artificial habitats is the bridge rubble. This was the excess concrete and steel roadbed removed from the old overseas highway when the new highway was built during the 1980’s. These piles make a great place to visit or conduct experiments away from the heavily used natural reefs.

Inshore

- Bridge Rubble, 6 locations

Shipwrecks

The ballast stones from the San Pedro are all that is left of the wreck. The 7 replica canons are cast in concrete and scattered around the wreck.

Click Here for a pdf of nearby shipwrecks habitats.

Historical Shipwrecks

From the FKNMS Historic Shipwreck Trail: There is a trail of historic shipwrecks scattered along the treacherous coral reefs and buried in the sandy shallows a few miles off the Florida Keys. The shallow reefs of the Florida Keys and the sudden changes of weather posed a threat to the safe passage of ships through the Straits of Florida on their return voyage to Europe from the Caribbean. There are nine sites on the Shipwreck Trail which represent three broad periods of Keys maritime history: European Colonial, American, and Modern. Two of these wrecks lie in the vicinity of KML, the Adelaide Baker and the San Pedro. Both sites make nice snorkeling sites, with lots of fish and even some replica canons (San Pedro). Check out the FKNMS Shipwreck Trail for more info.

Shipwrecks near KML

- Adelaide Baker
- San Pedro

SPAs and ROAs

Reef-building Montastrea spp. corals make for pretty good coverage at the Cheeca Rocks Special Preservation Area. Both coral coverage and fish abundances can be very high at SPA's, despite their relatively small size.

Click Here for a pdf of nearby SPA's and ROA's.

SPA's and ROA's

Sanctuary Preservation areas are designed to protect shallow, heavily used reefs from degradation. The actual size and location of these zones have been determined by the examination of user patterns, aerial photography, and ground-truthing of specific habitats. There are currently 18 small SPA's scattered around the Keys, mostly on the reef line. The restrictions on these SPA's and the ROA's are the same - primarily no fishing. There is also no anchoring on living or dead coral, no touching or standing on living or dead coral, and no discharge of any matter except cooling water or engine exhaust. Boats are required to use permanent mooring buoys located on the site. SPA's are clearly marked with large Yellow round buoys. You will need to contact the FKNMS if you want permission to work in a SPA or ROA.

Reef Line

- Cheeca Rocks SPA
- Alligator Reef SPA
- Tennessee Reef ROA
- Coffin's Patch SPA
- Sombrero Reef SPA

Hardbottom

The vase sponge Ircinia campana is a commonly seen member of the hardbottom community throughout the keys. In the background to the left is another dominent member of the hardbottom sponge community, the loggerhead sponge Spheciospongia vesparium.

Click Here for a pdf of nearby hardbottom habitats.

Hardbottom

Hardbottom habitat is made up of sessile organisms attached directly to limestone rock covered with a few centimeters of sediment. In the Florida Keys, large, crevice-laden loggerhead sponges, numerous octocorals and thick mats of red macroalgae dominate hardbottom communities. These marine plants and large invertebrates provide shelter for countless small animals such as young carribean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus. Hardbottom is markedly different between oceanside and bayside areas of the keys, changing in species type, richness, structural complexity and in the motile fauna found there. Recent efforts to catalogue Florida Keys hardbottom have been based out of KML as the lab offers easy access to hardbottom areas of all types, most of which are within just a few minutes of the facilities.

Oceanside

- Big Sponge
- Conch Key Wall
- Craig Key
- Indian Key
- Long Key Hardbottom

Bayside

- Burnt Point & Ledge
- Point
- Fiesta Key Hardbottom

Seagrass Beds

Seagrass beds such as this mixed Syringodium and Thallasia bed cover extensive areas in Florida Bay near KML nearly all of which can accessed and sampled from the lab, with appropriate permission (i.e. from Everglades National Park).

Click Here for a pdf of nearby seagreass habitats.

Seagrass Beds

Seven species of seagrass make up Florida’s nearly 2 million acres of seagrass habitat. These forests of seagrass help maintain water clarity, stabilize the bottom, and provide food and shelter from predators to the numerous species of animals that live there. Large, healthy areas of Thalassia testundium and Syringodium filiforme are located near the laboratory in Florida Bay, within and outside of Everglades National Park. Areas of other types of seagrass as well as most seagrass-dwelling organisms can also be located near Long Key on either the ocean or bay sides of the island. Many seagrass-related research projects have been based from the KML over the last two decades in addition to the hundreds of groups just visiting for a snorkel trip. Contact the lab if you have any other questions about seagrass habitat near the KML.

Oceanside

- Tennessee Reef Grassbes
- Long Key Grassbeds

Bayside

- Fiesta Key Grassbeds

Mangroves

These beautiful red mangroves Rhizophora mangle are located on the edge of Long Key Lake, within walking distance from the lab. Within Long Key State Park there are extensive mangrove forests, many of which are potentially accessible to researchers, with appropriate permission.

Click Here for a pdf of nearby mangrove habitats.

Mangroves

Mangroves and their extensive, protruding root systems represent the basis for one of the most important and extensive marine communities in southern Florida. The structurally-complex environment provided by their proproots is substrate on which algae, sponges, tunicates, bivalves, bryozoans, crustaceans and others can grow while fish and motile invertebrates inhabit the protected spaces within. Mangrove communities are a unique opportunities for study, inviting inquiry by students and researchers alike into the evolutionary, ecological, and behavioral processes that shape the lives of the organisms that live there. KML offers access to pristine mangrove habitat within walking distance on Long Key and by boat to the mangroves stands of Florida Bay and Everglades National Park.

Florida Bay

- Koch Key

Long Key

- Zane Grey Creek

Banks & Flats

Flats and & Banks are often colonized by seagrasses such as this Syringodium. Other residents include upside-down jellyfish like this Cassiopeia xamachana.

Click Here for a pdf of nearby mangrove habitats.

Flats & Banks

The Florida Keys offer huge expanses of flats, sandbars, and grass banks. These areas are prime feeding grounds for schools of bonefish, permit, tarpon, barracuda, and several species of sharks. Banks commonly have Halimeda calcareous algae; the finger coral Porites diveracata; invertebrates such as echinoderms, urchins, sea stars; and bivalves, all of which are adapted to strong tidal currents fluctuations. Flats are shallow areas with scattered grassbeds with incorporated Halimeda, invertebrates (echinoderms, urchins, sea stars), bivalves, and elasmobranchs such as nurse sharks, bonnethead sharks, and stingrays.

Nearby Flats & Banks

- Old Sweat Bank
- Old Dan Bank
- Long Key Bight
- Craig Key Flats