We examined mangroves in two different situations, directly on the ocean at Hurricane Hole and in an extremely anoxic environment on our Dead Mangrove hike.  Here at Hurricane Hole, the water was very shallow and clear as long as we didn't stir up the muddy bottom while snorkeling.  The prop roots provide shelter for many young fish as well as for all kinds of sponges, algae, tunicates, crustaceans, and echinoderms.  The biodiversity and productivity maintained within the mangrove forests both underwater and above water is amazing.

After we finished snorkeling, Doug showed us what they had caught -see below...  The surprisingly even-tempered pufferfish was harrassed for several minutes in and out of water before it puffed up, and then Doug let it gently float back out in the water.  Upsidedown jellies were scattered all over the sea floor as large as dinner plates, and since their sting is quite painful, we made sure we stayed away from them and took proper precautions when handling them.  In addition to the critters shown here, the buckets also held a flamingo tongue, a king helmet, and two worms.