laurenmansfield1
Tide Pools in Eastern NC
This photo was taken last Sunday afternoon on the south end of Wrightsville Beach just meters away from Masonboro Inlet. Tide pools are located in the intertidal zone and formed during the transition from high to low tides. They contain fine grain sand and broken shells that have been transferred from the bottom of the ocean by waves and currents. These saltwater pools are warmed by the sun and rich in nutrients. If you're lucky enough you may find a crab, minnow, or any number of bivalve mollusks lurking inside them. When I was young I would spend hours digging along the beach for sand fiddler crabs. When crabs respire they create a string of bubbles on the surface of the sand making it easy to locate where they are hiding. Unfortunately I haven't found a sand fiddler in years and often contemplate the reasons behind the population decline of my favorite childhood species.
Tide Pools in Eastern NC
This photo was taken last Sunday afternoon on the south end of Wrightsville Beach just meters away from Masonboro Inlet. Tide pools are located in the intertidal zone and formed during the transition from high to low tides. They contain fine grain sand and broken shells that have been transferred from the bottom of the ocean by waves and currents. These saltwater pools are warmed by the sun and rich in nutrients. If you're lucky enough you may find a crab, minnow, or any number of bivalve mollusks lurking inside them. When I was young I would spend hours digging along the beach for sand fiddler crabs. When crabs respire they create a string of bubbles on the surface of the sand making it easy to locate where they are hiding. Unfortunately I haven't found a sand fiddler in years and often contemplate the reasons behind the population decline of my favorite childhood species.