Diamondback terrapins are the only resident turtle within brackish water and estuarine systems. Their range extends from Massachusetts to Texas but, prior to 2005, their existence in the Florida panhandle was undocumented. The Panhandle Terrapin Project was developed to first determine whether terrapins exist in the panhandle (Phase I) and, if so, what is their status (Phase II and III).
The project began at the Marine Science Academy at Washington High School (in Pensacola) in 2005. Between 2005 and 2010 the team was able to verify at least one record in each of the panhandle counties. For Phase II we used what we called the “Mann Method” to determine the relative abundance of terrapins in each area. To do this we needed to conduct assessments of nesting activity in each county. In 2012 the project moved from Washington High School to Florida Sea Grant. At that time, we developed a citizen science program to conduct Phase II of this project. Effort first focused on Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, but in recent years has included Okaloosa County. Florida Sea Grant now partners with the U.S. Geological Survey (based out of Gulf County) to assist with Phase II and lead Phase III, which is estimating populations using mark-recapture methods, as well as satellite tagging to better understand movements and habitat use. The focus of Phase III has been Gulf County, but tagging has occurred in Okaloosa and Escambia counties.
Over the years we have trained 271 volunteers who have conducted thousands of hours of nesting surveys and helped obtain a better picture of the status of diamondback terrapins in the Florida panhandle. Here are the 2023 project results.
Results from 2023
We trained 67 volunteers; 35 (52%) of which participated in at least one nesting survey.
The volunteers conducted 196 surveys logging 212 hours.
During those surveys terrapins (or terrapin sign) were encountered 43 times; a Frequency of Encounter (FOE) of 22%.
Three terrapins were tagged. Two from Okaloosa and one from Escambia. All but two of the nine primary survey beaches saw nesting activity (78%). One new nesting beach was discovered.
Escambia County
Two nesting beaches. 47 surveys. 7 encounters (FOE = 15%).
The Mann Method assumes the sex ratio is 1:1 (male: female) but recent studies suggest the ratio may be as high as 5:1 (male: female). Based on these two rations the number of terrapins estimated to be using these beaches ranged from 4-36.
One terrapin (“Dollie”) was tagged. Fire ants and torpedo grass were reported on some beaches.
Santa RosaCounty
Three nesting beaches. 68 Surveys. 14 encounters (FOE = 21%).
The number of terrapins estimated to be using these beaches ranged from 6-30.
No terrapins were captured, though one was seen nesting. No invasive species were reported from the nesting beaches.
OkaloosaCounty
Four nesting beaches. 67 surveys. 21 encounters (FOE = 31%).
The number of terrapins estimated to be using these beaches ranged from 2-66.
Two terrapins were tagged (“Kennedy” and “Molly”). Phragmites were reported from all beaches.
Walton County
Walton county currently does not have a volunteer coordinator and surveys are not occurring at this time. We are working with an individual who may take the lead on this.
BayCounty
This team is just beginning and currently there are no primary beaches. The team focused on five beaches encountering terrapin nesting activity on one of them. They conducted a total of 14 surveys encountering terrapin tracks on 1 of those (FOE = 7%). The estimated number of terrapins using this beach ranged from 4-12.
Baldwin County Alabama
Due to the proximity of terrapin habitat and nesting beaches at the Alabama/Florida line, and the possibility of terrapins using habitat in both states, a team was developed in Baldwin County Alabama this year. The team began conducting Phase I surveys and encountered one deceased terrapin. No nesting beaches have been identified at this time.
Summary
The results of this year’s surveys suggest that, based on the number of nesting beaches we know of, there are anywhere from 2-66 terrapins utilizing them. Again, two of the primary beaches did not have nesting activity this year. USGS tagging studies will provide better population estimates and a better understanding of how these animals are utilizing these habitats. The current population estimate for Gulf County is a little over 1000 individuals and most are showing relatively small range of habitat utilization, although two individuals in the western panhandle moved from one county to the neighboring one.
Training for volunteers occurs in March of each year. If you are interested in participating, contact Rick O’Connor – roc1@ufl.edu.
Recently I was walking along the shore of Santa Rosa Sound near Park West searching for horseshoe crab nesting. I did not find any nesting activity, but the beach was covered with small comb jellies. These creatures reminded me of my childhood days on Pensacola Beach when we used to throw them at each other – “football jellyfish” we would call them. Now that I am an adult, I understand throwing comb jellies was not a good thing, but as a kid it was the thing to do. I mean, these are jellyfish that do not sting. How cool is that. It occurred to me that many reading this article also experienced comb jellies as a kid the way I did, but probably know very little about the animal that was bringing them enjoyment. So, let’s learn a little more about this magical creature.
Comb jellies do not sting and they produce a beautiful light show at night.
The typical jellyfish we encounter at the beach is in the Phylum Cnidaria. They have gelatinous bodies made of a material called mesoglea. They have only one opening into their gut – the mouth, which serves both taking food in and releasing waste. They have a thin tissue called the velum which they undulate allowing them to slowly pulsate through the water column. Extending from their “bell” are tentacles armed with cells called cnidoblast (where they get their phylum name) which house a coiled harpoon possessing a drop of venom called a nematocyst. They use these nematocysts to paralyze their prey, which – depending on the jellyfish and the type of venom they have – range from small planktonic creatures to decent sized fish. To find their prey is a trick. They do have nerves but lack a central nervous system (brain) and so they are aware of what is going on around them, and can react, but memory and thought is not high on their ability list. The tentacles extend into the water column hoping to accidentally snag something to eat. Another thing about cnidarians, is that some do not look like jellyfish at all. Some, like the sea anemones and corals, look more like flowers attached to rocks extending their tentacles up into the water column hoping to get lucky.
The nonvenmous comb jelly.
Photo: Bryan Fluech
Our friend the comb jelly is in the Phylum Ctenophora. They too have a gelatinous mesoglea body with only a mouth. However, their method of swimming is different. Instead of an undulating velum, they have grooves along their sides that house a row of cilia (hair-like structures) that move in a pattern similar to you running your finger over the bristles of a hair comb. These are called ctenes and is where the animal gets its common name “comb jelly”. Some species have tenacles, but our local one does not. Either way there are no cnidoblast or nematocysts. Rather they move through the water column, usually with their mouths facing upwards, collecting planktonic food and, in some cases, other comb jellies. They also lack a brain but have the nerve net and they also possess a structure called a statocyst that lets them know whether they are upside down or not. In this group there are only medusa (the swimming form), the polyps (flower-like form) found in cnidarians is not found in this group. However, they do something that our local jellyfish do not do. They emit light. The cells that do this are located in the grooves where the ctenes are located. The light they produce is blue in color and is magical when hundreds are doing this at night. They use oxygen to produce this light. It first appears bright, but as the oxygen is used it becomes dimmer.
We saw them as something to play with when we were kids. We see them now as a neat member of our marine community and a magical part of living at the beach. Comb jellies are just cool.
Since last year we have been logging reports from area residents of snake encounters. The purpose of this is education. We are learning which species people most frequently encounter, what time of year different species are encountered, and where they are being encountered. Here is the 2023 3rd Quarter Update.
To date – we have encountered 24 of the 40 species (60%) known to inhabit the Pensacola Bay area.
The most frequently encountered snake has been the cottonmouth. This species has been encountered 45 times. It has been seen every month this year and at the following locations – north and south Escambia County as well as north and south Santa Rosa County.
The cottonmouth.
Photo: Ricky Stackhouse.
The second most frequently encountered snake has been the southern black racer. This species has been encountered 35 times and every month except January. Locations reporting this snake included – north and south Santa Rosa County, as well as north and south Escambia County.
Southern Black Racer.
Photo: Ricky Stackhouse.
The third most frequently encountered snake has been the banded water snake. This species has been encountered 26 times and 25 of those were last winter and spring – the snake was only reported once during the summer and has not been reported this fall. It was encountered from north and south Santa Rosa County as well as north and south Escambia County.
The banded water snake is one of the more commonly encountered water snakes.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
Reports by snake groups…
Small Snakes – 4 of the 7 species (57%) have been encountered. The most common have been the Florida red-bellied snake and the Southern ring-necked snake. These have been reported from north Escambia County, south Escambia County, north Santa Rosa County, Pensacola, Milton, and UWF.
Florida Red-bellied snake.
Photo: James Cutler.
Mid-Sized Snakes – 5 of the 8 species (63%) have been encountered. The most common has been the Eastern garter snake. It has been reported from north Santa Rosa County, south Escambia County, south Santa Rosa County, and north Escambia County.
The eastern garter snake is one of the few who are active during the cold months.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Large Snakes – 6 of the 7 species (86%) have been encountered. The most common has been the Southern black racer followed by its close cousin the Eastern coachwhip. The only large snake not encountered so far this year has been the Eastern indigo snake, which is a threatened species and encounters in the wild have not been documented since the late 1990s. Coachwhip encounters have occurred from south Escambia County, north Santa Rosa County, and south Santa Rosa County.
