Geography Sea Horse Key

Physical Geography

Sea Horse Key

As I thought about this assignment, which I had agonized about for a few days. I came up with more than one question. How was I going to write about the field trip to Sea Horse Key? What was it that I experienced on the Island? I had many questions. Not just one. Then I had a dim light flicker above my head. I realized there was an information gap in what I thought I knew about Sea Horse Key. The more I thought about it the more I realized that the gap in information was a very large gap. I had to shorten this gap. The five “W”s and “how” is where I started.

What is Sea Horse Key? Sea Horse Key is a small island which is shaped like a sea horse. Which is where the name for the island comes from. Sea Horse Key has a size of 165 acres. The islands maximum elevation is 52 feet.

(http://skml.clas.ufl.edu/about/). The elevation of the island is interesting considering the elevation of the surrounding islands. The elevation is due to the island being a dune formed during the Pleistocene era when there was a difference in winds, temperature and humidity levels of today which caused the formation of the dune.

Sea Horse Key is part of a group of islands known as the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. The Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge consists of 13 islands ranging in different sizes from 1 acre to 120 acres (http://www.fws.gov/cedarkeys/).

An interesting group of flora and fauna consider Sea Horse Key and its surrounding waters home for part of if not all of their lives. Cabbage Palm, Red Bay, Live Oak, and Laurel Oak are located on the ridge of the island. Along with these are Saw Palmetto, Yaupon, Wild Olive, Prickly Pear, Eastern Red Cedar, and Spanish Bayonet. A few non-native Lime and Orange trees can be found on the island as well. The lower areas of the island have Mangrove trees.

The island is a rookery for many species of birds. The most abundant species are white ibis, great egret, double-crested cormorant, snowy egret,

Tricolored heron, brown pelican, and great blue heron. There are not very many mammals on the island (http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=108).

The island has a large population of Cotton Mouth snakes which have a symbiotic relationship with the birds on the island.

An estuary made up of salt marsh and Mangrove trees provides shelter for many aquatic creatures. These creatures feed on plant material, plankton, and one another as they grow in and around the prop roots of the Red Mangroves and sea grass.

Based on this analysis, Sea Horse Key is an island with a Pleistocene era dune with upland trees, lowland salt marshes and a mangrove estuary. Home to a lighthouse and a marine laboratory cooperated by Santa Fe Collage and the University of Florida. The island is a major rookery for many bird species. All of this is part of the Cedar Keys Wildlife Refuge where Sea Horse Key is a designated Wilderness inside the wildlife refuge.

Where is Sea Horse Key? Sea Horse Key is located in the western hemisphere north of the equator at 29*5’48.13’’ North Latitude and 83*4’2.56’’ West Longitude (Goggle Earth). These coordinates fall within the State of Florida in Levy County. The nearest town to Sea Horse Key is the village of Cedar Key, Fl. Which is approximately five miles from Cedar Key. Sea Horse Key is accessible by boat or seaplane.

The climate of Sea Horse Key is humid subtropical. This climate has hot humid summers with mild winters. The summers are characterized with frequent thunderstorms. The winters receive much less rain than the summer and is the dry season. The Sea Horse Key area is in an area which has the potential for hurricanes. Hurricanes have struck Sea Horse Key in the past destroying buildings that were on the island.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Cedar-Key-Florida.html

When was Sea Horse Key and surrounding keys designated as the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge? The Cedar Keys National Refuge was designated by President Hoover in 1929. Initially only three islands were designated as bird sanctuaries. Sea Horse Key was controlled by United States Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Biological Survey. Executive order made Sea Horse Key a part of the Cedar Keys National Refuge in 1936 (http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=595in).

When was the marine laboratory on Sea Horse Key designated? Dr. E Lowe Pierce arranged a lease with the United States Department of the Interior for the University of Florida to lease three acres on the key to set up a marine laboratory. The University of Florida Marine Laboratory was designated in 1953 with Dr. Pierce serving as the director of the marine laboratory until 1970

(http://skml.clas.ufl.edu/natural-human-history/island-history)

Public law 92-364 designated four of the outlying keys in the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge as Wilderness Areas. Sea Horse Key was one of the four Keys designated as a Wilderness Area.

Why were the islands designated as Cedar Keys Wildlife Refuge? During the early part of the 1900’s feathers were being used in the fashion industry. This use of birds for their feathers was devastating many species of birds. Since the islands in and around the Cedar Keys were rookeries for many species they made prime targets for the birds to by plundered for their plumage. To protect the birds the refuge was put in place.

Who manages the Cedar Keys Wildlife Refuge? The Cedar Keys Wildlife Refuge does not have an office or staff. It is managed by the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife office which is located in Chiefland, Florida.

(http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=41511)

The information gap has been narrowed. I have learned much about the area around Sea Horse Key and the Cedar Keys Wildlife Refuge. The most interesting thing which I came across during the research was the amount of time and interest the military took in Sea Horse Key. The use of the key as a cantonment area, a telegraph station, a lighthouse, and a prison for the Indians from the Seminole Wars. I have fished and spent countless hours sitting in a boat just off the shoreline of Sea Horse Key. I always wondered what the light house was like on the island. I now know what the lighthouse is like and so much more.

The curiosity for what is behind the trees, over the dune, and around the bend in the island keeps the explorer alive.

Works Cited

Cedar Key, Florida [Climate Data]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://www.city-data.com/city/Cedar-Key-Florida.html

Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.fws.gov/cedarkeys/
Tidewater- Florida.com Copyright.

Florida 29*5’48.13’’ North Latitude and 83*4’2.56’’ West Longitude [Map]. (2013, September 4). Retrieved November 4, 2014, from http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

Kottek, M., Grieser, C., Beck, C., Rudolf, B., & Rubel, F. (2006). World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/usa.htm

Sea Horse Key Marine Labratory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://skml.clas.ufl.edu/about

Wilderness.net - Cedar Keys Wilderness - General Information. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=108
Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge

Richard S. Moscorelli

Physical Geography

Sea Horse Key