COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



UNC-W Professor Makes 

 Deep Sea Discoveries 



A 



University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington 

 professor of biological 

 science has made remarkable 

 discoveries in the five-mile 

 deep ocean waters off Cape 

 Hatteras — thousands of 

 marine organisms. 



Robert George oudined 

 two new genera and six new 

 species of Crustacea in the 

 paper published in the 

 December 2001 Journal of 

 Natural History. 



Among his finds is the 

 deep-sea isopod Leutziniscus 

 jebamoni, named in honor of 

 UNC-W Chancellorjames R. 

 Leutze, known for his 



concern for coastal environment. This lobster- 

 shaped organism, about the size of a pencil 

 eraser, was captured four miles deep in the 

 Hatteras abyssal plain. 



George made his 

 deep-sea discoveries during 

 an expedition organized by 

 Duke University's Nicholas 

 School of the Environment 

 at Beaufort. Samples that 

 included the Leutze genus 

 were collected from the 

 ocean floor by a remote 

 robotic device. 



"The deep-sea area off 

 of North Carolina is rich in 

 diversity much like that of a 

 tropical rain forest," says 

 George. 'There are 

 probably thousands of 

 species living within a 

 square mile area at or near 

 the ocean floor." 

 Greater study is needed to fully understand 

 the commercial implications of this area, that 

 includes 30- to 40-foot coral reefs, he says. 



-P.S. 



Sea Turtle Recovering at Topsail 



A sea turtle coming ashore at Topsail 

 Beach is not unusual. But, when the turtle 

 arrives by plane, that's news. 



The green sea turtle was flown to the 

 nationally respected Karen Beasley Sea 

 Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in 

 late December. 



The small creature was found Dec. 2 on 

 Maryland's southern shore with a severely 

 injured front flipper and suffering from 

 exposure to cold water. Initially, he was 

 taken to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, 

 but was flown to the Topsail facility for long- 

 term care. 



It's estimated that the turtle, nicknamed 

 "Baltimore," is between 2 and 4 years old. 

 According to Jean Beasley, hospital director, 

 "His right front flipper was cut off above the 

 paddle — a tremendous handicap." 



A special tank was constructed to 



provide sufficient space for Baltimore to 

 maintain his deep-diving ability. "He is using 

 the flipper vigorously, and it is slowly 

 healing," Beasley says. "But the jury still is 

 out on his ability to survive in the wild 

 because so much of his flipper is missing." 



If not, Beasley' s organization will 

 search for permenant placement. "Any 

 institution must make a lifetime commitment. 

 Remember, a turtle can live a hundred years," 

 she says. 



The sea turtle hospital relies on the 

 support of volunteers and private donations. 

 In addition, the nonprofit hospital will 

 receive $10 for each "Save the Sea Turtle" 

 license plate being offered by the N.C. 

 Department of Motor Vehicles. Applications 

 are available from DMV, or can be down- 

 loaded from the sea turtle hospital Web site 

 at www.seaturtlehospital.org. — P.S. 



Signs Continue 

 Rip Current 

 Safety Project 



Communities along the North 

 Carolina coast are joining a Sea Grant 

 effort to teach visitors and residents about 

 the dangers of rip currents. 



The communities are posting 

 hundreds of aluminum rip current signs at 

 beach access points, lifeguard stations 

 and other locations along the shoreline. 

 The 1 1 -inch by 20-inch signs are a project 

 of North Carolina Sea Grant, in 

 conjunction with the National Weather 

 Service. 



The education effort includes 

 brochures and posters, as well as weather 

 service Web sites that give daily updates 

 on the threat of rip currents along 

 various stretches of shoreline during the 

 beach season. Later this spring, go to 

 www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov, to link to specific 

 weather service sites. 



In addition to the towns' efforts, 

 Sea Grant anticipates the signs will be 

 posted at hotels, parks and rental 

 properties. 



Signs ordered this spring will be $1 2 

 each, but the price is expected to increase 

 because of materials costs. All orders and 

 payments will be handled by the Sea 

 Grant headquarters in Raleigh. Call 

 Sandra Harris at 91 9/51 5-91 01 ore-mail 

 harriss@unity.ncsu.edu. — K.M. 



COASTWATCH 5 