Eastern Coachwhips are long and thin, and most adults have a dark head and upper body. The rest of the body is tan or brown and the scale pattern on the tail resembles a braided bullwhip. Photo by Nancy West.The eastern indigo snake is the largest nonvenomous snake in the southeast.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Water Snakes – 4 of the 13 species (31%) have been encountered. The most common has been the Banded water snake followed by the Brown water snake. The Brown water snake has been encountered on the Choctawhatchee River, Perdido River, Blackwater River, Escambia River, and south Escambia County.
Venomous Snakes – all 4 venomous species in our area have been encountered (100%). The most common has been the Cottonmouth followed by the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. The diamondback has been encountered from south Escambia County, north Santa Rosa County, and south Santa Rosa County. With high interest in venomous snakes, the other encounters include the Dusky pygmy rattlesnake, which has been encountered from south Escambia County, and north Santa Rosa County. The Eastern coral snake has only been encountered once and that was from south Santa Rosa County.
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Photo: Bob Pitts. Dusky pygmy rattlesnake.
Photo: Jessica Bickell. Eastern coral snake.
Photo: Joe Burgess.
Rare Encounters – those that have only been encountered once this year…
Rough earth snake was encountered during September from south Escambia County.
Rough green snake was encountered during August from north Santa Rosa.
Eastern hognose was encountered during July from north Santa Rosa.
Eastern kingsnake was encountered in February from north Escambia County.
Eastern coral snake was encountered in June from south Santa Rosa County.
Florida pine snake was encountered during the winter and spring from north Santa Rosa County.
For many who grew up in the Pensacola area October meant flounder gigging season. This once popular past time involved going out at night along the shores of Santa Rosa Sound with flounder lights and gigs seeking a local favorite flounder. Everyone has their favorite recipe for this fish but in this article, we are going to focus on the fish – maybe something you did not know about it.
In the northern Gulf of Mexico, flounder are flatfish with the two eyes on the left side of the head. Locally, flatfish with eyes on the right side are called soles. We do have native soles, but all species are too small to be a food option. If you are not familiar with the “two eyes on one side of the head” idea, yes – flounder hatch from the egg looking like a normal fish, an eye on each side of the head. But earlier in development one eye slides across to the other side. This is a weird transformation and there are probably videos online, so you see how this happens – check them out. The reason for this transformation is to improve depth perception. Eyes close together give the animal binocular vision. Binocular vision does not have a wide viewing range, can basically see what is in front of it but not so much what is behind it, but it does give the animal good depth perception, it can tell how far away the prey actually is, and this is important when hunting.
Once the eyes have shifted to the left side of the head, flounders lose the pigments on the side without eyes, which becomes white, and the fish lays on its side – white side down. The cells on the “eye side” have chromatophores that allow the fish to change color to match the sand on the bottom. Another important feature of being a successful hunter. Most of know they will bury themselves in this sand as well. With their binocular vision, camouflaged body, and sharp teeth, they lie in wait to ambush predators.
You may also be surprised at how many different kinds of flounder are found in the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are 21 species listed, and they range in size from the small Spiny Flounder which can reach an average length of 3 inches, to the Southern Flounder which attains a length of 3 feet. The Gulf flounder and Southern flounder are two species that are popular seafood targets, but any decent sized flounder will do.
Flounder are found in a variety of habitats ranging from shallow seagrass beds nearshore, near structure just offshore, to artificial reefs and the base of bridges, to depths of 1200 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. Many species spend the warmer months in the estuaries moving offshore when the weather cools down to spawn. Hard northerners can trigger a mass migration and a great time for commercial and recreational fishermen alike.
It is flounder season. Whether you prefer to catch your own or buy from the local seafood market I think will enjoy one of the variety of ways to prepare this fish.
A flounder scurrying across the seafoor.
Photo: NOAA
Bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) have been an important part of the economy of many gulf coast communities within the Florida Big Bend for decades. It was once abundant in all gulf coast counties of the state but beginning in the 1960s populations in many bays began to decline to levels where they are all but nonexistent. The cause of this decline has been associated with many factors including a decline in water quality, a decline in suitable habitat (sea turtle grass beds – Thalassia), and overharvesting. Most likely the cause included all of these. Since the collapse of both the commercial and recreational fishery, Gulf coast communities have been trying to address all three of the stressors above. Multiple monitoring projects are ongoing in the Pensacola Bay area and one of those is the Great Scallop Search.
