Chronicles: Page 16

The day after the clams were added, the water was already clearer, but mud crabs were harassing the clams and at least one clam was lost. Rooted substrate also prevented the clams from burrowing, making the addition useful but temporary while the system's balance was reassessed.

Twenty-three clams were added to miniBIOTA to test whether they could filter the plankton bloom and clear the water. A mud crab immediately tried to pry one open, confirming crab predation pressure and raising the likelihood that mud crabs would need removal for a more balanced system.

A nighttime flashlight check showed that the previously noticed plankton had developed into abundant baby shrimps in the mysis stage. The same observation also revealed a surprise baby pipefish hunting among copepods, adding a new hitchhiker predator to watch.

The Seagrass Meadow was visibly producing oxygen through photosynthesis, with tiny bubbles forming on the grass blades. Even though the water remained cloudy from plankton, the seagrass was acting as a major oxygen engine while the next corrective step was to add clams that could help check the plankton population.

A Cocoa Beach estuary search for suitable clams did not produce the right bivalves for miniBIOTA, but it revealed horseshoe crabs, macroalgae, and other organisms from the local ecosystem. The entry records both the field context and the next potential stocking material.

Two land crabs emerged in the coastal system, possibly representing different species collected from different areas. Their identities were still uncertain, but the observation captured the early work of figuring out which crabs were present and how they were using the shoreline and ocean zones.

A male Atlantic Sand Fiddler Crab spent hours performing a display dance on the Marine Shore, apparently trying to attract a nearby female. The female moved on, leaving the courtship attempt unresolved for another observation.

miniBIOTA 2 had been running for more than two years, with crayfish, fish, snails, roaches, isopods, insects, and other arthropods cycling through multiple generations. The entry documents a stable closed-system food web sustained by light alone.

The observation moved from underwater life to the land and Mangrove Forest zones, showing hermit crabs, fiddler crabs, and mangrove-side crabs using different parts of the same light-powered ecosystem. Fog on the glass also showed that full convection control was still a work in progress.

miniBIOTA 1 was holding steady, and baby Cerith snails were visible across the grass blades after earlier uncertainty about whether the snails were maturing. Along with Lightning Nerites, the young snails were grazing algae from surfaces and helping the tank stay clearer without pumps or filters.

A nighttime look into miniBIOTA revealed a shrimp carrying eggs and many tiny larval crustaceans moving through the water column. Their exact identity was still unknown, but the observation added a new reproductive signal to the marine system.

Hurricane Milton passed without taking power from the Orlando site, leaving miniBIOTA safe from the expected outage risk. With the immediate threat over, the next recovery step was to restock the tank with clams that could help clear the water.

Two solar panels were prepared as a backup power plan for the tank most vulnerable to oxygen loss during Hurricane Milton. The setup was meant to keep light reaching the system if grid power failed, while the other systems would have to endure darkness for as short a time as possible.

With Hurricane Milton approaching Orlando, miniBIOTA faced a serious power-loss risk. The aquatic system depended on light-driven oxygen production, and even a day without power could have pushed the water column toward ecological collapse.

With Hurricane Milton threatening Orlando, miniBIOTA 2 faced a possible power-loss event. The system appeared less vulnerable than the earlier crash because the water held less algae and therefore less immediate oxygen-collapse risk, but the lake still contained fish, crayfish, snails, and other diversity that could be affected by a prolonged outage.

Flat-backed millipedes were added as detritivores to help process dead plant matter across the grassland and shoreline habitats. About 20 individuals were introduced, making this an early test of whether they could establish and recycle plant litter inside miniBIOTA.

Cloudy water was linked to microorganisms drawing down oxygen in the water column, especially at night when grasses were no longer producing oxygen. The entry identifies the bloom as both a visibility issue and a water-quality stressor.

The coastal system was still running, but cloudy water revealed a dense layer of microorganisms in the water column. A pistol shrimp was pregnant again, raising the possibility of another reproductive event, while the failed small clams pointed toward a future need for larger natural filter feeders.

A mottled shore crab eating algae off of shoal grass in the Seagrass Meadow. Two cerith snails also visible in the clip.

A ragworm was recorded in an extreme close-up while moving within its chamber in the Seagrass Meadow. The entry captures a striking behavior moment from the marine sediment layer.