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Plz Recycle. Hi July! And welcome to our monthly citizen science blog post! We would like to reiterate our new public tour schedules and additional public tours for the summer season. We will be having a shorter loop tour (info here about that tour) and our crabbing trip is back (info here for crabbing trip)!!…

Happy 4th of July! We know traditions run deep for the 4th–including firework shows. We’ve come up with a pros and cons list of fireworks and a list of alternatives to using fireworks for the 4th. Maybe one of the alternatives could be used in addition to sparklers. Sparklers are easier to dispose of when…

There are key differences between tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes. Each stage represents development and intensity of a tropical cyclone’s “lifecycle”. Because we’ve already had some spicy storm activity we thought we would review the differences in this blog post! If you are interested in keeping up with tropical summer cyclones we recommend checking out this website provided from NOAA. Tropical Depressions are the initial stage of tropical cyclones. They form when a low-pressure system over warm ocean waters begins to show organized circulation. Wind speeds in a tropical depression are relatively mild, typically not exceeding 38 mph. Despite their lower intensity, tropical depressions can bring significant rainfall and potential flooding. Tropical Storms develop from tropical depressions once sustained wind speeds reach between 39 and 73 mph. At this stage, the system is more organized, and the characteristic spiral…

Trail Tales  There have been some amazing animal tracks out on Capers! Below are three photos of three different animal tracks. Try to guess the animal that made the print–we are providing the animal names scrambled as each caption. Good luck and have fun!

One of the fun summer creatures we have seen for the last two Junes are sea hares! Sea hares are soft-bodied, marine mollusks belonging to the order Anaspidea, known for their large, rabbit-like head appendages (a big marine slug!). These herbivorous creatures, often found in shallow coastal waters, feed on algae and secrete a distinctive pinkish-purple ink as a defense mechanism. The internet says another common name for sea hares is sea lawn mower (let’s make that catch on!!).  The two species of sea lawn mowers we’ve seen around Capers Island and the IOP Marina are the mottled sea hare and the Atlantic black sea hare. The mottled sea hare can be distinguished from the black sea hare because it is covered in spots and it is a greenish-brown color. It camouflages in nicely with sea lettuce! The black sea…

Hello and welcome to JUNE! (How is it June??). We would like to reiterate our new public tour schedules and additional public tours for the summer season. We will be having a shorter loop tour (info here about that tour) and our crabbing trip is starting back (info here for crabbing trip)!! It’s also time for our monthly blog about citizen science projects! Citizen science is a form of data collection that the public of all ages can participate in. It usually involves the collection of data and recording it or entering it into a database for different organizations. A list of citizen science projects will be listed & linked below! With the changing of spring to summer comes a new field work season. Different animals are migrating back to our coasts for the summer months. There are a couple…

Field trip shirts worn by some awesome teachers!

Dead or Molt? When exploring the beach and you come across what you may think is a dead crab it could actually be a molt or shed of the crab’s exoskeleton. Well, is it stinky or goopy? It is most likely dead, however, if the critter shell in question opens from the back side, is…

Baby alligator with its camo stripes! Recently the bossman, Shane, was leading a family fun day and came across this awesome juvenile American alligator. Juvenile alligators have black and yellow stripes for camouflage.  Eventually gators loose their stripes and turn a dark blackish/green. Alligators prefer a freshwater habitat BUT will use the salt marsh for…

It’s time for our monthly blog about citizen science projects! Citizen science is a form of data collection that the public of all ages can participate in. It usually involves the collection of data and recording it or entering it into a database for different organizations. A list of citizen science projects will be listed & linked below! With the changing of spring to summer comes a new field work season. Different animals are migrating back to our coasts for the summer months. There are a couple species that you can partake in citizen science data collection by reporting your sightings of these animals to the SC Department of Natural Resources. (These can be reported year round but are typically found in SC during the warmer months!) Some of the species include  Diamondback Terrapins         Reporting information…

Echinoderms are a unique group of invertebrates that includes sea stars, sand dollars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and more. Echinodermata is the phylum and the word breaks down to mean hedgehog-like skin. They are usually known for their radially symmetry, tubular feet, and their water vascular systems! Two echinoderms recently found on Capers island were…

Because we’ve been finding a lot of cannon ball jellies washing up on Capers Island we wanted to highlight a fascinating oceanic partnership between long-nose spider crabs and cannonball jellies (aka the ultimate passenger princesses!!). While these creatures may seem worlds apart in appearance and behavior, they have found a remarkable way to coexist in…