COLLECTING ALONG NEW JERSEY COAST 25 



The woodwork of wharves and piling are often 

 covered with marine life. Sponges, hydroids, bry- 

 ozoa, sea anemones, sea squirts, mussels and Ivory- 

 Barnacles, together with a dense growth of algae, al- 

 most completely cover many such wooden structures. 

 Destructive species such as the Ship Worm (Teredo 

 navalis), the boring isopod (Limnoria lignorum) are 

 also found wherever there is unprotected wood. 



The species of the salt marsh are usually very 

 limited in number. The water is brackish, being 

 diluted with fresh water, and is harmful to many 

 species. Moreover, parts of the marshes are entirely 

 exposed above the water for certain periods of time. 

 The animals of the salt marsh must be able to with- 

 stand these changing conditions. Among the species 

 most characteristic of the New Jersey salt marshes 

 are the Horse Mussel {Modiolus demissus), the Fiddler 

 Crabs (Uca pugnax, U. pugUator, U. minax), the Salt 

 Marsh Periwinkle (Littorma irrorata) and the Coffee 

 Snail (Melampus Unetaus). 



To obtain the animals of the shallow sea zone 

 it is most desirable to obtain a boat. A small dredge 

 or even a bucket or shrimp net can be dragged be- 

 hind a row boat, In this way it is possible to obtain 

 a small idea of some of the inhabitants of the shallow 

 water close to shore especially in the bays and 

 harbors. 



As one goes farther out to sea, the depth of the 

 water increases and with it the difficulty of obtaining 

 specimens from the bottom of the sea. A larger boat 

 and more elaborate equipment are necessary for 

 water deeper than a few fathoms. 



As we have seen, many of these off shore animals 

 are frequently uprooted from their homes at the bot- 

 tom of the sea and carried to the beach. The easiest 



