The Sarasota Bay Listening Network: fish sounds are important

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Each button creates the sound of the corresponding fish

The Sarasota Bay Listening Network reveals sounds from boats, fish, and other marine creatures. But it’s not all noise. Many sounds convey information that is important to the marine community. Fish probably first developed the ability to hear sounds in order to sense their surroundings. Developing the ability to make sounds likely came much later.

A new exhibit at the Mote Aquarium, shown by this photo, lets visitors hear the sounds of many different fish. Some are named for the sounds they make, like the Blue Striped Grunt and Black Drum. You can hear recordings of many common fish sounds here.

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White Pelicans on Tidy Island, back for the winter!

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White Pelicans return to Tidy Island every year. Some winter visitors returning to Tidy Island by air are finding it difficult because of COVID-19. But, for American White Pelicans, this is not problem. A few show up early in October with large flocks appearing a few weeks later. They don’t like people very much. So, this part of Sarasota Bay suits them well. The image below shows the part of the shoreline that they use, nearly 5 miles (8 km) long. This part of the Bay is shallow, almost dry during very low tides.

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Mangroves on Tidy Island: every kind is here!

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Mangroves live in the salty, water-logged soil of tidal areas and have evolved in special ways to suit this environment. Some block salt with their roots, while others excrete salt through their leaves. Mangroves on Tidy Island include all four kinds of mangroves common to this region: red, black, white, and buttonwood.

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Tidy Island salt flats: unique ecology from a hurricane.

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What caused the Tidy Island salt flats?

The surge from the 1921 Tampa Bay Hurricane caused the salt flats on Tidy Island. It carried sand from the south shore over the island, depositing it between the island and the mainland, as explained here. But salt flats need to be an exact distance above sea level. That is, low enough to flood during spring tides, high enough not to flood during neap tides. (For non-sailors: spring tides happen during new or full moons, neap tides happen during quarter or three-quarter moons. Spring tides are higher than neap tides.) On a salt flat, seawater floods the sand twice each month and, if there is no rain, it drys out between those times.

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