LIVING BEACHESof Georgia and the Carolinas

A Beachcomber’s Guide

LIVING

BEACH

ESof G

eorgia and the Carolinas

Blair and Dawn

WITHERINGTON

This book is a guide to the natural histo-ry of Georgia and Carolina beaches. It heralds the living things and metaphori-cal life near, on, and within the sandy margins of these Southeastern states.

Beginning with the premise that beaches are themselves alive, the book outlines how this is so. Over 850 items are described with images and maps orga-nized into Beach Features, Beach Animals, Beach Plants, Beach Minerals, and Hand of Man.

In addition to satisfying a beachcomber's curiosity, the book highlights the wonder and mystery between dune and sea. Each part of a living beach is shown to have its own unique intrigue, with featured diver-sity that includes wrack lines, runnels, ripples, sea foam, hurricanes, jellies, blue buttons, hundreds of seashells, beach-hoppers, ghost crabs, tiger beetles, heart urchins, sea pork, surf fishes, sea turtles, dozens of shore birds, bands of horses, tracks in the sand, whales, beach flowers, dune plants, seabeans, driftwood, tiny gemstones, shelly rocks, fossils, beach shrines, seaglass, Spanish treasure, sea heroes, fishing curiosities, drift trash, beach threats, conservation, and quests.

Whether common or rare, powerful or delicate, beautiful or odd, each part of a living beach has a story to tell.

Pineapple Press, Inc., Sarasota, Florida

Cover design by Dawn WitheringtonCover photographs by Blair Witherington

Georgia and the Carolinas beckon curious beachcombers

with over 600 miles of wave-swept Atlantic coastline, where

restless ribbons of sand foster unique life and accept

beguiling castaways from a vast ocean wilderness.

The mystery and life signs of these beaches are covered

within this comprehensive guide to beach processes, plants,

animals, minerals, and manmade objects. The book presents

items in a neatly organized format, describes distributions

with individual maps, and captures the beauty of beaches

with well over a thousand color photos.

Blair and Dawn Witherington are pro-fessional naturalists. Blair is a research scientist with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in Florida. He has baccalaureate and master’s degrees in biology from the University of Central Florida and a doctorate in zoology from the University of Florida. He’s contribut-ed numerous scientific articles and book chapters on sea turtle biology, and his books include two volumes on sea turtles and their conservation. Dawn is a graph-ic design artist and scientific illustrator trained at the Art Institutes of Colorado and Ft. Lauderdale. Her art and design are prominent in natural history books, posters, and museum exhibits.

Blair and Dawn have merged their art, writing, photography, and design within a number of projects, including Florida’s Living Beaches: A Beachcomber’s Guide (Pineapple Press), the definitive guide-book to Florida beach life. After com-pleting this labor of love, Blair and Dawn became equally enamored with the stun-ning beaches of Georgia and the Carolinas. On a mission to catalog the beauty and wonder of this incomparable coastline, the couple left footprints on every stretch of the area’s sandy shore, cataloging the serenity, beauty, and tumultuous power that bring these beaches to life. Pineapple Press, Inc.

$21.95

WITH

ERING

TON

LIVING BEACHESof Georgia and the Carolinas

A Beachcomber’s Guide

LIVING BEACHESof Georgia and the Carolinas

A Beachcomber’s Guide

Blair and Dawn Witherington

Pineapple Press, Inc.Sarasota, Florida

ContentsAcknowledgments and Photo Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiTop Fifty Living Beaches of Georgia and the Carolinas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiiIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ixGuide Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

