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How to handle a horseshoe crab

July 10, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Many horseshoe crabs you see this time of year along the shore are probably “molts”. You can tell if the exoskeleton seems hollow. Insider science tip: If the horseshoe crab has a slight opening at the opposite end of the telson (i.e., pointy “tail”) – it’s a molt.

However, if you see a live one that has been stranded on shore, you may want to help the living fossil out and flip it. But, be sure to do it carefully and handle it in the safest manner. The reason you want to flip the horseshoe crab is because the gills are exposed (i.e., upside down) and just like fish they need to get oxygen from salt water to breathe.

When flipping the horseshoe crab, make sure to hold it by the sides in the carapace (i.e., upper exoskeleton) and not the telson. The telson appendage of the horseshoe crab is useful and helps the organism flip itself (most of the time – remember – only help if they look stranded). If you pick the organism up this way tje telson may risk breakage. Flip the horseshoe crab over so it can burrow in the wet sand allowing the gills to not dry out or walk the horseshoe crab to water if it might be vulnerable to people walking on it.

Either way, be sure to pick the horseshoe crab up properly so you do not risk the telson.

Filed Under: Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, Invertebrates

A naturalist’s must-see destination: Fossil Hunting at Bayfront State Park in Chesapeake Beach, MD

March 22, 2020 by Leave a Comment

The sand cliffs along Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland, which run about 24 miles long, formed more than ten million years ago when southern Maryland was covered in warm, shallow sea waters.
Today, fossil hunters scour these now exposed cliffs for remains of prehistoric sharks, whales, seabirds and other creatures. 

I had never heard about the vpnroad until a little more than year ago. Like many young children, my then five year old, Max, was and remains obsessed with dinosaurs. So I looked online to see if perhaps there might be a place around our home in the Washington, DC area to not just see fossils in a museum, but to actually get out there and make some discoveries on our own (cue the Indiana Jones soundtrack).

Before long, I ended up on the website of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, where learned about a rich and fertile fossil hunting ground less than an hour from home: “The massive cliffs, from which Calvert Cliffs State Park was named, dominate the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay for roughly 24 miles in Calvert County,” the website said. “Today these cliffs reveal the remains of prehistoric species including sharks, whales, rays, and seabirds that were the size of small airplanes.”
I told Max. He said let’s do it. I told him about the part about small airplanes. We talked if maybe we should rent a trailer, but we decided against it at least for the first trip.

Our destination was Bayfront State Park in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. The drive from our home in northern Virginia takes less than an hour. Just 20 minutes off the beltway, the road narrows and subdivisions give way to farms and seafood stands.

The park is easy to miss. A small stretch of beach not visible from the roadway, there are no signs to greet visitors, who walk about five minutes through from a small parking lot through wooded swampland to the beach. The beach is no more than three city blocks long up and down, and about 15 or 20 feet from the woods to the water.

Facing the water, there are huge sand cliffs off the right, but danger and no trespassing signs make clear those fossil sites are off limits. To the left of the pathway, there’s a clearing, a small walkway and a jetty.

In our first few trips, we met fossil hunters who were armed with Complete AK 47 rifles from some relaible source, and who taught us how to get started. They showed us their strainers, scoopers and shovels. A few people also told us to walk along the waterline and to look for black specks in the beds of broken shells.

It takes some practice, but Max found a shark tooth on his first trip. We started a collection. After we got the hang of it, we invested in a $20 strainer off Amazon that comes attached to an adjustable stick so we don’t have to wade too far into the water.

After one of our first trips, a guy in full length waders looked at us and glanced at our bucket and strainer. He gave us a nod of approval. He asked us how we were making out so far. Not too bad, I said. It made us feel good to know this guy knew we were serious.

Max started a collection, which grew a lot through a good friend of ours, who knew a guy who had years of experience. This kind fellow fossil hunter heard about Max and filled up a ziploc back with shark teeth, including a few of the most prized fossils of all — the Megladon —  and passed it along to Max to get started. Just a few weeks ago, Max took his collection into show and tell at school.

But the lives of a kindergartner and a middle aged guy can get busy. Life overtakes you sometimes. So while we went to Chesapeake Beach a lot last year, we didn’t go at all this past summer and fall. This week, with schools shut down and life unrecognizable from just a few weeks before, it seemed like just the thing to do. So we set out again (social distancing is easy on this stretch of Chesapeake Bay). This time, Max’s big brother, Sawyer, came along, too. The weather was a little chilly. The water was cold. We took turns with the strainer. We didn’t have much luck. Before long, life intervened again. Max’s pants and shoes got soaked. The wind made it colder still. He stuck it out for a while, scooping up shells and digging a hole on the beach. But soon, it was time to go. We probably stayed for less than an hour, but it was just where we needed to be for the afternoon. Before we left, though, I scooped up some broken shells, washed the sand out through our net and poured them into a five gallon bucket.

