Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
Horseshoe crabs are an arthropod more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs and lobsters. They have a three part body: prosoma (head), opisthosoma (heavy shell with legs under it) and the telson (tail). This amazing body structure has been unchanged for over 200 million years. Interestingly enough, this is this Beach Chair Scientist’s favorite animal and there have been numerous posts about Limulus polyphemus. Read more here.
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I try to reduce-reuse-recycle-refuse-reuse as much as possible but sometimes there is no way around it. Your home collects trash and waste. We seem to accumulate plastic caps. Bottle caps are one of the top five types of litter found on beaches worldwide. Imagine how many are in the sea we can’t see!? First, check […]
Reported on the Baltimore Sun’s B’More Green blog, “Consumer products such as toothpaste and cosmetic scrubs containing tiny plastic “microbeads” could be banned from store shelves in Maryland after 2018 under a bill unanimously approved Thursday by the state Senate”. These means that if the bill passes the House, “Maryland will be the second state […]
What causes ocean dead zones? a) Fertilizer run-off b) Sewage run-off c) Animal waste from farms d) All of the above What is the world’s saltiest ocean? a) Atlantic b) Pacific c) Indian d) Artic What is the world’s shallowest ocean? a) Artic b) Atlantic c) Indian d) Southern What percentage of the world’s oceans […]
If I had to nail down three themes for this blog I would say marine science, ocean conservation, and environmental education would encompass all 406 posts. This one is dedicated to environmental education and more specifically a new initiative that I am a strong advocate for – not only one week out of the year […]
I hope everyone enjoys a happy and safe Independence Day this 4th of July! (Please be careful using fireworks. According to Mother Earth News, “Fireworks can unleash a shower of toxins into soil and water, and scientists are only beginning to figure out what that means for human health”. Also, don’t forget your boat safety […]
In order to breathe sharks have to keep moving. They have to engulf water to extract the oxygen in the water and then the rest of the water filters out of their gills. If the water current is very strong they can stay still. Do you have another great question? Check out www.beachchairscientist.com and enter […]
It’s no surprise why my home state of New Jersey has been on my mind lately. Using my enthusiasm for nostalgia, I decided to investigate little known facts about the state. Today I am eager to share some at best ‘compelling’, but possibly ‘useless’ knowledge on the New Jersey’s state shell, the knobbed whelk. Governor […]
The “pull” of the water that you feel as you stand in the shallows near the shoreline is just moving water rubbing against your skin. So, why is the water moving out to sea near the beach? Several different forces push – or pull – an excess of water up onto the beach, and then […]
Wings: Terns have long-pointed wings while gulls have broad wings. Beaks: Terns have sharp bills while gulls have hooked beaks. Body size: Terns are smaller. Predatory practice: Terns dive to water to grab fish while gulls float on water to pick up prey. Tern (l), Gull (r) Image (c) cheasapeakebay.net (tern), wikipedia.com (gull) Do you […]
I’ve been mama-ing (i.e., SAHM) it lately to a 6yo and 3yo and with that comes some hard lessons to learn. I mean I just explained that there is one ocean but it has five spots with five separate names and now I get “Why is the bath still hot when you added so much […]
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I’m not rating all of the a-z posts, but I have a soft spot for horseshoe crabs, too! We don’t have them over here on the Pacific side of the country, but I did get to see them on the Atlantic side once.