. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. r o m sound to sea Homegrown Critters Familiarity can breed indiffer- ence. After all, the creatures of the North Carolina coast are just garden- variety fish, crabs and oysters. The really interesting animals live in the deep, dark reaches of the ocean. Right? Wrong. More than likely, there are a few things about our home- grown beach creatures that you never knew. Here's a sampling. • The male sea horse — not the female — incubates the eggs of their offspring in his brood pouch. The fe- male passes her e


. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. r o m sound to sea Homegrown Critters Familiarity can breed indiffer- ence. After all, the creatures of the North Carolina coast are just garden- variety fish, crabs and oysters. The really interesting animals live in the deep, dark reaches of the ocean. Right? Wrong. More than likely, there are a few things about our home- grown beach creatures that you never knew. Here's a sampling. • The male sea horse — not the female — incubates the eggs of their offspring in his brood pouch. The fe- male passes her eggs to the male, who fertilizes them in his pouch. Then, the lining of the pouch thickens with folds charged with blood vessels that carry oxygen and food to the developing embryos. In three weeks, the male ex- pels the fully formed young by flexing his body. • Before much was known about starfish, irate watermen may have unwittingly increased their popu- lations. Starfish entangled in their nets were cut up and thrown back to sea. What the fishermen didn't know was that starfish can grow new arms. And in some species, one arm can regener- ate an entire animal. • Bird feathers are made of kera- tin, the same substance of human nails and reptile scales. • The snowy and great egrets were hunted to near-extinction in the late 1800s, when their feathers were in great demand as decorations on women's hats. The same trend nearly decimated the least tern, which was used whole to trim fashionable hats. Laws were eventually passed to pro- tect these birds. • Ospreys normally mate for life, returning each year to the same nest and adding branches. The nest grows over the years, sometimes reaching 1,000 to 1,500 pounds. • The appendages of the horse- shoe crab have unusual functions. It uses its spiked tail as a lever if turned on its back. Its legs provide locomo- tion and grind food, much like teeth. The food is then passed backward through its legs into the mouth. As a


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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography