Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida 



The inlet lies between barrier 

 islands on which are located Daytona Beach 

 to the north and New Smyrna Beach to the 

 south. Two jetties, approximately 1,250 m 

 long, were built between 1968 and 1972 

 (Jones and Mehta 1978). Their 

 construction has stabilized the inlet, but 

 has apparently interrupted the northward 

 movement of sediment. Beaches to the 

 north have eroded while those to the south 

 have experienced considerable accretion. 



Natural System Counterparts 



There are few natural counterparts to 

 the hard substrate provided by open ocean 

 jetties in the South Atlantic Bight. 

 However, low relief rocky outcrops are 

 found in the nearshore zone at a small 

 area north of Cape Fear in North Carolina 

 and along the northern half of the South 

 Carolina coast. Rock outcrops also occur 

 near Marineland in northern Florida 



(Stephenson and Stephenson 1972; Searles 

 1984). In sheltered waters, flora and 

 fauna similar to those of artificial 

 structures are found on submerged 

 vegetation (Thayer et al . 1984; Keough and 

 Chernoff 1987), oyster reefs (Wells 1961; 

 Dame 1979) and shell rubble. 



Other Artificial Structures 



Similar organisms are also found on 

 almost any hard substrate placed in the 

 water, including pilings, docks, boats, 

 and refuse such as cans and bottles. 

 Indeed, the epifaunal fouling community is 

 renowned for the trouble it causes when 

 growing on human made structures, 

 particularly boats. Much of what we know 

 about the invertebrate community comes 

 from studies conducted on artificial 

 settling plates (e.g., Sutherland and 

 Karl son 1977). There is no doubt that the 

 activities of people in the South Atlantic 

 Bight have increased the habitat space for 

 these epibenthic organisms. 