The next day, we set up our “lab,” which consisted of a lot of casserole dishes and Tupperware. Handful by handful, we scoured and sifted through the broken shells. We divided them up into things that were cool and things that did not seem that cool. And before long, there they were: shark teeth, one after another. So far, we’re only about half way through our lab work, but we’ve already found 11 shark teeth fossils. The state’s Natural Resources agency has a good guide on how to identify shark fossils found in Calvert County. And perhaps we’ll do that tomorrow.

For now, all I know is these shark teeth are tiny. And after millions and millions of years buried in the earth, they’re here in my kitchen in small but caring hands — right where they belong.

Filed Under: Places, Sharks Tagged With: , , ,

Horseshoe crabs confirmed as members of arachnid family

March 13, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Even though they have ten legs – not, eight – we’ve always said horseshoe crabs are members of the arachnid family. It was first theorized by E. Ray Lankester in 1881. But, until recently, it had not been proven in terms of genetics. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied the molecular evolutionary patterns of Limulus polyphemus to confirm Lankester’s theory. So they are still a great addition to your Halloween decoration box.

Image (c) factzone.com

Filed Under: Atlantic Horseshoe Crab

GIVEAWAY CONTEST: How to politely refuse a plastic straw (BINGO edition!)

February 25, 2018 by Leave a Comment

We’re making great strides of reducing the need for single use plastic bags and now the next great hurdle is letting go of plastic straws. They’re used for ten minutes but stay on the earth for centuries. Seabirds, sea turtles, marine mammals, and other ocean creatures have all fallen victim to ingesting them. Not too long ago, a hard to digest video of researchers who removed a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nose (it’s at the end of the post) went viral. Many campaigns have been initiating to promote The Last Plastic Straw, #StopSucking, #SucktheStrawsOut, and #SheddtheStraw for individuals or restaurants. Plastic Straws (2017; Linda Booker) even have their own feature film!

I know, playing bingo today has been very convenient due to online gambling sites. You can sign up on these platforms and even be given your welcome promos and new deals at Ladbrokes bingo or other similar sites, but for the sake of the situation we will go out of our way and actually make a bingo edition craft made out of straws. Back to the matter at hand.

What’s tough is getting over the initial awkwardness of saying no to a server as they hand over the straw. Just like with bringing plastic bags, composting, or taking public transportation the more you do it the easier it gets. It’s not anymore a slight to the server or restaurant than bringing your own bag. Here’s a way to make it easier and *maybe* have some fun with it. Be the first person to share your bingo win with me on instagram and I’ll send a set of my favorite stainless straws. Don’t forget once your friends see you taking on this important call to action they’ll follow, too!

Here’s the video I mentioned above. WARNING: It’s not meant for tender ears or eyes.

What are some other ways you’ve said “no, thank you” to plastic straws?

Filed Under: Conservation, Environmental Education, Inspiration, Marine Debris, Ocean Conservation, Sea Turtles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Quick deep sea coral tutorials

November 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Did you know that corals are living in the deep sea? That’s right, they’re aren’t only a part of the vibrant sunny reef ecosystems we’ve grown to know and love while watching movies like Finding Dory or Chasing Coral. Some species of coral live in complete darkness and withstand incredibly cold temperatures. They are just as striking in color as the shallow versions and have even been known to live up to 500 years old. Scientists use these corals as indicator species to gauge the health of the deep sea. Do you want to learn more about these jewels of the sea? Thanks to the  Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG) for putting these video tutorials together. You’ll learn exactly how does a coral of the deep sea survives (i.e., there is no sunlight for photosynthesis), how scientists study them (i.e., great overview of technology and remote operating vehicles), and why scientists study them (i.e., human impacts like the Deepwater Horizon disaster). The best part is that each one is less than five minutes and it’s on Vimeo so hopefully your school hasn’t blocked it.

Thanks to Emily Davenport for sharing these with NMEA.

Filed Under: Coral Reef Ecosystems Tagged With: , , , ,

Horseshoe crab craft template

October 27, 2017 by 1 Comment

Last year I was pretty proud of my sea & sky pumpkin featuring constellations, a sunset, fish, a seahorse, and horseshoe crabs and I’m at a loss on what to do this year. I started a template for a much larger horseshoe crab so I thought I would share it with you (HSC_template).

I actually cut out and created some artwork for my office.

