Lovells on a "rainy" day

Lovell's was quite a painful adventure for me. Walking barefoot through periwinkle infested tide pools gave me a few cuts on the soles of my feet (the only time in my life I've ever wanted a pair of Crocs) but also a new perspective on sea life in the harbor. Lovells Island was much more subdued than the other islands that receive higher foot traffic, such as George and Castle. The feel of the island was closer to Peddocks but the tide pool ecosystem was all its own. The tide pools here were literally crawling with crabs, hermit crabs and periwinkles of all shapes and sizes. The beaches were also rocky like the other islands but the biggest rocks here were huge! Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera because I thought it was going to downpour so this post won't be as interesting as my others and I'll have to do a better job of accurately describing what I saw.

I identified smooth and rough common periwinkles, and I'm not sure what the last type of periwinkles we found were but I'll still describe it here! They were more elongated than the common periwinkle, lighter in color (white or light orange were the ones we found),  and the "trap door" was tucked much further away from the edge of the shell than with the common periwinkles. One variety of this snail had rough ridges all around it while one of them was on the smoother side. My favorite animal I spotted yesterday was the hermit crab. There were alot of very tiny ones bumping around in the tidal pool but I liked staring at what I thought was dormant periwinkles or rocks and seeing them come to life and interact with each other. There was also orange sheath tunicates and the squirting tunicates that we saw on the docks on the firs day. There were a few varieties of seaweed as well, including a white, small, spindly plant. It grew like a mini hedge and was attached to rocks.

The land snail we found was a brown lipped snail, according to Harvard Entomology. I think these shells showed up on the rock on the shore because something was eating them (a rabbit, a tern) since they were broken and so clumped together on the sand, which is impossible for them to travel on. According to Harvard Entomology, the brown lipped snail "is eaten by birds, invertebrate predators (beetles and others), and small mammals."

(http://insects.oeb.harvard.edu/boston_islands/bugmonth/0903_brnlppd_snail.html)

Seashore adventure!

Today we took an in depth look at the intertidal zone of Peddocks Island. We started out by taking a short trail through the inner island to the south shore, where we observed pebble, cobble, and rocky beach habitats. The pebble beach had small stones that appeared to be less than half an inch long. We investigated this shore line for any signs of life, digging a few inches under the pebbly surface, but there was nothing to be found. We then took a closer look at the different rack levels on the shore and what they could show us about the habitat. The lighter objects, such as small shells, seaweed, and dried plants that looked like straws were pushed to the top of the shore, indicating the highest the tide has ever gotten. There was about a foot long space between the top rack and second rack as well as the second and third rack, which contained heavier shells and bigger rocks closer to the water. Our class was able to identify all of the different shells on the shore, without our guide books! There were varying sizes of blue mussels, oysters, clams, razor clams, and periwinkles. All these shells indicated that there was life in the area, but it was either farther out in the water or on a different location on the beach.

The rocky beach proved to be more fruitful for our search for seashore life. As the tide was going out more of the the shore was exposed. When we turned over large flat rocks there were many Asian Seashore Crabs living under them. The largest one I saw appeared to be less than 2 inches wide. Although they were more than eager to try and pinch my fingers, when I picked them up I was able to get a good look at their shell, which was brown with two lines of raised bumps and green spots. We also looked at live periwinkles, which are a type of snail that live in small swirly shells. Although these were by far the most passive and uninteresting creature I've encountered this week, I learned that they were highly decisive and destructive in changing the shape of the harbor's shore line. Although it is hard to determine whether or not this is a "good" or "bad" thing, these creatures are an important part of this habitat.

 Samples of seaweed and shells found on the middle rack of the pebbly beach on Peddocks Island/

 A periwinkle coming out of its shell!

 The top of a spider crab shell.

 A mermaids purse! I remember seeing these at the touch tank in the aquarium near my home town; they are the egg sack for a type of creature but I don't remember which one...

 Razor clam.

 Horseshoe crab.

 Dead skate...

 Asian shore crab.

 Oyster shell.

 Clam shell.

 Some type of red seaweed dried on a rock.

 Professor with a periwinkle =)

Seaweed, striped bass, crab cakes, oh my!

Long-Horn Skeleton Shrimp: These guys were by far the creepiest and most common thing I encountered under the dock. Their long spindly bodies seemed to find their way onto every piece of seaweed, empty mussel shell, and stationary submerged object. When picked up out of the water, these shrimp would lash out their tail section, revealing their long red tinted form and "grasping appendages." (National Audubon society Field Guide to North American Seashoe Creatures, Meinkoth) I was able to match pictures I took to pictures in my guide book, which also stated that these creatures can be found "on seaweeds, hydroids, and sponges from the low tide to water line" along the Atlantic Coast. (Meinkoth)

Orange Sheath Turnicate: The mysterious orange things! I found this colony of orange clusters at the first dock we visited. The smaller clusters were less than an inch long while some of the bigger ones I spotted appeared to be about 5 inches long. They were attached to the underside of the docks mixed in with the sea lettuce.

(Golden) Star Turnicate: This black and white colony of ovular organisms was found in the brackish water near the dock by the Barking Crab. The defining characteristic that helped me determine this was a Star Tunicate was the white star like pattern at the center of the black jelly-like spheres, which matched up with the finding in my field guide. The description of this animal stated that they are found in brackish water, attached to pilings, seaweed, and other solid surfaces. This animal did not move on its own when removed from the water and after a few minutes began to perish from being out of the water, shrinking from its original form.

