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Fins to Feather

by Scarlet Colley - April - 2003

Jetsam and Flotsam sounds like something you might find in outer space. But when you live on an Island or visit one you will find the Jetsam and Flotsam are some interesting forms of life from this very planet. As objects float in the Gulf, life seems to gravitate to them and soon become hosts for many creatures. Just a walk on the beach can prove to be an interesting adventure tour with nature. A simple object like a piece of driftwood can not only be an object of art but a host to many unusual life forms. The boring clams are responsible for the little holes that can be seen and they can be exposed by breaking up the wood to reveal the little worm-like clams. The gooseneck barnacles attach themselves freely to anything floating and driftwood is a favorite. They will even attach themselves to bottles, cans and just about any form of floating trash. The gooseneck barnacles use their feet, which are feathery like scoops that filter plankton, their source of food. This is a beautiful colorful barnacle that has a long brown neck that attaches it to its chosen object. These can be brought to life if put in some seawater and then watch the feet start feeding right away if they have not already died. Little crabs can find safe harbor in the cracks and crevices of driftwood and floating debris but once it washes ashore the crabs are doomed to be eaten by shore birds as they vacate their home that is drying out. The driftwood now becomes a host to the beach inhabitants such as insects and pseudo scorpions. The driftwood eventually dries out and takes its own art form with most of the creatures it hosted across the gulf long gone.

Other things that float across the gulf don’t need a host to help it along or to find safe harbor in. Creatures like the Portuguese man-of-war jetties itself along by the movement of its balloon like body in the wind. It is a colony of separate animals functioning together as one to feed and reproduce. This purple bubble can be very appealing to look at once it is beached, but beware of the sting it will give if handled.

The floating city of Sargasso Seaweed also carries a city of sea creatures with it when it arrives in the gulf and then is pushed ashore by wind and waves. Picking up pieces of this orange seaweed that is full if bubble like sacks and giving it a shake can reveal all sorts of interesting marine life that makes its home in this floating raft. The birds can be seen running along picking little shrimp and crabs and fish out of it as it lies on the edge of the surf. Many wonderful creatures can be found in this great seaweed while it is still floating about in the sea. It is an exciting time to dip up the Sargasso before it has come onto the beach and find the incredibly camouflaged Sargasso fish along with other types of fish and crabs. The funny nudibranchs look like a slug like glob out of the water but put in a cup of seawater it takes on a beautiful shape.

Other interesting things that one can find on the beach that have floated in or jetted across the gulf in the wind are the little round disks called Bubble rafts and Purple Sailors. These are related to the Portuguese Man-O-War and often the bright purple body parts have fallen away to reveal a plastic like skeleton that is an odd looking object and one wonders if it is man made. The body is chitinous and will float along after the animal has died becoming a host for surface dwelling animals to lay their eggs on and of course for the ever present barnacles. The prey of the Man-O-War and the other purple sailors are none other than a small snail called a Janthina. It is a beautiful bright purple snail that sails around on a bubble raft that it creates until it finds a Man-O-War and then it begins to eat its new found meal and a pair of Janthinas can make a meal of a small one in just one day. There is also a blue nudi-branch that feeds on the Purple bubbles.

A walk on the beach can be nurturing not only to the soul and mind but can provide an encounter with nature. The wonder of this great planet and the life on it is there for all to discover each day even on a short walk on the beach. There is always the Coastal Studies Lab on the South side of the Island one can visit to see the exhibits there on the nature of the Island. It is open from 1:30 to 4:30 everyday but Saturday. There is even a great tape there called Shore Things that is very educational. Their phon