"A Historic Tree"

Beautiful live oaks, covered in Spanish moss, are a common site in the coastal zone. In maritime forests, the live oak is the dominant tree because of its tolerance to salt spray. Live oaks are known for their age; several trees present today are known to be over a thousand years old.

One thousand years before the arrival of Columbus, the "Angel Oak" began its long life near Charleston. Today, at over 1400 years old, this live oak still stands vigil over the coastal zone. It is considered the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi.

During the colonial period, live oaks were important lumber trees. Shipbuilders cut curved pieces from the junction of the limb and trunk and used them as ribs in wooden ships. The live oak tree has been a favorite ornamental tree since the 1700s. Many of the live oaks you see today were planted by plantation owners who wanted to outline the roads that led to their estate.

Live oaks are medium-sized evergreen trees with wide-spreading branches and dark, slightly ridged bark. Like most leaves, the thick leaves of the tree are covered by a waxy substance called the cuticle; the cuticle helps a plant keep from losing too much water. There are also hairs on the leaf, which help to protect the leaves from the salty breezes that would kill most other trees.

During the winter, many animals find nourishment from the acorns of the live oak tree. Turkeys, gray squirrels, gray foxes, raccoons, several birds, and rabbits are known to eat the acorns. Larger mammals, such as the black bear, white-tailed deer and elk, also consume the acorns.

"A State Symbol"

The cabbage palmetto belongs to the palm family (Arecaceace). This branchless evergreen tree grows to a height of over ten meters (33 feet) tall. The cabbage palmetto is found in coastal regions from North Carolina to Florida. The tree usually inhabits maritime forests, islands within salt and brackish marshes, and the edges of ponds. It is a commonly planted tree in urban areas throughout South Carolina.

The cabbage palmetto is prized as South Carolina's state tree. During the Revolutionary War, coastal forts were made of palmetto logs. Where cannon balls would shatter a harder tree, they lodged into the cabbage palmetto's soft wood. The trunks are used in the construction of docks since the wood is resistant to sea worms. Some people eat the tips of the main stem of the tree, and find that it tastes similar to a cabbage.

In July, the cabbage palmetto's fragrant flowers attract a variety of insects, bees, wasps, and ants that carry the pollen between flowers. Once pollinated, the flowers begin developing a pea-sized fruit. Animals, such as raccoons and birds, eat the fruit and spread the seeds. Some fruits are swept away by sea currents and are transported as far away as the North Carolina shores.

"A Common Herbivore"

White-tailed deer can be found in every region of South Carolina, from the mountains to the sea. In the Coastal Zone, they can be seen feeding on the nuts of live oaks or grasses in the salt marsh. White-tailed deer are named for the underside of their tail, which can be seen as the deer flees from a stressful scene. Putting the tail up is believed to be a danger signal for other deer. Deer have a very good sense of smell; bodily scents reveal information about themselves to other deer. Deer eat soft vegetation such as grasses, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, algae, and mosses.

The antlers on the top of the male deer's head serve as a protective device. The healthier the deer, the healthier the antlers. Antlers begin showing after about two years of age, and mature antlers take about four months to grow. During the summer, the antlers are soft and velvety. By winter, the deer have rubbed off the velvet onto nearby trees, and the harder antler underneath begins to show through. The antlers usually fall off the deer during the winter. Once the antlers have fallen off, the process of antler growth will resume.

Despite hunting, deer still overpopulate many forests. Overpopulation results in social, reproductive, and nutritional conflicts that cause unhealthy deer. Also, the more deer there are in a certain population, the easier diseases are spread. Therefore, deer hunting is needed to keep populations healthy.

"A Masked Omnivore"

In marshes and the estuaries, raccoons can be seen feeding on crayfish, crabs, shellfish, reptiles, and the eggs of birds and reptiles. Fruits, nuts, and berries are also favorite foods. They are often seen cracking the hard outer covering of their prey on the rocks in the water to get to the tasty insides.

Raccoons have been known to wreak havoc on many reptile populations by eating all of the eggs. Raccoons sometimes "wash their food" in order to enhance their sense of touch making it easier to reject inedible material. As their natural habitat has become more urbanized, raccoons have taken to scavenging for whatever human leftovers they can find.

Raccoons are easily recognized by the "mask" they wear across their eyes and their ringed tail. They are omnivorous and have become scavengers in many urban areas.

The primary predators of raccoons include man, bobcats, and owls. Raccoons are often hunted and trapped for sport and food in South Carolina. They are known as pests because they sometimes destroy property, spread rabies, and decrease the populations of some endangered animals.

