Personal Narrative: My Field Trip To The Florida Keys

The experience that came from the multiple field trips we went on was extremely beneficial and a great life experience. Within all three field trips, we surveyed freshwater and saltwater fish and identified their species. We had two trips to the Mead Gardens and one trip to the Florida Keys. To survey the fish, we used multiple fish catching techniques. In the Mead Gardens, to catch fishes, we used two separate types of fish traps. Furthermore, in the Florida Keys, we caught fish with a gill net. We also observed and identified the fish differently in both places. In the Keys, we went snorkeling and identified fishes from memory and pictures, but in the Mead Gardens, after we caught them, we put them in a jar and identified the species. Throughout
The first trip to the Mead Gardens was extremely educational. To catch the fish, we put bread and hotdogs in minnow traps around 12-14 locations around Mead Gardens. Minnow traps are used to catch small species of fish or babies. After reeling in the traps, we put water in a clear jar and put the fish in them to identify the species. We caught Sailfin Molly, Black Acura, Mosquitofish, Spotted Sunfish and the Two-toed Amphiuma (all dead). The rain down pouring on us kind of ruined the end of the field trip and made it impossible to get the last few traps, but overall was beneficial. The second trip to the Mead Gardens was also an educational trip. We set up two turtle traps, but they were not successful. We still continued to use the minnow traps to see if we could catch any different species of fish. We caught all the same species from the first trip, but with one new species, the Striped Bass. We also caught a Two-toed Amphiuma that was alive. Furthermore, we attempted to use a new trap to catch larger species of fish. The trap had cat food in it because the scent is pungent. The traps were not a success. Going in the water to get the traps as a class was fun, but the fact that it was covered in spider creeped me out. Overall, these trips to the Mead Gardens taught me how to look for features in the fish to identify its species. It also widens my knowledge of different
In the Mead Gardens, we used minnow traps to catch multiple species of fish and then put them in a glass jar to identify their characteristics and species. In the Florida Keys, we went snorkeling and we also catch fish with gillnet and then put them in jars and in a bucket to identify them. Overall, I am so thrilled I was able to apart of all of these field trips because it further my knowledge of different species of fishes and how to identify them. I would recommend this trip to further classes and do not think anything should