Beach Features What is a Beach Feature? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Beach Anatomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Beach Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Beach Lifespans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Dunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Slipfaces and Swales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sand Layers and Lag Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Overwash and Blowouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Salt Pruning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Boneyard Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Saltmarsh and Peat Outcroppings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Wrack Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Dark Sands and Shell Hash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Gravel Beaches and Shell Beaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Wind Ripples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Pedestals and Harrow Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Plant Arcs and Adhesion Ripples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Antidunes, Crescent Marks, and Rhomboid Ripples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Current Ripples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Rills and Rivulets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Swash and Backwash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Bubble Holes, Blisters, Pits, and Volcanoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Beach Cusps and Scarps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Sandbars, Ridges, and Runnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Squeaks, Barks, and Roars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Hard and Mushy (Bubbly) Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Sand Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Sand Accretion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Sea Foam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Water Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Waves and Surf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Tides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Beaches at Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Offshore Currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Nearshore Currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Beach Weather and Seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Tropical Cyclones and Nor’easters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Barrier Islands and Island Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Island Migration and Shoreline Retreat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Inlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Capes, Spits, and Tidal Deltas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

To our parents

v

Front Cover

Background: Little Cumberland Island, GAAmerican oystercatcherKnobbed whelkAtlantic ghost crabSeaglassRoyal sea starBeach morning gloryHatchling loggerhead sea turtleVariable coquina clamsBoneyard oak

Back Cover, Willet

Front Flap, Boneyard cedar

Title page, Little Cumberland Island, GA

P. 1, Swash zone ripple marksP. 51, Ring-billed gullP. 229, Seaoats, saw palmetto, live oakP. 285, Coquina formation, Ft. Fisher, NCP. 295, St. Simons Island, GA, lighthouseP. 328, Sanderlings

C O N T E N T S

Text, photographs, and illustrations copyright © 2011 by Blair and Dawn Witherington unless otherwise noted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informa-tion storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Inquiries should be addressed to:

Pineapple Press, Inc.P.O. Box 3889Sarasota, Florida 34230

www.pineapplepress.com

Design by Blair and Dawn WitheringtonPrinted in China

Beach Animals What Are Beach Animals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Swash Meiofauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Sponges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Jellylike Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Floating Hydralike Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Hydroids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Sea Pansy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Anenomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Corals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Shell Anatomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Gastropods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Bivalves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Miniature Mollusks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Shell Wars (Shell Bioerosion) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Shell Color Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Mollusk Bits and Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Scaphopods and Cephalopods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Bryozoans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Worms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Crustaceans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Horseshoe Crab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Insects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Echinoderms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Tunicates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Fishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Reptiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Land Mammals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Marine Mammals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Verte-bits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Beach Plants What Are Beach Plants? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Dune Plants—Grasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Dune Plants—Sedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Dune Plants—Yuccas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Dune Plants—Palms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Dune Plants—Herbs and Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Dune Plants—Woody Shrubs and Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Marine Plants—Algae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262 Marine Plants—Seagrasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 Seabeans and Drift Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 Driftwood & Woody Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Fungi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284Beach Minerals What Are Beach Minerals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 Beach Minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Fossils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Acknowledgments and Photo CreditsFor their contributions and reviews we are greatly indebted to Troy Alphin, Dean Bagley, Mike Blanchard, Dale Bishop, Betsy Brabson, George Burgess, Sarah Dawsey, Carly DeMay, Mike Durako, Mark Dodd, Kevin Edwards, Bill Frank, Danny Gleason, DuBose Griffin, Shigetomo Hirama, Terri Hathaway, Harry ten Hove, Kim Mohlenhoff, Bill Neal, Nellie Myrtle Beachcomber Museum, Jo O’Keefe, Ed Perry, Orrin Pilkey, Steven Pinker, Jennifer Slayton, St. Catherines Is. Sea Turtle Conservation Program, Jerry Tupacz, Chaz Wilkins, and John Willson.

Photographs and illustrations are © Blair and Dawn Witherington unless listed.