"A Sea of Grass"

The Coastal Zone is well known for a "sea of grass" that dominates its estuaries. Spartina, also known as cordgrass, is a perennial wetland grass that makes up much of the tidal salt marshes of the south. An acre of Spartina is more productive than an acre of wheat! The hardy plant's strong roots have to be able to resist salty floodings at high tides. In fact, if you look closely at a Spartina leaf, you will see crystals of salt that have traveled from its roots and out through the leaves.

Spartina is found in groups from Newfoundland to Florida and west to Texas. The salinity of salt marsh soil affects the growth of cordgrass; Spartina grows the tallest at the water's edge, and it grows shorter farther away from the water. The maximum height of the plant varies greatly, ranging from 20-150 centimeters tall (8 to 60 inches). Soil aeration, nutrient availability, and length of water exposure also influence spartina growth. In the fall, spartina begins to die. Once the Spartina is dead, bacteria will help to break it down into detritus. Detritus provides necessary nutrients to many animals in the salt marsh and estuary.

Spartina is an important food source for many birds. The seeds are eaten by marsh birds, songbirds, sharp-tailed sparrows and several species of migratory waterfowl. Geese wintering along the coast are known to eat the roots. Spartina also provides an important nursery and protective habitat for many juvenile crustaceans and fishes.

"Spartina Scavenger"

The periwinkle snail can be found grazing on live and dead spartina. The periwinkle snail is a mollusk and therefore related to clams and oysters. Snails have two pairs of tentacles on their head. The longer pair typically has light-sensitive eyespots while the shorter pair is used to feel and smell.

Snails are hermaphrodites, so they can fertilize their own eggs; however, the success rates of cross-fertilization are much greater. The snail's shell helps protect it from many predators, and the periwinkle also climbs up spartina grass stalks to get out of a predator's reach. Like most of the salt marsh organisms, the marsh periwinkle plays an important part in the salt marsh food web. They eat algae and detritus, while turtles, birds, crabs, and fish feed upon the marsh periwinkle.

"A Seafood Delight"

Seafood lovers often comb the mud of the salt marsh looking to dig up hard clams. Hard clams sold in markets are called littlenecks, cherrystones, and chowders. The littleneck is the smallest and most expensive hard clam. Cherrystones are medium-sized, while chowders are the largest and least expensive. The chowders come from older and tougher clams and are often cut up to use in clam chowder.

Hard clams are filter feeders that pass water, rich in plankton, over their gills. Hard clams have two small tubes; the inhalant siphon sucks water in, while the exhalant siphon pushes water and wastes out. The inhalant and exhalant siphons function somewhat like a human's mouth and anus. Food particles in the form of plankton are removed and digested. If their particles are inedible, they are expelled through their inhalant siphon. Wastes from digested particles are expelled through their exhalant siphon in the form of fecal pellets. Like oysters, clams help to filter out contaminants from the water.

"Find the Fish!"

Can you find this common estuarine fish? Flounder have the unique ability to blend in with the bottom of rivers, estuaries and the ocean. Dark spots and blotches on the top side of the fish act as camouflage. Its flat, saucer-like shape makes it appear as an innocent bulge on the floor of a river or ocean.

Special adaptations such as these allow the Southern flounder to ambush prey and hide from predators. Unsuspecting shrimp, mummichogs, spot, and mullet make up the flounder's diet. The Southern flounder can tolerate a wide salinity range and may inhabit ocean, estuary, brackish, and freshwater habitats.

As larval fish, the flounder have eyes on both sides of their head; during development, the eyes eventually migrate until both eyes are found on the topside of the fish. The underside of the fish, the "blind" side, is usually light in color.

Once the flounder begin to mature, they will leave the estuaries for offshore spawning grounds. After spawning the mature fish will reenter the estuaries. The larvae hatch in the spawning grounds, and are transported by tidal currents toward the shore and into an estuarine nursery habitat. In the shallow tidal creeks, the larvae feed on small shrimps and fishes. As they increase in size, fish become their preferred prey. Southern flounder remain in these creeks until they are about 20-25 centimeters (eight to ten inches) long. As adults, they are frequently found in shallow water near oyster reefs or the mouths of small rivulets.

Southern flounder are popular in both the commercial and sport industries; they are often caught by nighttime gigging in tidal creeks and marshes, as well as by hook and line.

"Clean-up Crew"

Eastern oysters are one of the most common organisms seen living in and around salt marshes. They are also one of the most common organisms seen on the plates of seafood lovers! Oysters eat plankton by filtering the water and digesting the edible material. As the oyster filters for food, it also filters pollutants out of the water; however, these pollutants can build up in the oyster and are dangerous in large quantities. Oysters can pump up to190 liters (about 50 gallons) of water a day!

