It is during this blind swim that Chipouras has experienced head on collisions with lemon sharks, and unknowingly swam over the top of an alligator resting on the bottom. When he opened his eyes, two beady eyes were staring back. Remaining calm, Chipouras stared the gator down until it swam away. The trick is just to appear as large as possible, then they will not want to bother with you. Chipouras has yet to bump into one of Florida Bay's endangered crocodiles.
Crocodiles are a lot fewer in number than their cousin the alligator.
At every site he also measures salinity, temperature and light availability in order to establish the relationship between these conditions and the health of the seagrasses living there. The South Florida Water Management District is currently building a series of aquarium-like tanks, called a mesocosm, on the grounds of Everglades National Park's Florida Bay Research Center in Key Largo. These seagrasses will be subjected to varying levels of salinity to imitate the effects that opening and closing water management structures have on aquatic plants in the Bay. Water managers will use the information to help restore the proper timing and amount of fresh water that can be released into Florida Bay without damaging its natural habitat. The trick is just to appear as large as possible, then they will not want to bother with you.