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C O N T E N T S , A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S , A N D P H O T O C R E D I T SC O N T E N T S

Hand of Man What Have We Had a Hand In? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Beach Shrines and Sand Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Treasure and Artifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Shipwrecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Dunnage and Boat Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Beacons, Beach Science, and Sondes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Balloons, Fireworks, and Shotgun Discards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 Sea Heroes (Drift Toys) and Seaglass (Beach Glass) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 Balls, Bulbs, and Nurdles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 Container Seals and Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 Fishing Discards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 Wax, Coal, Tar, and Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 Lighthouses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 Life Stations, Watchtowers, and Piers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Historical Remnants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 Beach Grooming and Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Battling Beach Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322Beach Quests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324Our Future with Living Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326Resources and Suggested Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Page 41 top, Google EarthPage 44 top/center, NOAAPage 45 top, NOAAPage 45 bottom, © Don BowersPage 46 Google EarthPage 47 all, Google EarthPage 48 Google EarthPage 50 top/center, Google EarthPage 137 center, © Carly DeMayPage 141 top, © Hans HillewaertPage 172 2‒5, © George Burgess Page 178 bottom, © John WillsonPage 179 bottom, © Shigetomo HiramaPage 181 bottom, © ShutterstockPage 193 bottom, © Jim Fenton

Page 194 center/bottom, © Kevin EdwardsPage 214 bottom, © Kevin EdwardsPage 221 top, © ShutterstockPage 222 top, © Steve JohnsonPage 222 center, © ShutterstockPage 223 top, © Steven PinkerPage 225 bottom, © Gale Bishop Page 226 center/bottom, © Tom PitchfordPage 227 top, © FFWCCPage 227 bottom, © Jennifer SlaytonPage 242 bottom, © Jo O’KeefePage 301 center, US Army Corps of EngineersPage 317 top, © AmericasroofPage 320 second, Google Earth

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The Beaches Are Alive!Yes, our Southeastern beaches are alive. Some of this vitality is obvious. Stroll onto the beach, sink your toes in the sand, and look around you. On the dune-front, gulls glide above flagging sea oats. On the open beach, crabs toss sand from their burrows. And at the tide line, shorebirds busily poke and turn the clumps of seaweed. Look closer and you’ll see even greater evidence of life. The seashore is vibrant with dozens of dune-plant species; a diverse array of seashells; birds that dive, run, wade, and soar; and the wrack—that ever-changing line of formerly floating drift-stuff from faraway. Clearly, beaches attract, foster, and collect life . . . and the testament of life. But in an important way, beaches are also alive themselves. Beaches and dunes grow, dimin-ish, evolve over years, and shift with the seasons. To pulsate with change is the very nature of a sandy sea coastline. This change is the essence of what makes beaches so fascinating. In the long term, beaches are tumultuous, even dangerous places. Yet, a short-term visit allows a pleasant acquaintance with the beauty generated by all that tur-moil. Our beaches are the easily accessible margins of a spectacular wilderness—the sea. To visit a beach is to peer into that wilderness and even examine it closely, for much of the sea’s mysterious nature ends up on its beaches. We hope that this book will provide some helpful interpretation for the curious seashore visitor. In part, it is a guide to critters, plants, formations, and stuff that might be puzzling enough to go nameless without a little assistance. But an additional aspect of this book is to share the mystery and intrigue of many things that are easily identi-fied but little known. From the elegant to the plain, from the provocative to the mun-dane, everything on a beach has a story to tell.

Top Fifty Living Beaches of Georgia and the CarolinasEach of our beaches has life, but some beaches stand out as vibrant examples of natural processes free to run their course. These are not beaches devoid of humans; many are among our most visited shores. But these do tend to be beaches where our influence has been more casual than insistent. In geographic order the list includes:

T O P F I F T Y L I V I N G B E A C H E S O F G E O R G I A A N D T H E C A R O L I N A S I N T R O D U C T I O N

A keyhole sand dollar slides seaward during a receding tide

GEORGIA

SOUTHCAROLINA

NORTHCAROLINA

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1. Cumberland Island2. Little Cumberland Island3. Jekyll Island, N and S tips 4. Sea Island, south5. Little St. Simons Island6. Wolf Island7. Sapello Island8. Blackbeard Island9. St. Catherines Island10. Ossabaw Island

11. Wassaw Island12. Little Tybee Island13. Daufuskie Island14. Capers/Pritchards Islands15. Hunting Island State Park16. Edisto Beach State Park17. Botany Bay Beaches18. Seabrook Island, north19. Kiawah Island20. Folly Beach, N and S tips21. Morris Island22. Sullivans Island, south23. Dewees Island24. Capers Island Preserve