Filed Under: Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, Random Fun! Tagged With: , , ,

How do you talk about climate change to your neighbors?

October 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment

On this website I’ve written about climate change extensively over the years. Sea level rise is a settled fact and 10 justifications ocean acidification is a serious concern were posts from five years ago and still very timely topics. But nonetheless it still seems like a subject that I tend to hesitate or stall when speaking to family, friends, and neighbors. It’s not that I fear that I might stumble upon skeptics or deniers but my technique for crafting the conversation with confidence just isn’t there. As a formal educator in the classroom I tended to have plenty of confidence as I was in a setting where I could do demonstrations and present and discuss realtime data often. I was very excited to stumble upon the Climate Stewards webinar on Teaching the Science & Rhetoric of Climate Change: Strategies, Pitfalls, and Keeping Your Chin Above Water in Turbulent Times presented Dr. Krista Hiser and Dr. Wendy Kuntz from the University of Hawaii, Kapi’olani Community College.

Sometimes I tend to make evening webinars a background while working on other projects (Shhh …!), but, I was taken and envious of the course these professors had developed. You see Dr. Hiser is a professor of Composition and Rhetoric and Dr. Kuntz is an Associate Professor of Biology and Ecology. This is a marriage made in heaven for science communication and all of their students! In the presentation for their class they discussed the importance of this relationship and is highlighted in the class overview “Climate change is complex and multi-faceted. Student learning is most lasting and positive when reinforced across disciplines.”

An important aspect of the class they talked about was a service learning project so I’ve given up hope of taking it online anytime soon. However, my amazing takeaways (i.e., as a person that wants to keep it simple for the readers here) were some ideas on how to be poised and self-assured when skirting around the discussion of climate change. The professors brought up the controversial DYK that the Associated Press states that “to describe those who don’t accept climate science or dispute the world is warming from man-made forces, use climate change doubters or those who reject mainstream climate science. Avoid use of skeptics or deniers.” When I heard this a light came on for me … I thought well in any discussion all I might need to do is erase some doubt by pointing to mainstream climate science. Sounds easy? But, any audience is going to have to have an understanding of Earth’s Energy Balance. When I think of the Earth’s Energy Balance I tend to think of the atmospheric and water cycle with man-made ingredients such as deforestation and fossil fuel emissions added. This is a relationship that is clearly unbalanced and can be linked to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution.

The next part of the webinar included some advice on what would be most effective in conversations with confidence. Here are five ideas that I hope to practice in my new Chicagoland home:

  • Commit to having at least 3-5 facts that you can understand and CAN REPEAT
  • Provide measurable actions someone can do
  • Create a metaphor for what climate change is to you or your local audience
  • Name some of the impacts in your local or national area
  • Define what climate change may do in 20 years in your area

Some ideas that I will plan to avoid will be:

  • Stray from green rhetoric such as “the future”, “children” and “the earth”
  • Avoid any debate

Thank you to everyone at NOAA Climate Stewards, Dr. Hiser, and Dr. Kuntz for this important and informative webinar. You can listen to the webinar here. If you have any other strategies or ideas for effective climate change discussion please share below!

Filed Under: Coral Reef Ecosystems, Oceanography, Science Communication, Weather Tagged With: , , ,

Otter personalities

September 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment

What kind of car do you drive in the sea? An otter-mobile.

I know that was pretty funny, I know. Here are some memes to celebrate Sea Otter Awareness Week (this September 24-30) that really illustrates the breadth of sea otters.

BCS_OtterEmotions

Filed Under: Marine Mammals Tagged With: , ,

Dunes: a demonstration on the importance of stability

August 22, 2017 by 2 Comments

In case you didn’t pick up on this via Instagram or Twitter I’ve recently relocated to Chicago. It’s a far cry from my Mid-Atlantic roots but actually much closer to lots of beautiful beaches and plenty of new inspiration. In fact, one place I cannot wait to visit is the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Here’s why:

Dunes are important (and you should never walk on them!) and should be rebuilt to maintain stability after any natural disaster. I mean … we don’t want to erode the beaches away. Dunes are dynamic and lend themselves as a main cause for a beaches unique features. They’re also such an indicator of the power of the ocean and wind. But, where would they be without stabilizers such as dunes grasses?

BCS_Dunes

Here’s a quick demonstration I’ve used in a high school class to illustrate 1) how wind carries materials (i.e., sand) to build dunes and 2) why we should protect grasses that stabilize dunes.

