Dune Plants 

 & Animals 



By Nancy Davis 



When you take a field trip to the 

 dunes with Jeannie Kraus, the 

 assignment is simple. 



Just imagine what life would be 

 like here. 



Close your eyes. Feel the sun 

 pounding down on you. Taste the salt 

 spray as it settles on your lips, dries 

 and robs your mouth of moisture. 



Feel the wind as it does its best to 

 make life miserable for you, alter- 

 nately pelting you with sand, then 

 whipping it out from under you. 



Kraus' message: Life is rough on 

 those mounds of sand just above the 

 high tide. You might as well live in a 

 desert. 



Kraus is the natural science and 

 education curator of the N.C. Mari- 

 time Museum, and she's the author 

 of A Guide to Ocean Dune Plants 

 Common to North Carolina, a book 

 published by Sea Grant and the UNC 

 Press. 



Dune plants deserve respect, she 

 says. After all, they've managed to 

 adapt to one of the harshest of 

 environments. 



Next time you're tromping across 

 the dunes to the beach, take a mo- 

 ment to reflect on how the plants 

 manage to survive, she says. 



Kraus reels off some of the condi- 

 tions that dune life doles out: 



■ Salt spray that limits growth there 

 to salt-tolerant plants 



■ Storm waves that uproot plants 



■ Coarse sand that is quickly 

 drained of rainwater 



■ Few soil nutrients 



■ Intense sunlight that causes 

 plants to dehydrate 



■ Extreme temperatures 



■ High winds that bury plants or 

 expose their roots 



"Plants that live on dunes have 

 developed special adaptations to live 

 there," Kraus says. "They can with- 

 stand a lot of wind, moving sand and 

 getting washed over once in a while.' ' 



Back on the dune again, Kraus 

 urges her students to examine the 

 plants' leaves and stems for clues 

 about how each survives the desert- 

 like environment. 



Notice how the blades of sea oats 

 and beach grass are flexible enough 

 to withstand high winds. 



The waxy leaves of yaupon, wax 

 myrtle and sea elder resist salt spray 

 and help the plants retain moisture. 



The prickly pear cactus stores 

 water in its stem. 



Next, notice that there's a pattern 

 to where certain plants are located 

 on a dune. 



Closest to the beach, where waves 

 frequently lap at the plants, you'll 

 find the hardiest of plants — sea 

 rocket, sea oats, beach grass and sea 

 elder. 



Between dunes where there's more 

 protection, beach primrose, golden- 

 rod, pennywort and wax myrtle can 

 survive. 



The further you get from the 

 ocean, the less harsh the environ- 

 ment, Kraus says. Behind the dunes, 

 some shrubs can survive. 



Dune life is just as rough on 

 animals as plants, Kraus says. 



"Most animals are just passing 

 through," she says, because they find 

 life on the dunes too harsh and the 

 food supply too limited to make it a 

 permanent home. 



But if you look closely enough, 

 you may see ghost crabs poking out 

 of holes in the sand and scurrying 

 about for food. Twice a day, they 

 head toward the water to wet their 

 gills, Kraus says. 



If there is sufficient shrub cover, 

 you may notice some birds, such as 

 painted buntings, warblers and spar- 

 rows, and field mice. 



If you'd like to take your own field 

 trip through the dunes, order a copy 

 of Ocean Dune Plants. The 72-page 

 illustrated guide provides an inform- 

 ative look at the ecology and biology 

 of North Carolina's dunes. 



Kraus identifies more than 50 

 trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and 

 grasses. And she provides keys, brief 

 descriptions and other facts that will 

 help you identify dune plants. 



For your copy, write Sea Grant, 

 Box 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 

 27695. Ask for UNC-SG-87-01. The 

 cost is $4.50. 