Sea Lettuce: The long, translucent, wavy leafy green that appeared similar to real lettuce is called sea lettuce. This plant can be found free floating in the water or attached to rocks and docks. Although I could not find this plant in my field guide, according to the Rhode Island Habitat Rehabilitation, "sea lettuce is often found in areas of exposed rocks and in stagnant tide pools" and "grows in both high and low intertidal zones." This source also explained that a large presence of sea lettuce is an indicator of nutrient saturated water since this plant thrives on sewage runoff and pollutants.

Rockweed: Rockweed was scattered throughout the pier and wharf structures we visited today, attached to rocks and walls that were stationary but not completely submerged under water. This seaweed was brown at the base and had clusters of 5-8 stems that branched off into lighter greenish yellow air pockets. These pockets allowed the plant to float at the surface and adjust its position with the receding tides so that it remained at the surface of the water, closest to the strong rays of the sun.

Blue Mussel: This species of mollusc was more commonly found hollowed out, attached to seaweed or turnicates and crawling with different varieties of tiny baby shrimp. My group and I found a live baby mussel and larger mussel attached to the pier by the Barking Crab. It was shiny blue and ovular in shape. We opened it up with a knife to reveal a pale yellow squishy organism with a muscle like body part running along the seam of the shell.

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Last year's photo of the underbelly of the harbor docks appears to be much less green than the sites I observed today. I see many colonies of Star Turnicates scattered throughout the area, which indicates that this site must be in brackish water. In all of the photos I have taken and seen of the harbor today, there was a thin, possibly 2 or 3 inch strip of green algae running along the edge of the docks where they meet the water. Unless the algae simply doesn't show up in this photo, it would appear that more has grown over this spring/summer season. In addition, there are large clumps of brown, black speckled algae like plants connecting everything on the dock, causing this section to jut out farther than the rest. There are also large shells mixed in there which might account for the volume of the section. Overall, this sample of last years growth seems less green but much thicker.

It's poop...It's pellets...No, it's water!

Stacey here! This afternoon's observation day out on the water was fun and eye-opening, even though it was in the mid 80s and muggy for most of the afternoon. Having never spent that much time near our harbor, once we left land everything was completely new and this boat ride offered an incredibly fresh take on Boston for me. With my observation skills ready and sharpened from studying the inside of a sink, I was ready to open my eyes and mind to what the harbor had to offer. We left the wharf at about 1:20 p.m., the peak of low tide, which we determined by looking at the seaweed right above the water's edge (because it was dry!). This fortunately allowed us a glimpse of glacial rock deposits we might not have otherwise seen out in the harbor. I was expecting the water itself to be more choppy and filled with waves like ocean water, but since the area was protected by land masses it was very calm and still compared to the ocean.

I was surprised by how developed and busy some of the Harbor Islands are; there were, I want to say, hundreds of boats in the harbor today, including sailboats, powerboats, and even a military vessel; some of the islands themselves were crowded with multimillion dollar homes, homeless shelters and lower income housing. And although Professor Berman says the area is not very industrial, the closer we got to Quincy, there appeared the most industrial sites I've ever seen in Boston. Huge stacks of containers, shipping docks, wind turbines, and sewer treatment plants seemed to crowd the area once we passed under the Long Island bridge. There was a clear presence of money in the area, from My Trust Fund to the awesome-island-no-big-deal-I-have-a-beachside-view houses. In addition to this, I could tell there was a high volume of man-made objects and activity in this area. For example, as Professor Berman told us, even the beaches are man-made by huge sand deposits every few years. But there was also a fair share of very green, undeveloped islands that, although they tolerated some temporary beach goers, seemed relatively undisturbed compared to others, at least from my point of view on the boat. Overall, I saw alot of vitality and beauty of the area, but I know this only skimmed the surface of what the harbor contains and does not necessarily indicate the true health of the area, though it is a good sign.

Looking beyond and above surface impressions, I was very interested to learn about the "very expensive but very popular" process that has allowed this area to flourish in the past 30 years. After a very colorful and animation demonstration of how our poop is carried to Deer Island to be filtered, chlorinated, un-chlorinated, turned into pellets, and then turned into water fit to bathe a babe in, I realized that it is not impossible to find solutions to some of our world's most complex environmental problems. As Professor Berman pointed out with the Rachel Carson example, it simply requires for us to pay attention and observe our environment as well as carefully weighing the benefits and costs of what comes with tampering with our environment. And not to mention, a boat-load of money helps, too.

Pondering the Plumming

Hey everyone, it's Stacey here! I'm from Stamford, Connecticut and will be a senior in the fall. I'm majoring in photojournalism and minoring in Italian. I'm really excited to take this class since I hope to photograph for National Geographic someday.

My group had all previous  decided that the water would drain counterclockwise when we went into the ladies bathroom before we observed the actual water flow. After filling and draining the sink three times, we all unanimously agreed that our hypothesis was correct, meaning that water would drain clockwise Down Under. I remember learning that this had something to do with the rotation of the Earth when I was younger and it has always remained hidden in the recesses of my mind, although I have never known the exact underlying facts of this phenomenon.

After doing some preliminary research on Wikipedia, I came across the term "the Coriolis Force," which is the effect of the earth's rotational speed on objects moving over its surface. The closer you get to the equator, the faster the earth is moving so things appear to move in different directions, according to About.com. (http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/coriolis.htm) In relation to water drainage, however, the effects of the Coriolis Effect are not always as clear as people would like to think. The Coriolis Effect has little to no impact on everyday, common water drainage. This does not mean that it has no effect, however. Conditions have to be very specific for the effect to come into play. According to "The Great Plughole Debate" by David Adam of The Guardian, "as long as the water was allowed to stand for at least 18 hours, it always went down the plughole in a clockwise direction" in a series of experiments conducted by the University of Sydney. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2003/nov/13/research.science) So water does flow clockwise own a drain in Australia and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere...just not all the time.