The Great Scallop Search was developed by Sea Grant Agents in Southwest Florida and expanded, through Florida Sea Grant, to Northwest Florida. In each location volunteers snorkel a 50-meter transect line searching for live bay scallops, as well as monitoring the status of the seagrass habitat. Since 2015 317 volunteers have logged 634 hours surveying 407 50-meter transects in 106 grids in Big Lagoon or Santa Rosa Sound. In that time 4 live scallops have been logged, though we hear anecdotal reports of additional scallops being found in these bodies of water.
Survey Method
Volunteers select and survey one of 11 grids in Big Lagoon, or one of 55 grids in Santa Rosa Sound. Once on site, the volunteers anchor and record preliminary information on the data sheet provided. Two snorkelers enter the water and swim on opposite sides of a 50-meter transect line searching for live scallops. Any live scallop found is measured and returned. The species and density of the seagrass is recorded as well as the presence/absence of macroalgae on that seagrass. Four such transects are surveyed in each grid.
2023 Results
2023
SRS
BL
Total
Other
# of volunteers
72
No significant difference between 2022 and 2023
# of grids surveyed
8
8
16
Slight decrease from 2022. 16 of the 66 grids (24%) were surveyed.
# of transects surveyed
26
51
77
A decrease from 2022. More surveys were conducted in Big Lagoon than Santa Rosa Sound.
Area surveyed (m2)
2600
5100
7700
1.9 acres
# of scallop found
2
2
4
Four live scallops are a record for this project. It equals the sum of all other live scallops since the project began.
Scallop Size (cm)
4.5, 5.0
4.0, 4.5
Surveys with Seagrass
Halodule
5
12
17
17/21 surveys – 81%
Thalassia
8
11
19
19/21 surveys – 90%
Syringodium
0
2
2
2/21 surveys – 10%
Grass Density
100% grass
3
9
12
12/21 surveys (57%) were 100% grass
90%
1
0
1
Note: Volunteers typically select area for transects
75%
3
1
4
with a lot of grass.
70%
1
0
1
50%
3
9
12
5%
1
0
1
Macroalgae
Present
4
4
8
Absent
2
10
12
12/21 surveys (57%) had no macroalgae.
Abundant
2
2
4
Sediment Type
Mud
0
1
1
Sand
7
8
15
15/21 surveys (71%) were sandy.
Mixed
1
4
5
21 surveys were conducted covering 16 grids. 8 grids were surveyed in each body of water.
A total of 77 transects were conducted covering 7,700 m2 and four live scallops were found.
Two of the scallops were found in Big Lagoon and two in Santa Rosa Sound.
All scallops measured between 4-5cm (1.6-2”).
The number of live scallops found this year equaled the total number found over the last eight years.
Most of the transects included a mix of Halodule and Thalassia seagrass ranging from 100% coverage to 5%. The majority of the transects were between 50-100% grass. Four transects had 100% Thalassia. Three of those were in Santa Rosa Sound, one was in Big Lagoon. The diving depth of the volunteers ranged from 0 meters (0 feet) to 2.4 meters (8 feet). Macroalgae was present in 8 of the 21 surveys (38%) but was not abundant in most.
Volunteer measuring one of the four collected bay scallops in 2023 from Pensacola Bay.
Photo: Gina Hertz.
Summary of Project
Year
Volunteer
Grids Surveyed
Transects Surveyed
Live Scallops Found
2015
87
28
101
0
2016
96
31
111
1
2017
5
4
16
0
2018
20
7
32
0
2019
13
6
20
0
2020
5
2
16
1
2021
17
6
24
0
2022
74
22
87
2
2023
72
16
77
4
TOTAL
317
407
8
MEAN
35
14
45
0.4
To date we are averaging 35 volunteers each event, surveying 14 of the 55 possible grids (25%). We are averaging 45 transects each year (4500 m2), have logged 407 transects (40,700 m2) and have recorded 8 live scallops (< than one a year).
Discussion
Based on the results since 2016 this year was a record year for live scallops. Whether they are coming back on their own is still to be seen. Being mass spawners, bay scallop need high densities in order to reproduce successfully, and these numbers do not support that. The data, and comments from volunteers, suggest that the grasses look good and dense. Thalassia, a favorite of the bay scallop, appear to be becoming more abundant. This is a good sign.
Though small and few, bay scallops are trying to hold on in Pensacola Bay.
Photo: Gina Hertz
