By: Capt. Angelia Swanson
The beautiful little chain of islands we call the Florida Keys, and I call home, is special for so many reasons. People come here from all over the world to SCUBA dive, snorkel, and chase those amazing sportfish that are on their bucket list. Everyone loves the dolphins that will play and jump in the wake of the boat and the manatees that will hang out at the docks. But does anyone really think about the little things that make our tropical paradise special? Well, I love the little things. Spending almost every day on and in the water has its perks. The best perk is when you are out there day after day like me it gives you much more opportunity to see those amazing little things.
The cassiopeia jellyfish, who is named for the cassiopeia constellation, is a unique jellyfish that has taken on the nickname of the upside-down jellyfish. On the ocean’s floor, this jellyfish looks like a flower. They are said to release a gooey cloud of autopilot stingers to make up for their lack of tentacles, but I teach tourists about these jellyfish all the time and the slight bit of slime that leave your hands kind of tingly after holding them rinses away easily with a little water. When they are not on the ocean’s floor, they come to the surface, turn upside down and pulsate across the water. By floating upside down, it exposes the algae inside of it to the sun and this extraordinary jellyfish can survive off the byproducts of this algae making it so incredibly self-sustaining and unique.
The green sea turtle is another treat. It’s a bit smaller than most of the other species of sea turtles and its diet strictly consists of only seagrass. The seagrass diet gives it a green fatty section beneath its carapace, and the actual shell is dark green and black, making it a beautiful sight to see. These turtles will swim around my kayak as if they are as curious of me as I am of them. Beautiful and graceful, they are a sight to see.
Then there is the giant orange starfish that hung out at my dock, inching a bit closer to the seawall every day. This starfish was so brightly colored and as big as a dinner plate. I enjoyed the sight of it for almost a week until I came in one day and, sadly, it had moved on.
My favorite of the little things of recent is the seahorse. I had not seen a seahorse down here for some years, and suddenly they are being seen regularly. These beautiful creatures don’t have true stomachs, but a digestive tube that requires them to constantly eat to get their nutrients. Their tube-shaped nose serves as a vacuum to scoop up their food. With their beautiful horse shaped heads giving them their name and a beautiful tail designed to wrap around vegetation and anchor them in place, they are a magnificent sight to behold.
If you’re planning a great summer trip to the keys, book an excursion with me and we will go look for all of the amazing little things that will change your perspective of our oceans forever.