Archive for September, 2008
Most likely, acorn barnacles.
Let me guess, they look like tiny volcanoes? And they hurt if you rub up against them?
That is the outer shell made of calcium. They put this protective layer up when they are not under water.
When it is hide tide the acorn barnacle opens up the volcanoes structure and extends tiny little [...]
NO! Not at all.
Laughing gulls, or Larus atricilla, are quite aggressive. These birds travel up and down the coasts and never have to stray far inland. They are extremely confident and spend their days foraging food from overly-relaxed beach goers. They will easily push larger birds, for instance, a pelican, right out of the way [...]
My immediate answer is that the ocean had a rough day at the office.
A lot of people think it is because of the reflection of the sky, but, that is missing an important part of the puzzle. If you think about it the ocean is not really blue everywhere, is it?
What needs to be said [...]
As I mentioned before, the horseshoe crab is a rather frightening looking creature, however quite the opposite is true, they are the steadfast, strong member of the ocean community. This animal, not only is a vital part of the Atlantic coast food chain, but has remained rather unchanged since before the time of the dinosaurs! [...]
The spines of the sea urchins are most certainly there for protection, however, urchins still have many predators.
For instance, sea gulls love to grab them at low tide at pick away at them high upon the rocks.
Crabs have a feast with the urchins by picking away at their spine to get to the inside [...]
You must be brave enough to pinch the body of the blue crab from behind and lift it upside down. It hurts a lot if they pinch you.
Male blue crabs have a distinct shape like a pencil, or the Washington Monument, in the center of their bellies.
Female blue crabs, on the other hand, have [...]
…It’s Charismatic Microfauna!
Well, yes there’s the sand, but there is also an unrecognized and perhaps even shocking biodiversity that lies not quite below the surface.
Would you believe me if I told you that in a single handful of wet sand you could be holding a community of organisms equaling, if not exceeding, the diversity found [...]