Oysters begin their lives as males and develop into females. Underneath the water, the younger males release their sperm, while the older female oysters release their eggs. The egg and sperm will meet outside the body; however, a female secretes millions of eggs in order to increase the survival rate. Twenty-four hours after fertilization, a swimming larval form of the Eastern oyster hatches. They are helpless against tidal currents, and like many larvae, they are considered plankton and are heavily preyed upon. In the last larval stage, the oyster crawls around using its foot, or muscular body, as it tries to find a hard surface to settle for the rest of its life. Many oysters do not survive because they fail to attach to a suitable surface. Larvae that do survive often have attached themselves to other oysters.

Attached to an oyster's gills are small hairs, known as cilia. These hairs help to sweep oxygen and food into the oyster as well as keep debris out. However, if an irritant like a piece of sand still enters the oyster, a mucous-like substance is created to cover the irritant to make it smoother and less irritating; after many layers of mucous, the grain of sand becomes a pearl.

"An Alien Visitor"

An alien visitor has landed on the coast of South Carolina! The green porcelain crab is a small, flattened crab that is native to West Africa, Brazil, and the Gulf of Mexico. The tiny crab has mysteriously found its way to South Carolina and its population is increasing rapidly.

There are many theories as to why the crab is in South Carolina's waters. They may have hitched a ride with seafood imported into South Carolina. Aquarium trade may also accidentally introduce a nonnative species into a new area, or the porcelain crab could have entered southeastern waters through ship ballast.

When a new species is introduced into an ecosystem, it can wreak havoc on the food web of native plants and animals. Nonnative species generally do not have natural predators when they are introduced into a new area.

"A Nursery Habitat"

Young fish like the red drum are protected from predators by shallow tidal creeks flowing through the cordgrass. Red drum spend their first few months feeding on plankton in creeks. Once larvae have moved to deeper estuarine waters, they feed on crustaceans and small fishes. When water temperatures rise in the spring, small red drum reenter the tidal marsh creeks. There, they begin to grow rapidly while feeding on small fishes and crustaceans. In May and June, these fish again leave the small creeks for the open shallows of the estuary.

Adults are normally found in near-shore and coastal waters. The red drum, also called "channel bass" or "spottail bass," is a member of the drum family, Sciaenidae, and a close relative of Atlantic croaker, spot, and kingfish. Red drum are reddish-bronze with a distinct spot or spots at the base of the caudal fin. Scientists believe that the spot on the tail confuses predators into attacking the fish's tail instead of its head, giving the fish a better chance to escape.

Red drum males produce "drumming" sounds during the spawning season to attract females. Males undergo a color change during this time, becoming dark red or bluish gray on top with a pale underside.

The red drum's predators include man and dolphins. The red drum has been placed on lists of fish that have been fished into a state of decline. Red drum numbers in South Carolina have increased in recent years, but commercial fishing is still restricted.

"A Nursery Habitat"

Larval shrimp use tidal creeks and marshes of the estuary for food and shelter. There are many kinds of shrimp found in the salt marsh and estuary, including pink, white, and brown shrimp. As planktonic larvae, shrimp eat other zooplankton, and as adults they eat detritus, small marine worms, small fish, and microalgae. Shrimp have walking legs to help them move short distances, while their swimming legs help propel them longer distances. To escape predators, shrimp can use their abdominal muscles and other appendages to quickly move backwards.

White and brown shrimp primarily live upon a muddy bottom while the pink shrimp like a more sandy or shell-like bottom. In South Carolina, there are fewer pink shrimp than white or brown shrimp because South Carolina has primarily muddy-bottomed waters. Commercial shrimping is an important part of the economy of South Carolina.

"A Nursery Habitat"

In the protected habitat of the salt marsh, fertilized blue crab eggs go through a series of developmental stages. As larvae, they feed upon zooplankton. Adult blue crabs eventually feed on small fish, other crustaceans (including other blue crabs), mollusks, and decaying animal and plant matter. Adults spend more of their time in the estuary. Red drum and humans are the primary predator of the blue crab.

During the summer, people line coastal creeks and rivers hoping to pull in blue crabs. Blue crabs tolerate a wide range of water conditions, and can be found in saltwater and fresh water. Their preference is usually for brackish water, a mixture of fresh and salt water that can be found in the salt marsh. Tidal water pushing upriver creates the perfect environment for the crab.

Like all arthropods, the blue crab has a hard exoskeleton for protection and support; however, the exoskeleton must be shed as the crab grows. Before the crab molts its hard outer shell, a new shell is being formed underneath the old one. By the time the old shell is molted, the new one is ready. The new shell will harden more over time. Soft-shell crabs are a prized seafood.

