BLOG POST #3 Île Sainte Marguerite

 Sarah and I took a day to travel to Cannes and visit Île Sainte Marguerite by ferry. It was a relatively private and untouched island filled with interesting biodiversity. When I read about the island I learned that it was protected by the National Forest Office in France. I’m always amazed by seeing pine trees so close to the ocean, I’ve always regarded them as more of an inland forest tree. After a short climb down to a rocky beach, we saw many intertidal areas full of crabs, sea anemones, seagulls, and small fish. It was warm outside and relatively low tide so we saw that all the anemones were not fully opened up to protect themselves just like we learned in our lectures. There was also a lot of seaweed clinging onto the rocks under constant stressors of the waves pulling them back and forth. There were also many plants growing out of all of the crevices in the rocks which helps to protect them from the heat and keep their moisture. Île Sainte Marguerite was a peaceful and serene showcase of the mediterranean and marine biodiversity.