Before I got here, I thought intertidal zones were only the rocky kind. Yesterday I learned that is not the case. The
soft sediment was like mud squishy underneath my feet (thank goodness for scuba
booties!)Because the sediment is so soft the bi-valves are able anchor
themselves down into it, staying moist while everything at the surface begins
to dry. Fiddler crabs also dig into the sediment to create a little home while
the water is gone. They borrow a little hole for themselves pushing out the mud
in the shape of little balls. It was interesting to see how some of the fiddler
crab holes only had a few balls by it while others looked like the crab had
been working all day. The octopus stays hidden from the elements by squishing
down and hiding into any little place it can find. We found two different ones
hidden inside of Black Murex shells. The second one was squished down so far we didn't even realize it was there when we first picked it up. The little limpets
use a strong muscle to grasp tightly onto the surface of something (rock, a
clam, etc.) It creates super glue like seal hold in a little bit of water
between them and their shell. This allows them to stay alive while the tide is
out.
Overall I
think my favorite critter we saw that day was the octopus. When we were
handling it, it moved very quickly trying to compress itself into anything. It
tried the bottom of the bucket, but we were still able to find him. On land
they are wobbly walkers using their tentacles to pull themselves towards the
water, but once in the water they are able to swim quickly to find a new hiding
spot.
No comments:
Post a Comment