"Pier Groups"

Ivory barnacles are a widespread resident of the salt marsh. The ivory barnacle can be found on docks, piers, the hulls of ships, and on the shells of oysters. The ivory barnacle has a sedentary lifestyle. The hard shell surrounding the barnacle is formed during one of the larval stages. Once the barnacle goes through its two larval stages, it will find a suitable substrate to attach to.

The plates that make up the barnacle's body can move to expose its six pairs of featherlike legs, called cirri. Cirri filter plankton from the water for the barnacle to digest. Fertilization is internal. Barnacles are hermaphrodites; however, they rarely self-fertilize since offspring are more successful if they come from two parents.

"Oysters Beware!"

Oysters beware if the oystercatcher is near! Oystercatchers are large shorebirds that live on sandy or pebbly beaches, mudflats, and the borders of salt marshes. The American oystercatcher gets its name from its fondness for oysters. The bird uses its long bill to cut an oyster loose from its shell. The oystercatcher also eats other bivalves such as clams and mussels. Snails, barnacles, fiddler crabs, aquatic insects, and sea worms are part of its extended diet.

During breeding, oystercatchers are quite aggressive and make loud cries. Once the oystercatcher finds a mate, they remain mates forever. After mating, the birds nest and lay eggs. The males generally take care of the eggs during the day, while the females care for them at night. Young oystercatchers depend on their parents for food, which is uncommon among other shorebirds.

Oystercatchers were once hunted to near extinction along the Atlantic coast. Today, the total population of oystercatchers on the east coast is 3,500 birds. The oystercatcher's natural habitat is often threatened by coastal development and off-road vehicles. Their eggs are vulnerable to predators and can be washed away by storms and boat wakes. Today, oystercatchers are making a comeback in protected areas around South Carolina.

"Fish Beware!"

In the estuary, the sight of a large pelican diving head first into the water is quite a thrill. At the surface, the bird tilts its bill downwards to drain out water and then tilts the bill up to swallow its catch. The Eastern brown pelican is well adapted to using the estuary as a hunting ground.

Because of their large size, Eastern brown pelicans are a common sight in the harbor and salt marsh. They are one of the largest birds on the east coast, and can be seen resting on high piers, wading in the open water, or flying over the river and harbor.

The Eastern brown pelican is also the only pelican in the world that is not white. Adult pelicans are easily identified by the characteristic long bill with an underlying gular (throat) pouch. They can have a mass of up to 3.6 kilograms (8 lbs.) and live up to 30 years in the wild.

Currently, the brown pelican only nests in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. The pelicans make their nests in areas high enough to avoid tidal flooding and far enough from mainland predators, such as raccoons. Nests are made in trees, such as mangroves, or in shallow depressions on the ground.

"A Coastal Friend"

Scan the surface of the harbor and the river and you might see a fin somewhat resembling that of a shark. The fin is more likely the fin of the Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin, a mammal, and a resident of South Carolina's coastal zone. Some dolphins stay close to the coast while others swim in the open ocean.

Unlike fish, dolphins breathe in open air. A dolphin comes to the surface and takes air in through its blowhole, which is connected to the lungs. The blowhole closes when the dolphin dives, so that water will not enter the lungs. Dolphins sleep near the top of the water, surfacing every few minutes so they can breathe through their blowhole.

For protection from predators such as sharks, dolphins often travel in small groups of four or five. In the winter, large groups of dolphins travel south to warmer areas. In the spring, the dolphins return to northern waters. Young dolphins will stay near their mother drinking her milk for about one to two years. They begin eating fish at about six months old.

Dolphins are extremely intelligent; they can memorize and imitate. They are also social animals that communicate with one another through high-pitched squeaks made by opening and closing their blowholes. Each dolphin even has a special squeak that serves as its own name! In times of need, dolphins often help one another. If one dolphin is sick, others try to care for it. Dolphins have even been known to rescue drowning humans!

"Eyes in Disguise"

Scientists believe the spot on the red drum's tail confuses predators into attacking its tail instead of its head, giving the fish a better chance to escape. The red drum, also called "channel bass" or "spottail bass," is a member of the drum family, Sciaenidae, and a close relative of Atlantic croaker, spot, and kingfish. Red drum are reddish-bronze with a distinct spot or spots at the base of the caudal fin.

Adults are normally found in near-shore and coastal waters while juveniles are normally found in the shallow creeks that meander through the cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) marshes. Red drum males produce "drumming" sounds during the spawning season to attract females.

