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What children have to say about marine debris

January 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I just think this review of what children from New York City have to say about beach pollution aka marine debris is too “right on” not to share. These quotes come directly from an article on the Ocean Conservancy’s website. Check out the entire article for some wonderful crayola images the kids did too!

Fourth-graders in New York City conducted cleanups at a local beach and tallied every item they found on Ocean Conservancy’s data card, an experience shared by hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year during Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup.

The young citizen scientists learned about the myriad ways marine debris threatens ocean health, and created graphs to show the sources of these man-made items.

They shared their findings with us, and we’d like to share them with you. Here are just a few of their observations, presented just as they’ve written them:

Filed Under: Beach, People Tagged With:

What is the mystery of the chambered nautilus?

October 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

“Year after year beheld the silent toil
That spread his lustrous coil;
Still, as the spiral grew,
He left the past year’s dwelling for the new,
Stole with soft step its shining archway through,
Built up its idle door,
Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1804-1894)

The above is only an excerpt from the poem, “The Chambered Nautilus” by Holmes published in 1858. It only begins to hint at the marvel of this magnificent cephalopod. The chambered nautilus has become breathtaking subject matter for generations of artists and has become a commodity on the commercial trade industry.

The chambered nautilus is a squid that lives inside a shell marked with a brown and white zebra pattern. As the squid grows, the shell grows with it and creates compartments which are used as gas chambers and help the cephalopod rise or sink in the water column. The inside of the shell is lined with an iridescent pearl. In the last chamber of the shell are almost 90 tentacles and large eye peering out. Predators of the chambered nautilus include sharks, turtles, and octopus.

What makes the chambered nautilus so mysterious and sought after? Is it the mother of pearl that lines the inside of the animal’s shell? Is it that the animal represents a far off species only found tropical Indo-Pacific? Or is it that the inside compartments of the chambered nautilus each mirror its smaller and larger part exactly and therefore the animal is an example of the golden rectangle found in nature.

This harmonic progression is an illustration of Fibonacci’s sequence. This is a sequence where the first two numbers in the series are added to create the third number for a series of number that begins 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and so on forever. This proportional pattern can be seen all over in nature: flower petals, pine cones, and even galaxies. Below is an illustration of the proportion as it relates to the chambered nautilus.

Image (c) top – seasky.org, bottom – http://2muchfun.info

Do you have another interesting question? E-mail info@beachchairscientist.com and let us know what you always ponder while digging your toes in the sand!

Filed Under: Animal Homes, Cephalopods, Random Fun! Tagged With: , ,

A Few Lines from Rehoboth Beach by Fleda Brown

August 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Dear friend, you were right: the smell of fish and foam
and algae makes one green smell together. It clears
my head. It empties me enough to fit down in my own

skin for a while, singleminded as a surfer. The first
day here, there was nobody, from one distance
to the other. Rain rose from the waves like steam,

dark lifted off the dark. All I could think of
were hymns, all I knew the words to: the oldest
motions tuning up in me. There was a horseshoe crab

shell, a translucent egg sack, a log of a tired jetty,
and another, and another. I walked miles, holding
my suffering deeply and courteously, as if I were holding

a package for somebody else who would come back
like sunlight. In the morning, the boardwalk opened
wide and white with sun, gulls on one leg in the slicks.

Cold waves, cold air, and people out in heavy coats,
arm in arm along the sheen of waves. A single boy
in shorts rode his skimboard out thigh-high, making

intricate moves across the March ice-water. I thought
he must be painfully cold, but, I hear you say, he had
all the world emptied, to practice his smooth stand.

Read more about this author here.

Filed Under: Algae (Seaweeds), Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, Beach, Egg Cases, Ocean, Random Fun! Tagged With: , , , ,

Just Flip ‘Em

June 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

If you do not already know, the Atlantic horseshoe crab is my favorite animal. It just breaks my heart when I am home and see a few crabs stranded along the wrackline. One thing that can be done for the animals that are still alive is to ‘Just Flip ‘Em’ (JFE).

JFE is a program from the Ecological Research & Development Group, Inc. that promotes to the public the importance of flipping the gentle crustacean over so they can get back into the sea. A lot of folks are hesitant but the horseshoe crab cannot sting or bite you. The most important piece or information to remember is to flip them from the sides of their shells. This simple act can save thousands of crabs.

Image (c) horseshoecrab.org

Filed Under: Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, People, Wrack Line Tagged With:

What is a Marine Protected Area (MPA)?

January 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

“A marine protected area (MPA) in the ocean is similar in concept to what a national park is on the terrestrial environment.” Shifting Baselines

There are many terms that mean ‘MPA’, including: sanctuaries, parks, preserves, or natural areas. All of these areas have some boundary in the oceans and are protected by either the Department of the Interior (National Park Service) or the Department of Commerce (National Ocean Atmospheric Administration).

Not all MPAs are completely closed off for human use. Each MPA has various characteristics delineated to it based upon the best circumstances for various stakeholders.

