12 
"The most obvious feature about the swamp at Ascension 
Bay was the large number of dead mangroves ; among the dead 
trees were many living mangroves, particularly along the edges. 
They had been dead for some time--the bark was off the trees, 
and the branches were dry and brittle. Certain dead branches 
served as cormorant roosts. Cormorants were the most common 
birds in the area, subsisting on fish they caught by diving from 
the trees into the shallow water. 
"Fiddler crabs and snails are numerous on the mud surface 
and on mangrove roots , while mud oysters hang singly and in 
clusters from the lower branches. Amphipods swarm about the 
festoons of algae and sponges suspended from the prop-roots. 
Many kinds of bright-colored fish glide and hover about the 
submerged roots and fallen branches. There are whole groups of 
fishes that are less obvious: blennies , gobies, cyprinodonts , 
and others, dark colored and blending with the tannin- stained 
mud. 
"Perhaps one of the most intriguing sights was the clusters 
of two and three species of sponges attached to the mangrove 
roots. In the crevices among the sponges there were a variety 
of shrimps, amphipods, and crabs. Inch-long, greyish-colored 
flat forms with dark markings were observed gliding about over 
the surface of the sponges, while an occasional fish would be 
revealed if the sponge mass was broken open. Here was a miniature 
habitat surrounded by, and dependent upon, the water for its 
existence but relatively independent of what went on elsewhere. 
In and among the sponges certain small animals had found a place 
to hide, to feed, and to produce their kind." 
