COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Fall Flowers 



Tracing Nutrients 



Nutrients drain into coast-bound 

 rivers from point sources such as 

 sewage treatment plants and industrial 

 outfalls and from nonpoint sources 

 such as city streets, farms and forests. 

 Currently, too many nutrients float 

 downstream, and many coastal rivers 

 are becoming overly enriched or 

 eutrophic. The results are algal 

 blooms, dead water zones and fish 

 kills. 



Limitations on nutrient inputs 

 are needed, but first scientists must 

 determine the sources and amount of 

 nutrients flowing into rivers. Sea 

 Grant researcher Stephen Skrabel, a 

 chemist at the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington, believes 

 dissolved silver may be a tool to 

 distinguish nutrient input. 



He'll test the hypothesis that 

 nutrients from industrial sources have 

 low dissolved silver ratios while those 

 from agricultural sources are much 

 higher. Skrabel will use water samples 

 taken from the Cape Fear River to 

 conduct his experiments. 



If Skrabel 's hypothesis proves 

 correct, dissolved silver may be used 

 as a tracer for nutrient sources. □ 



The mountains don't have 

 sole claim to fall beauty. North 

 Carolina's coastal marshes and 

 dunes also offer residents and 

 visitors a dose of visual splendor. 



Look first at the marshes, says 

 Sea Grant marine education 

 specialist Lundie Spence. Inter- 

 spersed among the marsh grasses 

 are the delicate, purple blooms of 

 sea lavender. Along upper tidal 

 areas of the marsh, the jointed 



fingers of glasswort turn flame red 

 as the cool fall breezes cause the 

 plant's green chlorophyll to break 

 down. 



In the dunes, seaside goldenrod 

 is in its glory, and camphorweed, a 

 member of the aster family, dots the 

 back of the dunes with yellow 

 flowers. In the depressions between 

 dune tops, purple muhly catches 

 dew, and the five-petal marsh pink 

 still blossoms. □ 



Seashells by the Seashore 



Although few mollusks live on 

 sandy beaches, the shoreline is a good 

 place to search for empty shells that 

 have washed up. The best time to look 

 is in the fall when 

 hurricane season is 

 in full swing or in 

 early spring after 

 winter storms. 



Take a 

 leisurely walk and 

 discover the shapes 

 and sizes of shells 

 scattered at the 

 water's edge. To 

 the average 

 beachcomber, 

 they're interesting and eye-catching, 

 but to early colonists and Native 

 Americans they were much more — 

 certain shells were highly valued as 

 money, jewelry and utensils. 



The large, smooth shells of sea 

 scallops were used by early Native 

 Americans as dishes. Today, tourists 

 purchase them to use as ashtrays. 



Lettered lives — smooth, shiny, 

 cylindrical shells with a short spire — 

 are named for their dark markings that 

 resemble letters. Colonists and early 



Native Americans made jewelry from 

 these shells. 



Common Atlantic marginella 

 have a golden brown exterior, usually 

 marked by two or 

 three dark spiral 

 bands. Early 

 Native Americans 

 often crafted 

 necklaces from 

 margin shells and 

 used them in 

 trading. 



Atlantic deer 



Scott D. Taylor 



Atlantic deer cowrie 



cowries are 

 glossy, smooth, 

 thin, elongate 

 shells with no spire. Early Native 

 Americans used cowries as money in 

 trading, and many cultures used them 

 as religious and fertility symbols. 



Hard-shelled clams were a 

 favorite food of early Native Ameri- 

 cans, who made beads from the shells' 

 purple edges and used them as money, 

 called "wampum." 



The best time to find these and 

 other shells is an hour before and after 

 low tide, especially during spring tides 

 that occur on new and full moons, m 



COASTWATCH 3 



