Photo Journal Fall 2011

Jo O'Keefe Copyright 2011. Photos may be used for educational purposes only. Contact me with inquiries.

Cannonball Jellyfish, Stomolophus meleagris, live, Sunset Beach, NC, 11/24/11
A sand dollar, Mellita_quinquiesperforata, pushing upward, Sunset Beach, NC, 11/13/11.	Another sand dollar, Mellita_quinquiesperforata, pushing upward, Sunset Beach, NC, 11/13/11. A portion of the sand dollar, including one lunule and some tube feet, is visible.
Moon Jellyfish, Aurelia aurita. Four oral arms can be seen. Sunset Beach, NC, 11/08/11.	This unusual specimen has six gonads, a congenital anomaly. Sunset Beach, NC, 11/08/11.
One of several species of Pampas Grass on the west end, Sunset Beach, NC, 11/08/11	Gaillardia, last blooms of the season, Sunset Beach, NC, 11/08/11
This delightful woman joined me to learn how to find marine life. I pointed to a lump smoothed by waves and told her to dig, thinking she would find a whelk. Instead, she uncovered an Atlantic Giant Cockle, Dinocardium robustum, Sunset Beach, NC, 09/10/11
Ghost Crab, Ocypode quadrata, Sunset Beach, NC, 09/26/2011
This is a yabbie pump. I paid a man in Texas $40 to make it for me two years ago. I purchased it to search for a shell that had only been found in the Charleston, SC, area. An employee at the Smithsonian Institute hoped I would find the new species on Sunset Beach. The pump's purpose is to suck up Ghost Shrimp from beneath the tiny holes at the water's edge. Other animals also are sucked up. Most often I find small crabs and Mantis Shrimp. Mullet can be found. Ghost Shrimp dig burrows in sand and feed on plankton. Their holes, above which one uses the pump, are only visible at very low tide. I do not use the pump. Families surround me begging for turns to use it. I harvest their catch. 09/10/11.
Mantis Shrimp sucked up by yabbie pump, Sunset Beach, NC, 04/10/10
Ghost Shrimp, female, Callichirus major, brought up by yabbie pump, Sunset Beach, NC, 04/10/10