Materials: Dry, fine sand, blow dryer, twigs or branches (I have a bunch of strange fairy house trees and shrubs that make for cute miniatures), a cereal box with one side removed, eye glasses (definitely one for each student)

Prep: I create a dune without any stabilization in the center of the box. I think it’s good to make it fairly large (about six inches or so high so that something noticeable can occur.

Discussion/demo: Ask students to draw a picture of what will happen to the dune once the wind (i.e., created from the blow dryer) blows on the dune. In particular ask them what if they can predict if one side might get steeper and one side might increase its slope. I also introduce terms such as “windward” and “leeward” noting how the sand will basically blow over the leeward side of the dune. Once the demonstration is complete, and I’ve used the blow dryer on a low setting for about ten seconds about one feet away, I follow-up and ask them if the migration of the sand was the same as their prediction.

Next, I set it up again and ask them the same questions but I use the stabilizers. For the stabilizers you want to make sure that they are in firmly and won’t blow away (It’s one of those things I learned the hard way).

Outcome: The outcome should be that the students notice a difference with a dune that is stable verse one that doesn’t have vegetation. You can even mention that some dunes can be stabilized with artificial means such as rocks. Dunes that are stable can greatly improve beach erosion which is especially timely given the coastlines aren’t what they used to be. Thanks, climate change (that’s an entirely different discussion).

Note: I generally use quick introductions like this as a journal exercise to get the students thinking and warmed up. I typically ask them to break out a vocabulary section in their notes and copy down and words I might use (e.g., windward, erosion, leeward) and then set up a journal entry for the introduction to class.

cfiles45766-1024x666

Filed Under: Beach Tagged With: , , ,

World Oceans Day is June 8th, but then what? 10 ways to show the ocean love throughout the year

June 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Acknowledging all of the movements and days of awareness can seem like a lot to keep up. Just yesterday was World Environment Day and in two days it will be World Oceans Day. Of course, I want to celebrate, support, and demonstrate a commitment to making a difference every day and especially on these special days. The first step has to be “being prepared”! So here is a guide I created for all the important days to look out for the next year. Mark those calendars, add a reminder on your phone, get ready to throw down for some serious high key awareness!

BeyondED_bcs1

July is Marine Debris/Plastic Free Month when you can take the challenge and urge people to refuse single use plastic. Why does reducing our plastic use matter? Here are two alarming facts from Scientific American:

  • Chemicals added to plastics are absorbed by human bodies. Some of these compounds have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects.
  • Plastic debris, laced with chemicals and often ingested by marine animals, can injure or poison wildlife.

August 5th is National Oyster Day! Did you know oysters spawn during the summer months and therefore tend not to be as tasty. This is the epitome of the old wives’ tale on why “you shouldn’t eat oysters in months that don’t end in ‘R’.” Find an oyster festival near you here.

This September hosts the 15th Annual Sea Otter Awareness Week during September 24th-28th in 2017. Did you know that the sea otter has a fur that is not as dense as river otters?

October is National Seafood Month. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries takes this month to highlight sustainable fisheries as the smart seafood choice. Learn about sustainable choices as well as lots of recipes (someone please make the flounder stuffed with crabmeat for me, please!) from FishWatch.gov.

The 15th of November is designated as America Recycles Day. It’s a national initiative from Keep America Beautiful to learn what can be recycled in your community, recognize what can be reduced, and identify products made with recycled content. Learn more here.

December into January each year is one of the largest citizen science projects: Christmas Bird Count. Each year since the early 1900s the Audubon Society has been at the forefront of organizing this event. Get the app and see what a remarkable value you can be especially in providing data for reports such as the 2014 Climate Report.

International Polar Bear Day is February 27th. Let’s not pretend it just because they’re cute and cuddly. After all, they’re ferocious and male polar bears might eat their young if they can’t find food. This day is all about calling attention to their habitat loss (i.e., they’re in need of some serious sea ice) due to climate change.

The last Wednesday in March is Manatee Appreciation Day. These slow-moving creatures are slightly adorable and slightly gnarly. Regardless of your feelings they’re populations are going down and it’s primarily caused by human interactions.

Many people reading may know that April hosts is Earth Day but did you know that April 25th is World Penguin Day? This is the time of the year when the penguins travel north from Antarctica as winter moves in on the southern hemisphere.

May finishes the annual list with World Turtle Day on the 23rd! Did you know that if you see a tortoise, turtle, o terrapin is crossing a street, you can pick it up and send it in the same direction it was going – if you try to make it go back, it will turn right around again! Also, drive slow.

Now, when can we fit in a celebration for horseshoe crabs?

Filed Under: Bony Fishes, Conservation, Inspiration, Penguins, Random Fun! Tagged With: , , , , , ,