Flax Pond

Flax Pond
Some points of Interest at Flax Pond, Long Island, New York
Placemarks are represented on the map by an Eastern Oyster icon.
Assembled by Glenn Richard
Last modified on October 14, 2007

Swamp Rose Mallow
A freshwater marsh adjacent to Flax Pond, fed by groundwater, supports Swamp Rose Mallow and other freshwater plant species.
Photo by Glenn Richard
What aquifer supplies the freshwater to this marsh?
What is the elevation of the water table at this location?

Shallow Water
Eastern Oysters and Softshell Clams live in portions of the marsh that are nearly always covered by water. The Softshell Clams are burrowers, while the Eastern Oysters attach themselves to rocks, shells or other objects.
Photo by Glenn Richard
What do Softshell Clams and Eastern Oysters feed upon?

CobbleBeach
The cobble beach consists primarily of sediment eroded from adjacent headlands at Crane Neck Point and Old Field Point. The beach protects Flax Pond from the waves of Long Island Sound
Photo by Glenn Richard
Why does beach drift come from two directions on this beach?

Inlet at Flax Pond
The inlet, which was dug in about 1803, enables tidal waters to enter and exit Flax Pond approximately twice each day.
Rock barnacles (Balanus balanoides) live on rocks adjacent to the inlet.
Photo by Sandy Richard
Rockweed, or Bladder Wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) is an alga that lives on rocks at the inlet.
What do Rock Barnacles feed upon?
Why is low tide in Flax Pond delayed by more than an hour after low tide occurs in adjacent Long Island Sound?

High Marsh
The high marsh vegetation zone is dominated by Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata.
What will happen to the high marsh if sea level rises faster than sediment accretion can raise the high marsh surface ?

Low Marsh
The low marsh vegetation zone is dominated by Spartina alterniflora.
What bivalve is important in resisting erosion in the low marsh?

Flax Pond Marine Laboratory
The Flax Pond Marine Laboratory is operated by the Marine Sciences Research Center of Stony Brook University for research and education. The building and the Flax Pond Tidal Wetland area are owned by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
How does the Flax Pond Marine Laboratory obtain seawater for its tanks?

Prickly Pear Cactus
Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia humifusa) grows in the dry sandy portions of the cobble beach that are not ordinarily inundated by tides.
Photo by Sandy Richard
Name two other plants that grow on Flax Pond Beach, and explain how they conserve water.

Flood Tide Delta
The flood tide delta consists of pebbles and cobbles that are carried in and deposited by rapid currents as the rising tide brings water into the marsh.
What type of bivalve was much more abundant on the flood tide delta in 2005 than it is now?
What type of crab has increased greatly in abundance in Flax Pond over the past several years?

Storm Overwash Lobe
Storm overwash lobe
Photo by Sandy Richard
From where did the sediment come that makes up the storm overwash lobe?

Post Oaks at Flax Pond
Post oaks (Quercus stellata) can grow in coastal areas because they can tolerate some salt and occasional tidal inundation.
What adapation enables the post oak to conserve water more effectively than most other oaks?

Wrack
Wrack consists of dead shoots of Spartina alterniflora that was rafted by tides. It can kill the underlying vegetation
After the wrack decomposes or is carried away by tides, what type of vegetation is likely to predominate here initially ?