SPringsWatch: Homosassa Springs
This group is currently accepting new volunteers.
The Homosassa Springs Group is a first magnitude spring located within Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. The springs group is comprised of three spring vents that discharge into a spring pool known as the “Fish Bowl.” The park is home to several captive manatees contained behind a barrier located downstream from the spring. The cross-river barrier is removed during winter months so that manatees can use the spring as a refuge from the cold waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A variety of freshwater and saltwater fish also inhabit the pool. The Homosassa Springs Group feeds the Homosassa River, which flows west for approximately six miles before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. The entire river system is tidally influenced.
Volunteers with the Florida SpringsWatch program conduct monthly sampling sessions at Homosassa Springs. Our Homosassa group currently collects data on water temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, vertical light attenuation, and water clarity via vertical Secchi disk measurements. Additionally, this group also conducts visual fish counts within the spring. A mask and snorkel are required for volunteers who wish to participate in fish counts. (Click here to learn more about common fish found in the springs.)
SpringsWatch offers participants a deep dive into understanding the ecology of Florida springs as well as a fun day on the water helping to generate research which supports them. To learn more about the data our volunteers are collecting, click on the monitoring summary or dashboard links below. To lern more abut Homosassa Springs, go here: HOMOSASSA SPRING
Click here or the button below to sign up.
Homosassa SpringsWatch Data AND Monitoring Summaries
Become a citizen scientist And Help Protect Florida's Springs!
SPRINGSWATCH
COORDINATOR
The Florida SpringsWatch program is funded in part through generous support from the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, the Live Wildly Foundation, and the annual First Magnitude Springs Run hosted by First Magnitude Brewing Company