25. Bull Island26. Lighthouse/Cape Islands27. Santee Delta Islands28. Debidue Island, south29. Huntington Beach State Park30. Myrtle Beach State Park31. Waites Island32. Bird Is./Sunset Beach, west33. Caswell Beach, east34. Bald Head Island35. Fort Fisher rocks36. Masonboro Island37. Lea-Hutaff Island38. Topsail Island, south tip39. Onslow Beach40. Browns Island41. Bear Island42. Fort Macon State Park43. Shackleford Banks44. Cape Lookout45. Core Banks46. Ocracoke Island47. Hatteras Island48. Pea Island49. Bodie Island, south50. Corolla, NC/VA state line

Sand Erosion

WHAT IS IT? Erosion is beach- sand loss, indicated by the line between wet and dry sand. The sand isn’t really lost. It just goes someplace else. The term “critical erosion” is used to describe sand loss that threatens buildings on the dune.

SIZE: It is common to lose 1–2 ft (30–60 cm) of sand depth after a moder-ate storm. During hurricanes, 10 ft (3 m) of sand can disappear in a matter of hours.

HOW COME? Erosion comes from waves and currents. Waves suspend sand, and currents carry it away. Erosion is constant, even on growing beaches. When accretion (facing page) outpaces erosion, beaches become flat and narrow. Erosion occurs rapidly during storms that drive rough surf and strong longshore currents. Chronic erosion occurs where inlets and jetties intercept the longshore flow of replacement sands.

FOUND: All beaches. Net erosion can “sink” beaches at the ends of barrier islands (p. 14). Where erosion intersects the dune, beaches move landward. Where erosion intersects with buildings or coastal armoring, beaches disappear.

SEASONS: Most erosion occurs late fall through winter. Profound erosion can occur during intense storms.

DID YOU KNOW? Sand that erodes from beaches generally goes no farther than the offshore bar. After severe storms, this bar widens to become exposed beach at low tide.

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B E A C H F E A T U R E S

Sand Accretion

WHAT IS IT? Accretion is beach sand build-up. Accretion and erosion (facing page) are the yin and yang of beaches. Their dynamic balance maintains beaches as open and sandy places.

SIZE: Beach accretion is noticeable when things on the upper beach get cov-ered with sand. Logs and other large items on the lower beach may be buried in sand within a single tidal cycle.

HOW COME? Accreting sand comes from eroding up-drift beaches (up the long-shore current stream) and from the eroding offshore sandbar. Accretion is typically more gradual than erosion. During calm periods, breakers suspend sand and carry it up the beach-face where the sand falls out of suspension. As an accreted berm dries, its sand can be blown into the upper beach and dunes by aeolian transport (p. 5).

FOUND: All beaches. Some beaches, such as those up-drift from inlets, may experi-ence years of net accretion (more accretion than erosion). Accretion is also favored where gaps in offshore sandbars refract waves to spread out their erosive energy.

SEASONS: Most accretion occurs grad-ually during summer. Rapid accretion can occur during or after intense storms.

DID YOU KNOW? Although beach erosion makes headlines, accretion takes place in obscurity. Judging only by news reports, our Southeastern beaches should have long ago disappeared.

A flat, narrow eroded beach at high tide

The beach at Hunting Island, SC erodes landward

Erosion of a dune bluff

B E A C H F E A T U R E S

Beach grasses covered by accreting sand

An accreting upper beach around a dune mound

A sign of accretion

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Regal sea fan

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S O F T C O R A L S

The gorgonin skeleton of a sea whip

Colorful sea whips

Soft Corals

RELATIVES: These soft octocorals are in the class Anthozoa, order Gorgo-nacea, and are only distantly related to stony corals.

IDENTIFYING FEATURES: All may be found simply as a core of tough, woodlike branches. Colorful sea whips ( Leptogorgia virgu-lata), 3 ft (1 m), have long, bending branches attached to a thin base. They are most commonly purple or yellow, but also can be red or orange.Regal sea fans ( Leptogorgia hebes), 9 in (23 cm), grow as densely branched fans. They are most commonly orange, but also can be purple or red.

