Turtle Journal

Horseshoe Crab Mating Pair with Female in Front (Left)

Turtle Journal ventured into the Fresh Brook “Run” south of Lieutenant Island in Wellfleet Bay this afternoon to search for emerging diamondback terrapins.  Yes, we did find a sampling of female and male terrapins, about which we will report in a subsequent posting.  The surprise today was discovery of hundreds of pairs of mating horseshoe crabs streaming through the Run with males firmly clapsed onto females.

Hundreds of Horseshoe Crab Pairs Swim through Run

We could barely walk through the Run without stumbling over horseshoe crabs.  Every female towed a male behind her, and yet there were still many males cruising the submerged tidal flats in search of a mate.  As we walked to the water, we noted that pairs of horseshoe crabs had left their signature tracks as they deposited and fertilized eggs along the high tide line this morning.

Female Horseshoe Crab

Female horseshoe crabs are substantially larger than males, a trait known as sexual (or gender) dimorphism.  During mating, males cling to females for hours and hours in hopes of being Mr. Lucky when eggs are laid on the beach at high tide.

Male Horseshoe Crab

Male horseshoe crabs are not only smaller than females, but their front limbs are formed as claspers to cling to the female during spring mating.  These limbs have been described as “boxing gloves,” and along with the smaller size, they make identification of male crabs an easy one-two punch.

Florida Calico Box Crab (Hepatus ephiliticus)

Sue Wieber Nourse of Turtle Journal spent the morning exploring Vanderbilt Beach on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  Increasingily powerful rays warm beach, water and abutting uplands, beginning the annual transformation from leisurely winter adagissimo to the quickening cadence of springtime.  Researchers have begun patrols along the shoreline in anticipation of the first nesting loggerhead sea turtles that may arrive any night.  Gopher tortoises can be spied each morning moving slowly deep inside their burrows and beginning to venture into the midday sunshine in search of prospective mates. 

Calico Box Crab on Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, Florida 

One of the first critters to greet Sue in the warm April sunshine this morning was a rather clownly attired calico box crab.  Clearly ready for action, it seemed prudent to snap a few pictures and move on down the beach.

Juvenile Shark Hooked off Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, Florida 

A fisherman had hooked a juvenile shark while bottom fishing off Vanderbilt Beach and Sue happened by just as he attempted to remove the hook and release the animal back into the Gulf.

Sea Hare on Gulf Coast Florida Beach

One of our favorite Florida creatures is the sea hare.   When I think of the oft recited fable of “The Hare and the Tortoise,” and its ironic outcome, I’m convinced that Aesop must have been thinking of the sea hare as the turtle’s competitor.  Yes, I understand that it would ruin the moral of the story, but it would be a great deal more faithful to natural history and a little more believable … even for a turtle lover.

 Snook

Illustrating the wide variety of species dotting the Gulf coastline of Southwest Florida, a snook had washed ashore on the beach by the Ritz Carlton Naples Resort Hotel.

Southwest Florida Sea Star

I guess it was inevitable to find a star basking on Southwest Florida’s golden beach in hope of discovery by some modern day Cecil B Demille.  Long gone is the era of soda fountains at corner drug stores, so perhaps starlettes today can only be found bathing in southern sunshine.  This specimen does seem perfectly shaped for the glitsy Walk of Fame at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine.  Who cares that it has three extra points.  Wouldn’t you prefer an eight star restaurant over an ordinary five star eatery?  If five is good, eight must be so much better.

Closeup of a Male Fiddler Crab in Full Display 

Despite a temporary slump in temperatures, spring remains in the air of Outer Cape Cod. With a little midday sunshine, minds, hearts and antics of all Nature’s critters soon turn to love; that is, once they shake off the yawns of winter slumber.  Waking first along beaches and salt marshes of Wellfleet Bay are the comical, ever-ready cleanup crew: fiddler crabs.  They’re most amusing when coping with temperatures in the low- to mid-forties.  They stumble along with an uneasy balance as though a bit tipsy and, sure enough, they trip over on their backs, stagger to their feet again and struggle onward.

Spring Fling for Fiddlers

As we walked the shoreline of Paine Hollow this afternoon searching for a stranded dolphin that Sue Wieber Nourse had spotted from across the creek in Indian Neck, we saw fiddler crabs digging out with the receding tide.  While not yet in full mating display with males waving their enormous fiddles to entice passing females, male fiddler crabs poked their large claws out of their burrows, seemingly hoping to attract someone special.  After shooting a “my fiddle’s bigger than your fiddle” contest, Don Lewis caught a more pleasing encounter of a nubile female crab responding to the hopeful wave of a large male fiddle.

Right Clawed Male Fiddler Crab

While a more amourous engagement may be expected later in the season as things both literally and figuratively warm up, this time the twosome strolled into the afternoon sun together as the female seemingly dosey doed (do-si-do’ed) under his large fiddle, and the two of them danced off into the marsh.

Female Fiddler Crab

With a few more degrees of temperature and a little more sunlight, fiddler armies will soon be on the march at each low tide, gleening whatever organic residue they can acquire from the inter-tidal beach.  And before you know it, we’ll be watching the “Big Wave” sweep across the salt marsh as fiddles large and white sway in the rhythmic cadence of summer love.

Tiny Juvenile Horseshoe Crab in Palm of Don’s Hand

A glorious first day on Spring 2010 visited Outer Cape Cod with bright sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s.  We began taking water temperature today as we await the emergence of diamondback terrapins once it reaches a sustainable 12.5 Celsius.  Today’s water temperature in Blackfish Creek in South Wellfleet at 2:30 pm hit 11.0 Celsius … after the tidal flats were baked by a morning low tide.  While we found a number of species showing for the first time today, we were disappointed in not observing any horseshoe crabs in the shallows.  We saw what could have been some horseshoe crab crawls in the submerged sand, but nothing definitive.

Discovering Tiny Juvenile Horseshoe Crab in Marsh Channel

Nothing, that is, until we examined a protected salt marsh creek in the Fox Island Wildlife Management Area off Indian Neck.  We spied a tiny juvenile horseshoe crab crawling along the oozy bottom and Don attempted a capture with his sampling net.

Tiny Juvenile Horseshoe Crab Mugs for Camera

Horseshoe crabs seem like prehistoric critters, but this little one managed to evoke a certain “cuteness” factor.  Here the juvie poses for the camera at the edge of Don’s fingers.

Examining Tiny Juvenile Horseshoe Crab

The Turtle Journal team spent several minutes examining this little creature in great detail.  We don’t often get to see juvenile horseshoe crabs in the wild, especially so early in the spring season.  The FIRST day of spring, in fact!

Bottom of Tiny Juvenile Horseshoe Crab

Quite comical with appendages moving in every which direction, this cutie let us know that it was time to return to the safety of the wild.

Releasing Tiny Juvenile Horseshoe Crab Back into Marsh

Sue released the tiny horseshoe crab back into the same spot in the marsh channel where we collected the juvenile a few minutes earlier.

Tiny Juvenile Horseshoe Crab Burrows in Marsh Ooze

The tiny horseshoe crab headed directly to the bottom of the channel and slowly dug itself into the ooze.