The red drum spend their first few months feeding on plankton. Once the larvae have moved to the estuary, they will feed on crustaceans and small fishes. When water temperatures rise in the spring, small red drum reenter the tidal marsh creeks and begin to grow very rapidly. In May and June, these fish begin to leave the small creeks for the open shallows of the estuary.

The red drum's predators include man and dolphins. The red drum has been placed on lists of fish that have been fished into a state of decline. Red drum numbers in South Carolina have increased in recent years, but commercial fishing is still restricted.

"A Seafood Delight"

During the summer, people line coastal creeks and rivers hoping to pull in blue crabs. Blue crabs tolerate a wide range of water conditions, and can be found in saltwater and fresh water. Their preference is usually for brackish water, a mixture of fresh and salt water that can be found in the salt marsh. Tidal water pushing upriver creates the perfect environment for the crab.

Like all arthropods, the blue crab has a hard exoskeleton for protection and support; however, the exoskeleton must be shed as the crab grows. Before the crab molts its hard outer shell, a new shell is being formed underneath the old one. By the time the old shell is molted, the new one is ready. The new shell will harden more over time. Soft-shell crabs are a prized seafood.

Once fertilized, blue crab eggs go through a series of developmental stages. As larvae, they feed upon zooplankton and as adults they feed on small fish, other crustaceans (including other blue crabs), mollusks, and decaying animal and plant matter. The adults spend more of their time in the estuary. Red drum and humans are the primary predator of the blue crab.

"A Seafood Delight"

Commercial shrimping is an important part of the economy of South Carolina. There are many kinds of shrimp found in the salt marsh and estuary, including pink, white, and brown shrimp.

As planktonic larvae, shrimp eat other zooplankton, and as adults they eat detritus, small marine worms, small fish, and microalgae. White and brown shrimp primarily live upon a muddy bottom while the pink shrimp like a more sandy or shell-like bottom. In South Carolina, there are fewer pink shrimp than white or brown shrimp because of primarily muddy-bottomed waters.

Shrimp have walking legs to help them move short distances, while their swimming legs help propel them longer distances. To escape predators, shrimp can use their abdominal muscles and other appendages to quickly move backwards.

"It's a Small World"

Estuaries are rich with plankton. Plankton is a term for a group of extremely small creatures found in fresh and saline waters. A liter of lake water has been known to contain 500 million forms of planktonic life. Most plankton have no real control over where they go because of their small size.

Plankton are one of the most important pieces of the aquatic food web. There are two main types of plankton: phytoplankton and zooplankton.

The phytoplankton, composed mainly of diatoms, dinoflagellates and the algaes, make their own food through photosynthesis. Since phytoplankton make their own food through photosynthesis like a plant does, they have to be near the surface of the water in order to have access to the sun. Several types of phytoplankton have special adaptations that help them to stay afloat near the surface of the water. Copepods, like diatoms, secrete an oil to help them remain high in the water column. The Portuguese man-of-war is phytoplankton that has an air sac to help it stay afloat.

The more animal-like zooplankton mostly feed on the phytoplankton, but can also feed upon other aquatic organisms. The zooplankton include foraminifera, small crustaceans, jellyfish, worms, mollusks, and some egg and larval forms of other animal species found in the waters. Like phytoplankton, zooplankton have special adaptations that help them to survive in their environment.

"It's a Small World"

For nearly 2 billion years, bacteria were the only form of life on earth. Bacteria are microscopic, one-celled organisms. They are found everywhere on earth: the frozen arctic, the dry deserts, the deepest oceans, boiling hot springs and even on and in the bodies of living organisms!

Though some bacteria can cause disease and sickness, bacteria are very important organisms of every ecosystem. They feed on organic matter, decomposing it in order to return nutrients to the soil. Bacteria are also an important part the nitrogen cycle. Nearly all forms of life need nitrogen. Nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere; however, it is not useable to most organisms in that form. Bacteria living in the soil will "fix" the nitrogen gas into compounds that plants can use, and then animals can get the "fixed" nitrogen compounds when they eat plants. When the animals and plants die, bacteria decompose these nitrogen compounds back into atmospheric nitrogen. This constant movement of nitrogen through the environment is called the nitrogen cycle. Without bacteria, plants could not absorb nitrogen and whole ecosystems would fail!

Like plants, some bacteria make their own food through photosynthesis; other bacteria make their own food through chemical processes, and still others feed on smaller bacteria in a process called phagocytosis.

The bacteria that people give a "bad rap" are known as pathogens. Pathogens are microscopic invaders that can cause disease, but most bacteria are harmless and, in fact, helpful.