HABITAT: Soft corals grow anchored to the bottom on reefs and rubble less than 100 ft (30 m) deep.

DID YOU KNOW? Soft corals are colonies of polyps, each with 8 tentacles (hence their name: octocorals). Unlike most stony corals, soft corals do not need symbiotic algae ( zooxanthellae) to survive, so they can live in waters with less light. There, the polyps feed on tiny plankton. Soft corals are branched rods of a flexible hornlike protein ( gorgonin) surrounded by polyps bound to each other by a matrix of glasslike spicules. Color variation in sea whips is genetic, and many areas may have more than one color growing. A unique barnacle (p. 143) grows only on the branches of sea whips.

S T O N Y C O R A L S

Northern star coral, closeup of cups

Northern star coral colony on shell rubble

Fragments of compact ivory bush coral

Stony Corals

RELATIVES: Stony corals are in the order Scleractinia.

IDENTIFYING FEATURES: All are white or stained when beached. Northern star coral ( Astrangia pocu-lata), 2 in (5 cm), is a lone ball or an encrusting dome with tight, deep, 0.2-in (5-mm) cups. Compact ivory bush coral ( Oculina arbuscula), 12 in (30 cm), has pencil- to finger-thick branches with widely sepa-rated cups.

HABITAT: Northern star coral colonies grow on a wide variety of nearshore bot-tom rubble. Compact ivory bush coral grows anchored to hard bottom farther offshore. Each occurs in waters less than 100 ft (30 m) deep.

DID YOU KNOW? These corals sur-vive turbid and dark conditions. Some colonies of northern star and ivory bush corals receive food from photosynthetic zooxanthellae, but others are able to grow under low-light conditions without these symbiotic algae. Their polyps gain most of their nutrition from feeding on tiny animal plankton. Tropical corals get about 95% of their organic carbon from sugars produced by zooxanthellae, and would starve without ample light. Northern star coral’s ability to grow in cold, dark waters allows it to extend into New England waters, farther north than any other stony coral.

Compact Ivory Bush Coral Northern Star Coral

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B I V A L V E S

Atlantic thorny oyster, max 5.1 in (13 cm)

Round-rib scallop, upper valve, max 2 in (5 cm)

Atlantic kittenpaw, max 1.2 in (3 cm)

Round-rib Scallop, AtlanticKittenpaw, and Thorny Oyster

RELATIVES: Scallops are in the fam-ily Pectinidae. Kittenpaws (Plicatulidae) are distantly related to thorny oysters (family Spondylidae).

IDENTIFYING FEATURES: Round-rib scallops ( Euvola raveneli) have an upper valve that appears as if it were melted flat. This valve has round, separated ribs and varies from light gray to purple with rayed streaks. The lower valve is domed and white. Atlantic kittenpaws ( Plicatula gib-bosa) have thick, tough, flattened shells with 6–10 curving, digitlike ribs. They are white to gray except for their tabby-orange ribs marked with numerous, thin, red- brown lines. The right (lower) valve (A) retains an impression of the hard surface on which it grew. Atlantic thorny oysters ( Spondylus americanus) have thick, circular, lumpy valves with occasional thorns (long in unworn shells). The hinge on the cup-shaped lower valve has two large cardi-nal teeth separated by a split, and the upper valve has two corresponding sockets. Colors are orange to brick red.

HABITAT: All live offshore in depths to 300 ft (91 m). Atlantic kittenpaws and thorny oysters live attached to rocks.

DID YOU KNOW? Left-valve kitten-paws are most common because the right valve often remains attached where the animal lived.

111

B I V A L V E S

Common Jingleand Crested Oyster

RELATIVES: Common jingles (family Anomiidae) are distantly related to crested oysters (family Ostreidae).

