 COMING ECOSYSTEMS EXHIBIT AN AQUATIC BALANCING ACT Palm Beach Post -- Monday, May 14, 2001 By: Jim Reeder, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer FORT PIERCE -- So you think you have problems with your home aquarium? Don't try to tell that to Bill Hoffman, manager of the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit to open here this summer. He faces the task of finding the right combinations of light, water quality, plants and animals to establish six marine ecosystems, from a Caribbean coral reef to an Indian River Lagoon seagrass community. "We'll put as many creatures as possible in each tank and let nature find the right balance," Hoffman said. "These will be living ecosystems, and people may not see a lot of fish." The "creatures" will range from tiny plankton for fish food to large lobsters at the top of the food chain. The centerpiece of the exhibit will be a 3,000-gallon tank with a living coral reef that Hoffman managed at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History in Washington for the past eight years. "Bill comes with the exhibit," said Mary Rice, the director of the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce. "The Smithsonian is responsible for the tanks and other exhibits, while St. Lucie County is responsible for the building that holds them." The six tanks, in addition to the the coral reef exhibit, will include a 1,500-gallon mangrove ecosystem and four 500-gallon tanks for seagrass, two different ocean habitats and one for Indian River Lagoon specimens. The reef will be brought here from Washington, each specimen in individual bags placed in Styrofoam coolers. Tanks will soon be filled with water to test for leaks, and officials hope to open to the public in mid-August. The saltwater exhibits will hold the real thing. Hoffman had to concoct a recipe for man-made seawater in Washington. "We were able to duplicate the nutrient load of Caribbean seawater," Hoffman said. "We plan to take our sea water here from the nuclear power plant's intake canal. It comes from a half-mile offshore and is good quality." Hoffman only half-jokingly calls his first job at the Smithsonian a "fish librarian." Marine scientists who thought they may have discovered a new species could borrow fish for comparison. "I would send them the fish, which they could keep up to two years," Hoffman said. "Some specimens we tried to track more closely than others and would send letters after six months to be sure they still had them." The building, near the county's historical museum, also includes a classroom, gift shop and laboratory space. Copyright (c) 2001, The Palm Beach Post |