The characteristics are 1) conservation (natural, cultural and/or sustainable), 2) protection level (zoned, zoned with no-take areas, uniformed, no take, no impact, or no access), 3) permanence of protection (permanent, conditional, or temporary), 4) constancy of protection (year-round, seasonal, or rotating), 5) ecological scale of protection (ecosystem or focal resource).

Cape Hatteras, N.C. was the first marine protected area established in 1975.

MPAs are not new management tools but are gaining new momentum as a conservation tool. Watch this PSA with folks from Scrubs, January Jones, and Pierce Brosnan about supporting MPAs off California.

If you have another great question go ahead and e-mail info@beachchairscientist.com or just enter it at http://www.beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Animal Homes, Biodiversity, Coral Reef Ecosystems, Ocean, People

Sand

September 22, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Sand from islands or tropical sites have sand that is high in Calcium, since seashells are rich in Calcium and are broken down to form sand there.

Inland lake, river, stream and pond sands are high in Silicon, since rocks are composed of various types of silicates which break down to form sand there.

Most of the “black” sands, which are volcanic in origin, are high in Iron and Aluminum, since these elements are found in volcanic produced materials (lava, etc.).

The sand on the coast of Namibia (in southwest Africa) is definitely worth sifting. It contains diamonds!

Certain beaches and sand dunes create mysterious sounds that scientists still don’t completely understand.  They sing, whistle, boom, bark, and even sound like a frog!

The rocks, pebbles, and sand on the beach are sorted by the waves.  They vary in size from large pebbles down to very small ones, and finally to sand, which is almost pure quartz.

There’s not a source on Bermuda for quartz, yet about ten percent of Bermuda’s beach sand is quartz.  Geologist Bruce Rueger has found the answer.  It has been dropped out of the tail end of birds flying south. They carry grains in their crops (part of their throat) to help with digestion. (Bermuda lies smack in the middle of a major migratory route)

I was really lazy today and all of this came from http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/curriculum/MISmart/ocean/sandfact.htm .

If you have any questions please e-mail beachchairscientist@gmail.com or let us know at http://www.beachchairscientist.com.

Filed Under: Beach

Where can I meet other beachcombers and learn more about beachcombing?

July 28, 2009 by Leave a Comment

At the International Beachcombing Conference from November 7-9, 2009 in Annapolis, MD. The conference brings together experienced and novice beachcombers to discuss what factors are affecting the beachcombing experience. The conference is held at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s LEED certified Phillip Merrill Environmental Center and is sponsored by The Society for Ocean Sciences, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and The Consummate Beachcomber.

The website for the conference is constantly being updated so check back at http://www.beachcombingconference.com/Overview.html#Questions for all the latest information.

Do you have another great question? Check out www.beachchairscientist.com and let us know what you always ponder while digging your toes in the sand or e-mail beachchairscientist@gmail.com.

Filed Under: Beach

What is sea glass?

April 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Sea glass can be thought of as a well traveled piece of history. The hard substancesseaglass that you find have spent a considerable amount of time floating in the ocean. It has been tumbling along the sand and water for so long that that the glass, slate or what have you, has been polished by the sand grains.

Usually the brightly colored pieces are collected quickly by beachcombers. If you spend time investigating the wrack line you will surely discover some more subtle pieces – if you are lucky you will find some with faded descriptions of their original containers.

Photo (c) freefoto.com

Do you have another great question? Check out www.beachchairscientist.com and let us know what you always ponder while digging your toes in the sand!

Filed Under: Beach, Ocean, Wrack Line

Where do fish sleep?

March 6, 2009 by 2 Comments

Well, most fish are just like us and simply want to find a place away from all the chaos of the day to day rat race to take a nap and rest – slowing down their busy lives – gaining energy for the next day.

These places could be under logs, coral crevices, or other sorts of reefs spots – basically out of the way of predators.

Here is an interesting adaptation – the parrotfish uses its spit to create a translucent “sleeping bag bubble” around its body while it sleeps. The bubble helps to hide the parrotfish’s scent so other fish will not find it. If another animal bumps into it – the parrotfish will be warned of the other animal nearby and make a quick get away. Parrotfish are found on the coral reef.

But we’ve only scratched the surface here. Check back often at http://www.beachchairscientist.com for more insight about your favorite beach discoveries.

Filed Under: Animal Homes, Coral Reef Ecosystems, Fish

Why do I always see so many dead crabs along the shoreline?

February 19, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Rest assure those crab skeletons are not all dead crabs. They are the molts from the animals. Crabs, lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and many other crustaceans go through a molting phase and the old shell is basically washed up in the wrack line.

The wrack line is the deposits from the ocean after the tide has gone back out to sea. It’s often defined by seaweed that entangles lots of fun ocean treasures such as sea beans, old leathery sea turtle eggs, and sometimes marine debris. It’s my favorite spot to explore!

Do you have another great question? Email info@beachchairscientist.com and let me know what you always ponder while digging your toes in the sand!

Filed Under: Algae (Seaweeds), Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, Beach Tagged With: , , ,