IDENTIFYING FEATURES: Common jingles ( Anomia simplex) have round, brittle, pearly-translucent shells with no obvious hinge. Their col-ors include silver-gray, white, yellow, and orange. Black shells have been stained by sulfurous sediments. Right (lower) valves have a hole and no umbo (top left in upper image). Crested oysters ( Ostreola equestris) have lumpy, oval shells that are ruffled along the top edge in older specimens. Hinges have pimplelike teeth and the muscle scar almost central.

HABITAT: Common jingles and crested oysters live in shallow water attached to rocks, wood, and other shells.

DID YOU KNOW? Most beached jingle shells are the unattached left valve. In life, the mollusk remains attached to a hard surface by calcified byssal threads that stem from the hole in their lower valve. Although brittle, jingle shells are strong for how thin they are. Like other nacre-ous shells, strength comes from micro-scopically thin hexagonal platelets that are laid in offset layers like bricks. This keeps crack lines from spreading. When crushed, the thin layers break into bits that refract and reflect light like glitter.

Common jingles crushed into shell glitter

Common jingle, max 2 in (5 cm)

Crested oyster, max 2 in (5 cm). Hinge (inset)

A

Fishing Discards (Miscellaneous)

WHAT ARE THEY? Nylon monofila-ment line is used in both recreational and commercial fishing. Coils often lin-ger, recording the line’s use on a fishing reel. Fishing glowsticks ( lightsticks) are transparent plastic tubes containing chemicals that glow when activated. They have various attachment clips and rings. Seafood baskets are used on fish-ing and shrimping vessels to temporar-ily hold the catch. Latex shrimp-head-ing gloves are used by shrimpers as they pick shrimp from their trawl catch.

HOW COME? Most seafood baskets are damaged, indicating that they may have been discarded rather than lost. Shrimp-heading gloves and glowsticks are disposable items with a limited life. Glowsticks mark fishing buoys at night and are used as lures on commercial long-line hooks set to catch swordfish. Because they last only one night of fishing and the Atlantic longline fleet uses millions of hooks, glowsticks are one of the most common fishery items on the beach.

DID YOU KNOW? Glowsticks are activated to glow after an internal vial of hydrogen peroxide is broken, creating a reaction with cylume chemicals that cause dyes to fluoresce blue, green, yel-low, white, or pink. Discarded monofil-ament line often entangles birds, and is a danger to swimmers and scuba divers.

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H A N D O F M A N

Fishing glowsticks, 3–6 in (8–15 cm)

Monofilament fishing line retaining reel spool coils

Shrimp-heading gloves

Seafood basket, 2 ft (60 cm)

313

H A N D O F M A N

Wax, Coal, Tar, and Oil

WHAT ARE THEY? Surf- wax is soft, pale, and often smells like coconut. When rubbed in lumpy layers, the wax gives surfers foot-traction on an other-wise slippery board. Carnauba wax is beached as hard, grayish or brownish chunks. Coal washed onto beaches is found as fist-sized, black, shiny lumps. Tarballs are the sticky, semi-solid left-overs from weathered petroleum.

HOW COME? Surf- wax is rubbed onto boards at the beach, where Murphy’s law dictates it will get dropped in the sand. The wax is not much good after that. Discarded, it washes in and out with the tide. Carnauba wax is harvested from fronds of the wax palm ( Copernicia cer-ifera), a native fan palm of Brazil, is transported in mass quantities by ship, and occasionally falls overboard. It is used in making varnishes, polishes, car wax, and candy. Coal comes ashore from the many shipwrecks (p. 299) off our Southeastern beaches. The US Minerals Management Service reports that tanker-transported heavy fuel oils and tanker sludge discharges are the principal sources of oceanic tarballs. Riding cur-rents flowing out of the Gulf of Mexico (p. 269), tarballs from the massive BP oil spill there (2010) have the potential to appear on the beaches of North Carolina and beyond.

DID YOU KNOW? Sunscreen assists a good first effort in removing tar from feet.

Coal chunk

Surf- wax (A) and carnauba wax (B)

Tarballs come from many sources

A

B

Carnuba Wax and Tarballs Surf- wax and Coal