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Boldly patterned in black and white, the stocky American oystercatcher is hard to mistake. It has long red legs and a large red bill. As the name suggests, they feed mainly on oysters, although they...
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Fungi are the only kingdom of life not represented in the plankton. Bacteria have only recently been demonstrated to exist in great abundance as our sampling gear has improved enough to capture these...
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Snowy egrets are smaller versions of the great egret. They have white feathers, black legs with yellow feet, and a black bill. Snowies sometimes wade slowly through shallow water, stirring the mud...
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The mud snail is black, with a very strong shell, and is about 1/2 inch in length. It is an effective scavenger and hundreds of snails will collect around a dead fish or shrimp bait until they...
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The bay anchovy is the most numerous fish in the estuaries of South Carolina. They are food to larger fish and to many birds. Anchovies are specialized to feed on plankton. They have a huge mouth and...
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Spot and croaker are closely related fish. They look alike, with light vertical bands, but the spot is named for a dark spot just behind its gill cover. All members of this group of fish make noises...
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Three different species of shrimp are collected commercially from offshore and from the salt marsh. They are the pink shrimp, the brown shrimp, and the white shrimp. They are large, up to 10 inches in...
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Blue crabs are active predators and effective scavengers. They occur throughout the estuary. They can swim by using their last pair of legs, which have been modified into paddles instead of walking...
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At low tide, the periwinkles crawl down to the base of the stem, where algae grow best, and graze the algae off the stems. When the tide rises, however, the periwinkles crawl up the stems. Why don't...
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The wrens build their nests in the tips of living Spartina. The nests are made out of dead Spartina. They are not open, but are covered, so the nest looks like a ball of dead grass. There is a hole on...