Red drum have an ability to produce a drumming sound on their air bladders which is how they got commons name. Learn who what other fish share this characteristic with them here. Pa-rum-pa-pa-pum …
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Sink your teeth into this: 20 facts about shark teeth
Are you ready to sink your teeth into Shark Week 2012? Here are 20 facts about shark teeth to get you started. Discovery Channel’s annual event looks like it will quite the extravaganza for its 25th year. Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live has been brought in as the official ‘chief shark officer‘. I have […]
What are those yellow looking things that look like a floppy spinal cord?
The strand of half dollar sized pods is an egg case. Actually each pod has about twenty tiny animals in each pod. The tiny animal that will grow from this egg case is the knobbed whelk. This is basically a northeast version of a conch (pronounced conk). If you hold the tiny discs up to […]
The First Beach Chair Scientist post is about my favorite animal – The Atlantic Horseshoe Crab
Some might say that the horseshoe crab is quite possibly the scariest looking creature along the shoreline. However, I disagree. There’s actually a sweetheart of an animal underneath that tough, pointy, chitin exoskeleton. I am certain that the horseshoe crab has survived since before the time of the dinosaurs due to its ability to adapt […]
What is sea foam?
Sea foam can be thought of as the air bubbles in seawater that bounce off one another. When they bounce off one another it also releases sea spray. Air bubbles in freshwater basically just unite and don’t bounce off one another. If there is foaminess in freshwater it is pollutant related. Makes you think where […]
Five fun ways for the kids (and, you!) to share a love of nature this summer
Antarctic Art Contest: Students and professionals alike are invited to submit written or visual pieces about the WAIS Divide. Specifically, it’s suggested that pieces focus on water isotopes, CO2 and methane gases, radar imagery, or imagery of ice samples. Deadline is October 1st. Children’s Art Mangrove Calender: Elementary-aged school children invited to create art expressing […]
The short and sweet of horseshoe crab spawning
You may have heard about the phenomena of horseshoe crab spawning … but, do you really know what’s going on? It’s when hundreds of thousands of these ancient arthropods (dating back 400 million years!) make the journey to low-energy sandy beaches along the Atlantic coast, predominately along the Mid-Atlantic region (highest concentration found along the […]
Who discovered the North Pole?
From the summer to the winter the amount of ice in the Arctic Ocean doubles from 3 million square miles to 6 million square miles. The smallest of all the oceans was explored by those looking for trade routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But, the first to reach the North Pole was American […]
What makes the swirly tracks at the ocean edge?
What I think you are referring to is the trail of a moon snail, or sometimes called a sand snail. This univalve animal has a cinnamon bun swirled shell. The shell is extremely thick to protect itself from the ocean and other animals that may try to eat it. If you try to pick it […]
10 facts about manatees
Manatees are marine mammals and breathe air through their nostrils. Manatees belong to an order of marine mammals called the Sirenians. Dugongs are the other member of this family. Stellar sea cows were also a member of this family, but they were hunted to extinction within 27 years of their discovery. Manatees can weigh up […]
100 ocean quotes
Because there is not just one quote that summarizes how ethereal and majestic the ocean is, and in honor of World Oceans Day, and because you know I like lists, here is an archive of some inspiring quotes about the important aspects of our ocean all from people you may have heard of a time […]
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- Robert Emahiser on Why you should never walk on dunes
- Lesa on 10 brief facts on bioluminescence
- Lisa on Limulus Love
- Beach Chair Scientist on 17 facts about the wee sea potatoes
- Bernard Rejterada on 17 facts about the wee sea potatoes
- Brian on What is the difference between a summer and winter flounder?
- Inbound marketing on 15 facts about the Portuguese man-of-war that’ll have you saying “Didya know…?”
- Donnie Huckabee on Wordless Wednesday | Shell art
- John on Why you should never walk on dunes
- ItzJaylaD on What I know about whale sharks
Top posts & pages from BCS …
- Hurricane vs. Cyclone vs. Typhoon
- A House for Hermit Crab
- How to handle a horseshoe crab
- Snot's your house
- Wednesday Wisdom: Various quotes (Alaska scenes)
- A naturalist's must-see destination: Fossil Hunting at Bayfront State Park in Chesapeake Beach, MD
- Belly biology creates lasting memories
- Five awful puns about courtship in the sea
- Horseshoe crabs confirmed as members of arachnid family
- Beyond the bag: Other plastics being banned
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