Monday, August 3, 2009

Lovells Island

Yesterday we took a boat to Lovell's Island. The temperature was about 73 degrees and it was overcast.

When we first arrived on the beach I noticed right away that there was a lot of trees and shrubs. We walked to the Beach and I the first thing that caught my eye was the rocks that covered the beach. We learned later that the Periwinkle Snails may of had something to do with the fact that this beach was rocky. I also noticed a lot of washed up crab traps and large bolders higher up on the beach, which gives you an Idea of the power of the ocean. I also learned more about native species and Invasive species, the differance being that Invasive species are not there naturally, and showed up either on the bottom of shipping boats, or by other means. Another interesting thing about this first stop was the Brazil Nut theory which suggests that the sand and smaller sediment will settle first and then the bigger rocks ontop of that.

Second stop was the Tidal Pool.
At this pool we saw alot of gulls and were able to catch some smaller crabs. We then saw a ton of snails on the rocks and also alot of Sea Lettuce. After catching some crabs and checking them out you could see that some of them were missing legs or claws...or both, which shows that they are a main meal for gulls. Also I saw a starfish that was beggining to dry up on the beach.

Next, we walked down a path and saw some land snails. They seemed to thrive on the rotting or damp wood of trees. We caught a few and observed the shell and ask questions like, how the hell did this thing get here? questions that for now remain unanswered.

Last stop was the Tidal Pool again, this time at a lower tide. This time we were able to see some sea cucumbers and also lobsters. It was a fun day and also very informative.

Wade Megan

No comments: