MRV Beach Teach Student Created Field Guide

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_whelk 0 Species In this section you will find information about the species’ habitat , range, niche, community and population status. In this section you will find key features for field identification In this section you will find key features and specific morphology In this section you will find scientific classification Field Identification features Species Photograph Genus species : common name (alphabetized by… )

3. Aleochara bilineata ………. Rove Beetle Busycon contrarium ………. Lightning Whelk Calidris alba (a)………. Sanderling Calidris alba (b) ………. Sanderling Calidris alba (c)………. Sanderling Calidris alba (d) ………. Sanderling Callinectes sapidus ………. Blue Crab, Chelonia mydas (a).………. Green Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas (b)………. Green Sea Turtle Emertita analoga ………. Mole Crab (Pacific) Eupagurus bernhardus ………. Hermit Crab Eurypharanx pelecanoides ………. Gulper Eel Hermodice carunculata ………. Bearded Fireworm Mellita Quinqueisperforata ………. Sand Dollar Menippe Mercenaria ………. Stone Crab Grimpoteuthis ………. Dumbo Octopus Latimeria chalumnae ………. Coelacanth Gombessa Latimeria chalumnae ………. Coelacanth Numenius americanus ………. Long-Billed Curlew Oocypode quadrata ………. Ghost Crab Placopecten magellanicus ………. Sea scallop Pelecanus occidentalis ………. Brown Pelican Phycodurus eques ………. Leafy Sea Dragon Regalecus glesne ………. Oarfish Lutra canadensis ………. River Otter Special Bibliography by Sharon Tong Species (Linneaus) Species (common)

9. The Sanderling is one of the most widespread wintering shorebirds in the world. It is found on nearly all temperate and tropical sandy beaches throughout the world. Among shorebirds, only the Ruddy Turnstone and the Whimbrel rival its worldwide distribution. The mating system of the Sanderling appears to vary among areas, and possibly also among years. It is predominantly monogamous, but occasionally the female lays eggs for several different males in quick succession. It is common for nonbreeding individuals of Arctic-breeding shorebirds to remain on the wintering grounds through the summer. Why make that long trip if you're not going to breed anyway? Many Sanderlings remain in South America without breeding, but only small numbers remain along the North American coasts Sanderlings are small sandpipers with black legs and feet and a stout, short, black beak. They are from 18 to 20 cm in length and 40 to 100 g. In their non-breeding plumage these sandpipers have a very pale, whitish head, with pale gray upperparts and white under parts. They have a dark shoulder patch that extends onto the throat and breast. In flight they have a white wing stripe that is bordered by black. In their breeding plumage the upperparts take on a reddish brown color and the head becomes more deeply colored. Females and males are similar. . http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sanderling/lifehistory#at_habitat Sanderling Habitat -Nests on islands and coastal tundra of high Arctic. -On migration and in winter prefers sandy beaches. -Sanderlings are found very widely along Australian coastlines and are regular visitors to New Zealand. They breed from north America to north Russia and islands in the Arctic Ocean. Food -Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. Nesting -Shallow scrape in tundra. Lined sparsely with leaves and lichens. -Clutch Size 3–4 eggs Egg Description Dull greenish with small irregular brown spots around large end. Pointed on one end. Condition at Hatching Downy young leave nest day after hatching. Behavior -Pecks and probes in sand for food. Runs along tide line. Runs up beach ahead of incoming wave, then turns around and runs after receding wave to pick up stranded invertebrates and probe in wet sand. What is it? What do they look like? redandthepeanut.blogspot.com camacdonald.com birdsasart.com arovingiwillgo.wordpress.com Scientific Information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanderling http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Calidris_alba/ Calidris Alba Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae Genus: Calidris Species: C. alba

10. They can grow to larger than six feet in length and can weight up to 200 pounds. They have rough scales unlike most other existing fish species . They survived for tens of millions of years after the dinosaurs went extinct, but they now face extinction in our lifetimes. Its was discovered in 1938 by a South African museum curator on a local fishing trawler fascinated the world and ignited a debate about how this bizarre lobe-finned fish fits into the evolution of land animals. There are only two known species of coelacanth’s : one lives near comorous islands, and the other is found off the waters of sulawesi. But unfortuenatly it is considered endangered. They have internal egg fertilization, but the eggs hatch inside the mother and the young are born alive. fun fact !!!!!!!! Scientists estimate they can live up to 60 years or more. coelacanth

11. there body and looks like an oval is a female. The males is long and skinny. The blue crab has probably the strongest pinching power and a male can very easily take off your pinky. The Male crab called a jimmy or channler. A Mature female called a sook. Immature female is called a sally or she-crab. Mature female carrying brood of eggs called a sponger or sponge crab. Mating pair called a doubler. The Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus The blue crab can be identified by its claws if the tips of the claw is pink/red than it’s a female. If they are blue than it’s a male. The female can also be identified by the flapper under The blue crab can be found anywhere from Maryland to Florida's Coast and is commercial fished everywhere. The blue crab likes grass because it can find some food there and they are Scavengers so they eat anything they find like dead fish. They are in this would because they clean up the ocean floor and they are very good to eat. There endangerment is humans and a few years ago there were not very many due to over fishing so now there are seasons put on them and bag limits on how many you can keep. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callinectes_sapidus

12. Chelonia mydas The Green Sea Turtle-- These sea turtles are easily distinguished from other sea turtles because they only have one pair of prefrontal scales, rather than two pairs, which most sea turtles have. Their body is nearly oval and is more flat compared to other sea turtles. All of it’s flippers have 1 visible claw. It’s body color varies from pale to very dark green and plain to very bright yellow, brown and green with stripes. For more than 100 million years, sea turtles have traveled the seven seas. With their paddle-shaped flippers and hydrodynamic bodies, they can cross entire oceans, only coming out to build nests and lay their eggs. When they hatch, baby sea turtles instinctively head towards the ocean where they will live until they lay eggs. But over the past few years, these creatures have been dying due to human activities, and their numbers are now plunging. From the destruction of their nesting sites to the poaching of turtle eggs, all of the world’s Green sea turtles are facing the threat of extinction.

15. Niche: to scavenge for food Habitat: beaches My species live on the beach in there shells Tiny with shell and little legs Lives in a shell in the sand Over 1100 species Eupagurus bernhardus or the hermit crab http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermit_crab

18. A Bearded Fireworm is yellowish or redbrown. It has 4 eyes in the shape of a rectangle. These worms get up to 300mm. This worm has palps ( a cushion-like eating structure) and its head is shaped like an arrow. Has a pink segmented body with red margins and white spiny tuffs The fireworm is in the amphinomidae family. This worm is usually found in a reef or under ocean rocks. http://www.biology.duke.edu/johnsenlab/new%20gallery/gallery.html Bearded Fireworm ( Hermodice carunculata ) http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=macrobenthos_polychaeta&id=606 http://www.mchportal.com/aquatic-life-mainmenu-114/aquatic-life-marine-mainmenu-159/marine-temperate-invertebrates-mainmenu-161/107-marine-temperate-invertebrates/450-hermodice-carunculata.html scienceblogs.com ronshimek.com http://reefguide.org/ (habitat) A bearded fireworm is usually found on reefs, under stones and, it can be found in rocky areas of the sea. The Bearded fireworms main diet (ecology) is soft and hard corals, anemones and small crustaceans. Its niche is to eat (remove) the last few centimeters of the tip on a branching coral such as staghorn coral. http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=292

22. Sand dollars reach reproduction age at about ages 1-4 years old. A sand dollar is considered a suspension feeder which means it feeds on little particles is water currents. A sand dollar has radial symmetry. Which pretty much means it is circular. A sand dollar is a marine invertebrate that lives on costal areas or beaches. The sand dollar’s colors are pale gray lavender to a purplish black. It has a water vascular system. Mellita Quinqueisperforata Sand Dollar http://chekjawa.nus.edu.sg/ria/photos/r247.jpg http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/bholzman/courses/fall02%20projects/sandollar/sanddollar.html http://www.carolinanature.com/pix/sanddollar0377.jpg <- Mouth Exoskeleton ^ Spine http://www.islanderinn.com/ocean-isle-news/wp-content/uploads/Tips-for-Finding-Sand-Dollars.jpg Sand dollars are listed as threatened species. The main threat is habitat loss due to human reclamation or human activity on beaches or coastal areas. Human activity’s can be pollution or collection. The main niche of a sand dollar is to gather detritus. They also collect many food particles that are in the oceans currents. http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/echinodermata/echinoidea/sandollar/sandollar.htm

23. Only the claw of a stone crab is harvested and a legal size claw has a propodus base measurement of more than 70 mm (2.75 inches. Found from Texas coast to Florida coast and all between. Its a scavenger, cleans up the ocean floor. Its predators depend on its size. Us as humans cant really be called predators to them because we take the claws and throw the crab back. Birds and some species of other animals are there predators. and can be caught for own use or to sell since stone crab claws are pretty good money to buy. They are off shore and inshore so you can set traps either places. The stone crab's carapace is 5 to 6.5 inches (130 to 170 mm) long and about 5 in (130 mm) wide in larger specimens. Menippe Mercenaria, Stone Crab The stone crab is a crab found in Florida and a lot of other places. The stone crab is a crab that you take the claws and throw the crab back. They are a very tasty treat http://www.dnr.sc.gov/cwcs/pdf/StoneCrab.pdf

24. Numenius americanus - Long-Billed Curlew How to identify Numenius americanus The Long-Billed Curlew has speckled brown wings, a buff brown color, and a long curved bill. Female Scolopacidae Numenius have longer bill’s than the male. Their long bill is used to retrieve burrowing insects and marine life . The Long-Billed Curlew also has a long neck. Range- Southern Canada to northern California, Utah, northern New Mexico and Texas. Winters to Mexico and Central America. Habitat- Breeds in grasslands, prairies, and plains. Winters on lake and river shores, and sandy beaches. How- They forage for food Niche- Foraging Endangerment- Special Concern (SARA) Length- 19.7–25.6 in 50–65 cm Wingspan- 24.4–35 in 62–89 cm Weight- 17.3–33.5 oz 490–950 g Diet- shrimp, crabs, burrowing earthworms, insects, marine crustaceans, bottom-dwelling marine invertebrates, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and occasionally small animals. Websites http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/longbillcurlew.htm http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Long-billed_Curlew/lifehistory http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Long-billed_Curlew/id http://sdakotabirds.com/species/long_billed_curlew_info.htm http://www.birdsasart.com/bn179.htm http://www.naturecanada.ca/parks_nwa_current_suffield_speciesatrisk.asp#curlew Long-Billed Curlew Numenius americanus Scientific Information- Highly territorial around nests. Both the male and female sit on the eggs to keep them warm. A baby Long-Billed Curlew has a bill that is a lot shorter than that of a males, but within the first year their bills may be the same size.

25. The sea scallop is the largest commercially available scallop, growing up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. Sea scallops are harvested and rarely survive the trip to the water's surface, so they are usually shucked immediately after capture. Because of the depths from which they are harvested sea scallops are also called Atlantic deep-sea scallops. Sea scallops are flat round disks inside of a shell that protects the meat that is safe to eat. A sea scallop is actually the adductor muscle that holds two scallop shells together. The meat is generally an inch and a half in diameter and is a creamy ivory or fleshy color. Sea scallops can be sized according to small, medium, large and jumbo. Sea scallops are filter feeders, feeding primarily on phytoplankton, but also on micro zooplankton and detritus. Sea scallops grow rapidly during the first several years of life. Between ages 3 and 5, they commonly increase 50 to 80% in shell height and quadruple their meat weight Sea Scallops generally occur in shallow water less than 40 m (22 fathoms) deep. South of Cape Cod and on Georges Bank, sea scallops typically occur at depths between 25 and 200 m (14 to 110 fathoms), with commercial concentrations generally between 35 and 100 m (19 to 55 fathoms) Most scallops are free-living, but some species can attach to a substrate by a structure called a bvssus or even be cemented to their substrate as adults. Other scallops can extend a &quot;foot&quot; from between their valves. http://www7.taosnet.com/platinum/data/species/scallopsea.html Scientific Information http://www.ehow.com/facts_5179112_sea-scallop-information.html http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/iv/scallop/ Facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_scallop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_scallop finecooking.com nefsc.noaa.gov Placopecten magellanicus Sea scallop Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Bivalvia Subclass: Pteriomorphia Order: Ostreoida Suborder: Pectinina Superfamily: Pectinoidea Family: Pectinidae Genus: Placopecten Species: P. magellanicus

29. You can identify my species by looking at the shape and length of the fish, my fish is really long, and it has a somewhat pointy head. Also my fish has frilly fins of top of it back/body, and the oarfish has a really long strand of frilly hair on it pointy forehead. My fish also lives in the really deep water were there is a lot of pressure. My deep sea fish is regalecus glense/ oarfish. It can go down to water as deep as 3,000ft, and it can go up to waters a high as 600ft. It can grow up to 50ft WOW, and it eats small plankton and even small fish. Range: The oarfish may come at as much at to 600 feet and go down to as low as 3,000 feet. Habitat: The oarfish live in the deep dark world of the ocean and they survive because they have adapted to the changes in there environment. Niche: The niche of an oarfish is that it help eat the plankton. Ecosystem: The oarfish's ecosystem is in the deep water where there is under water volcanoes and it has a lot of pressure. Endangerment: The oarfish is not endangered at all in fact we don’t even really know a lot about these fish. Regalecus glesne also called the Oarfish Oarfish length Pointy forehead Frilly fins 10 ft