July 30, 1961 - A New World At The Root Of The Shorea.
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A SEASHORE COMMUNITY
lusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis
Brookhaven
Focus . on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh
Cutchogue
A NEW WORLD AT THE ROOT OF THE SHORE
Our guest writer today is Larry Penny who recently graduated
from Cornell University. Larry is a native of Mattituck, and is
keenly aware of our ever -changing natural phenomena. Today he
brings us a glimpse of, the seashore.
BY LARRY PENNY
The seashore life is in constant
Change. Each winter's storms and
their accompanying waves and
heavy tides contribute in shaping
entirely new and different eco -.
- logical niches throughout the
rock- strewn beaches and alcoves
along the northern shores of Long
' Island.
W h o l e populations of snails,
crabs, small fishes and algae are
uprooted, covered over or swept
away by these perpetually ap-
pearing climatic phenomena. One
year a stretch of beach is sandy,
gently sloping, while the next
year the 'same stretch may be
littered with algae- covered rocks,
and may descend into the depths
more steeply.
It is upon these stretches, sandy
or rock - strewn, that the various
small, but fascinating seashore
fauna come to rest and build their
respective homesites, each type
of organism in a close and mean -
fngful interrelationship with a nei-
ghboring, different type.
They busily reproduce, gather
foodstuffs, and carry on all of the
other functions basic to animal
life, yet without the slightest con-
cern -that all their efforts might
be eradicated by one storm.
. Thus, the two different habitats,
sandy and rocky, go on replacing
each other, and with each change,
one heterogenous population of
animals and plants exits and a-
nother one,. completely different
than the previous, enters.
There are .a number of such
interesting, fluctuating habitats a-
long the shores of Long Island
Sound; in fact, every village or
town with beach property has
them. The organisms may be
small and inconspicuous at first
glance, and one might altogether
fail to see them amongst the
stones and other seacoast bric-a-
brac. ijowever, one has only to
turn over a rock at low tide in
• rock- infested area, to discover
• unique and vital universe, a
complete life system, almost as
varied and as complicated as our
own.
Tiny shrimp swimming in still,
small reservoirs, crabs scurrying
in and out, and occasional glimp-
ses ' of the slender - billed pipefish
are only a few of the many
wonders to be found under and
'around stones at low tide.
Most of you have come to know
the diminutive, shrimp -like sand
fleas of the beaches, either by
'dint of their annoying bites or by
some other, means less painful,
Few have probably discovered
their near relatives, sometimes
called amphipods, living side by
side with them, but swimming in
tiny pools among the rocks rather
than hopping along over dry sandy
beaches as the former do.
These amphipods get their nam-
es from the fact that they are
able both to swim and crawl with
their appendages, thus the name
amphipod - amphi from amphib-
ious or living in water and on
land, and pod, from the Latin
"pedus," meaning foot.
They seldom become larger
than %2 ", and are 'almost trans-
parent. Despite their small size,
they are very aggressive, much
as in shrews, and they readily
attack one another for food -pur-
poses.
They gather in thousands after
hatching, which goes on through-
out the warmer months indefinite-
ly. A tiny goblet -sized depression
of water will contain several hun-
dred at a time. As they inter-
weave among themselves in the
crystalline clearness of a settled
pool, one might easily get the
impression that he is viewing the
space age of man in the next 100
years, on a much smaller scale.
Another unique organism to he
encountered in this rocky habitat
is the sea anemone. Long Island
has fewer anemones than more
Southern coastal a r e a s where
they appear in great numbers,
colorfully adding to the splendor
of a coral reef.
The most common one appear-
ing on our North Shore is rather
dull gray or greenish, and very
often hangs its jelly -like, colum-
nar form from the base of large
boulders, usually near the water's
edge.
It has tentacles arranged in-
circular rows around its mouth,
which is no more than a simple
hole in the unattar —h6d end of the
body. These tentacles, suspended
and gently waving with the subtle
movement of the tide and curr-
ents, appear almost as lush, suc-
culent flowers.
Small fishes and shrimp occas-
ionally seek refuge among these.
At the faintest touch the sensi-
tive tentacles enshroud t h e be-
wildered visitant, and in a matter
of seconds the struggling victim
is passing ithrough the mouth to-
ward the stomach cavity.
These afiigmones are a fascin-
ating plant -Iike animal, actually
as predacious and carnivorous as
some of the most ferocious, meat -
e a t i n g fishes that live around
them.
These are just a few of the
many different species of sea-
shore life. In order to appreciate
more fully the scope and com-
plexity of such a vast. variable,
but richly rewarding culture, you
must find one of these areas your-
self. Turn over the rocks, let the
debris settle away and look care-
fully. Also check the small pools
left temporarily stranded by re-
ceding tides.
Perhaps you may become just
a casual observer, or you may
find something there much deep-
er than you anticipated. Tomorr-
ow's thunder and waves might
bring to a sudden and dramatic
end the life's work of forms you
may never see in this place again
because of the everchanging sea-
shore.
A good guide to seashore life
is "Field Book of Seashore life
by Ray Waldo Minir, G P Put -
nam's Sons, N Y.
Please send your Field Obser-
vations and Comments to: Paul
Stoutenburgh, RD No 1, Box 105,
Cutchogue, New York,
An interesting seashore obser-
vation that my son, Peter, made
about a month ago on Long Is-
land Sound was a jelly -like group
of eggs about 8" across. This
mass seemed to be made up of
many finger -like tentacles. Each
tentacle contained a world of liv-
ing forms too small for the naked
eye to identify. Upon further ex-
amination under a microscope,
they appeared squid -like and so,
with a little research, I found
these to be the common squid
that we see in our local waters.
Gerns & Gemolgy
Continued from Page 2M •
decided to go through .life as man
and wife.
Rings have denoted caste, and
they have indicated profession as
well. They have been worn as an
article of adornment, of course,
and on the purely practical 'side,
the forerunned of the initial en-
graved signet ring actually serv-
ed the purpose of impressing its
owner's seal on letters and doc-
uments.
Quite necessary they were, too,
since their royal owners could
neither read nor write ... a situat-
ion not at all unusual in earlier
times.
In the 15th and 16th Centuries,
we are told, signet rings engrav-
ed with badges or trademarks
were very much in use among
merchants and other businessmen,
not merely to form seals, but also
as what might be termed creden-
tials of good faith.
Thus, a businessman, when he
billed a customer for a shipment
of goods, would send the ;bill by
messenger, and that person would
bring along the merchant's ring
as evidence that the money might
be entrusted to his care.
We don't have that custom to-
day, of course, but I can think
of one ring that's worn as an
evidence of good faith ... and that
is the circlet with the sparkling