August Outdoors...Hot summer days make August a great month to visit the coast of Maine. This month's outdoors page features lobsters and tide pools. Before you head to the beach, read on to learn about some of the fascinating creatures that you might encounter while you are there. Want to learn more? Visit the Maine State Aquarium to view their collection of regional fish, meet Charlie (a 23 lb lobster), pet a shark, and more!
The Life of Charlie..
Sitting in the corner of an exhibit tank at the Maine State Aquarium in Boothbay Harbor, Charlie watches as both fish and people pass him by. Not interested, he continues his daily routine of cleaning his legs and antenna, bathing his gills in water, and rearranging his habitat, while he patiently waits for his favorite time of the day-Dinner. Who is Charlie?-you might ask. Weighing in at a hefty 23 lbs, some would say he’s looks like a good summer feast. Others will express how special he is, and that Charlie is the aquarium’s largest lobster ever-an unusual specimen to help aquarium staff educate the public about Maine best loved critter-the Atlantic Lobster, and Maine’s most recognized fishery.
There’s more to lobsters then the beloved specimen on our holiday plate. They start out their lives as microscopic larva floating through the ocean’s currents after their mothers release them from tiny eggs underneath their tails. Once free, lobsters travel long distances at the mercy of the waves, the wind, and the currents fighting each other, fish, and other predators that would make them their next meal. If they survive, and less then 1 % do, it takes them more then a month to become large enough and heavy enough to sink to the bottom and find a home of their own. They will spend the next 5 to 7 years of their life going through periods of shedding in order to get big enough to protect themselves, and big enough to be caught by fisherman. For a lobster like Charlie, it would take an estimated 50 years for him to reach his mammoth size in the ocean-and a lot of luck.
Lobsters are not always the identifiable brownish-green we have come to love, and they are not only red when they are cooked. Lobsters, in fact, can be a variety of colors and even shapes. Like people, their genetics can make them be different colors-and different patterns! At the aquarium, fisherman bring us lobsters that are blue, yellow, orange, green, red, purple, pink, spotted, half & half, and even a mix of all these colors! These varied lobsters spend a lot of their time roaming the ocean bottom in search of food, eating things like fish, clams, shrimp, and even sea stars! They hunt by using their 2 long touch antennae and by using 4 smaller antennae to smell. Even their legs are lined with special hairs to help them find their way, and they use their fly-like eyes to help them see. They use their claws to help them break or tear things, and their special feeding arms to help them eat. Occasionally they find another lobster they don’t like and get into a shoving match with their large claws, but generally in the ocean they keep to themselves until it’s time to find a mate.
In order to make sure these interesting animals will be around forever, lobsterman work hard to make sure that they take only what they are supposed to-throwing back all the lobsters that are too small, and all the lobsters that are too big-making sure they go out to make more lobsters and giving them more chances to survive to Charlie’s age and size. Female lobsters with eggs are marked on their tail so that other lobsterman will know to put her back in the ocean. At catch size these females may carry 8,000 to 10,000 eggs. At Charlie’s size a female would carry more then 100,000 eggs. In this way, we protect the lobsters in the ocean-limiting what we take, while still getting to enjoy that sweet taste of Maine’s bounty we have all come to recognize. That’s one thing that Charlie will never have to worry about, as he happily eats his own herring dinner, in the safety of his very own aquarium tank.
Aimee Hayden-Roderiques, Natural Science Educator. Maine State Aquarium
Current Weather & Moon Phase
| York, ME | Bar Harbor, ME |
| Greenville, ME | Presque Isle,ME |
A tide pool’s tales..
For many, tide pooling isn’t just a day at the beach it’s a lesson on the world around us, an adventure in exploration, and a way to connect with the mysteries of nature. The various collections held in jars or on shelves from these explorations are a reminder of good times and long journeys by the artifacts or creatures of the sea. My own desk is a reflection of this journey by various rocks, shells, seeds, fossils, human debris, found in my travels and a reminder to me of the ocean’s curiosities, of new places, or memorable family vacations. The chance to discover was a connecting factor between family members and friends, and with our sandals and buckets we could always count on the hidden communities in the rocks to teach us something new.
Tide pools are found in the rocky crevices and depressions of our great coastline. Each day brings a series of high and low tides to the beach, a result of gravity from the sun and the moon pulling on our seas. During the high tides the water brings in whatever it can carry to the shore, and as it returns leaves these things behind. Animals that get trapped in these basins must be able to survive the constantly changing conditions-from crashing waves and changing salinity to finding food and or avoiding predators. Just above the splash zone animals like barnacles, limpets and periwinkles will be found-animals who can hide themselves inside their shells with a trap door while the water is out to sea. Hum to the periwinkles and you will see them slowly peek out and say hello as the vibrations stimulate their senses. Look closely at the barnacles to see their little volcano shaped shells, and lift a limpet to see it’s grooved home spot in the rocks.
In the middle zone, between the high and low tide lines, you will find animals like crabs, mussels, seastars, moon snails, small lobsters, rock eels, and hermit crabs. These animals prefer to have water, but can find ways to protect themselves-like hiding in wet seaweed or under rocks and protecting themselves with hard outer layers or shells. Lift these layers of seaweed or gently move these rocks to see them hiding, but be careful to put it back for them to hide again. Sometimes you will only find the shells of them-left behind by skilled predators or leftover sheds from the growing process. Make sure empty snail shells don’t have something living in them-a hermit crab might be testing out a new home!
In the lower zone, just below the low tide line, you will find animals like sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sea anemones, small fish, shrimp, and sea squirts. These creatures like to be in the water all the time and travel with the tides. Bringing with you a view scope-made from hard plastic tubing, clear plastic wrap and an elastic band-can give you a way to look under the water without disturbing the creatures beneath it. These animals have their own defenses like being able to curl inside themselves, tough skins, or even spines that will protect them from the moving water, and potential predators. Often you can see them feeding-their antennae, arms or spines waving in the water to catch the little creatures you may not be able to see with your eyes. If you sit still and watch long enough, you may just see some new creatures come out and explore their temporary home without ever knowing you were there. Each new thing carrying with it it’s own story for your tide pool tales.
Aimee Hayden-Roderiques, Natural Science Educator. Maine State Aquarium.
Family Activities
Are you looking for activities for your family to use in the outdoors? Project Learning Tree has put together a collection of fun and engaging activities to help young people gain an awareness of the world around them.