Beach Detectives - Log Book

The Beach Detectives Log Book and Poster have been developed by Cradle Coast NRM with the support of funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country.

Who are Cradle Coast NRM? Cradle Coast NRM works with community, industry, private enterprise and government to manage and improve our natural resources to ensure a healthy future for our region.

What is NRM? NRM = Natural Resource Management. It includes all activities that use, develop or conserve our air, water, land, plants, animals and the systems they form.

What’s going on in North West Tasmania?

Cradle Coast NRM projects include coastal regeneration, sustainable farming demonstrations, shorebird monitoring, weed identification and removal, habitat protection for the Giant Freshwater Crayfish and many more!

How can I find out more or get involved?

Visit : www.cradlecoastnrm.com Or call Cradle Coast NRM on 6431 6285 Printed November 2010 © Cradle Coast NRM

Beach Detectives Finding the Good, the Bad and the Ugly LOGBOOK OWNER This logbook belongs to:

Age: The name of my Beach:

My Favorite beach creature is:

The animal I see most often on my beach is:

If found please return to:

1

Beach Detectives Checklist Tick off each creature as you find it. ď ?

Have you filled in the sighting form for that creature?

Neptune's necklace

Page

6

Sea lettuce

8

Encrusting tube worm

10

Blue bottle

12

Waratah anemone

14

Shellgrit anemone

16

Barnacle

18

Marine pill bug

20

Decorator crab

22

Black-lipped abalone

24

Limpet

26

Ribbed top shell

28

Conical sand snail

30

Cuttlefish

32

Little black horse mussel

34

Narrow wedge shell

36

Sea cucumber

2

38

Beach Detectives Checklist Tick off each creature as you find it.  Have you filled in the sighting form for that creature?

Sea star

40

Sea urchin

42

Toadfish

44

Stingray/skate

46

Flat head

48

Flounder

50

Australian Salmon

52

Silver Gulls

54

Pacific Gulls

56

Pied Oyster Catchers

58

Sooty Oyster Catchers

60

Little Penguins

62

Seal

64

Dolphin

66

Whale

68

Other

70

71

Other

3

Beach Detectives Finding the Good, the Bad and the Ugly YOUR MISSION: Your beach is full of amazing creatures some which you will know well and others which are more mysterious. Your mission is to find as many of these creatures as you can on your beach – the good, the bad and the ugly!

You will need to be sneaky. Some of them are shy, some hide in dark places and others only come to visit your beach occasionally. Look for clues like tracks in the sand, strange objects washed up on the high tide mark or splashes in the water.

You need to collect information: When did you see it? Where did you see it? What was it doing? Knowing this about your beach plants and animals can help you check if you have found the right thing! It is also very important in being able to tell whether the plant or animal is healthy, whether its population is growing or shrinking and if it is behaving normally. Like humans, all living things are not the same and can surprise you with their weird and wonderful habits!

The important information you gather will allow you to see what a great mix of creatures you have on your beach. This mix of all living things—plants, animals and microorganisms– and the way that they all live together is called ‘biodiversity’.

This is really important because all the plants and animals that live on your beach have a special relationship and depend on each other to survive. The amount of creatures and what types you find allow you to check if your beach is healthy.

4

Beach Detectives Finding the Good, the Bad and the Ugly It may be almost impossible to find some creatures. Some , like whales and seals, travel large distances and may only visit your beach briefly on their way to somewhere else.

A Helping Hand This booklet has information about what creatures you can look for. Read this information carefully before you start your search for a creature as it will give you clues as to where to find it and what it can be doing.

Glossary The glossary will help you to learn the meaning of scientific names and difficult terms that might appear in the information about these creatures. This information helps you learn how creature live and survive.

For example Bivalve, translucent, dorsal -Don’t know what these words mean? Check out the glossary at the back of the book for lots of easy-to-read definitions.

Okay then, let’s start the search!! Don’t forget to take your book to the beach with you when you visit so you can continue your investigation!

5

Neptunes necklace

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A brown seaweed which looks like it would make a great necklace.

Made up of strings of hollow, water-filled, round or oval-shaped beads joined together by a short stalk. The fronds may be between 10 - 30 cm long, and the beads may be 1.5 cm in wide.

Where do they live?

Can form a thick mat on rocks in the mid-tide zone What do they eat?

They absorb energy and nutrients from sea water through their leaf-like fronds.

Cool fact Lots of small creatures like to hang out in amongst the seaweed fronds and feed on them and other unsuspecting creatures which shelter there too.

6

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Neptunes necklace Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

7

Sea lettuce

Photo: H Sadler

What does it look like?

A ruffled green seaweed which looks like lettuce. It has thin leaves with can grow to 15cm long and 10cm across.

Where do they live?

In shallow water where there is lots of light and in rock pools. It prefers flat platform surfaces where it is constantly washed by waves. Be careful though as it is very slippery to walk on.

What do they eat?

They absorb energy and nutrients from sea water through their leaf-like fronds. Like other marine algae and land-based plants, it uses photosynthesis to produce energy and sugars.

Cool fact Most plants that live under the water along our sea shores are algae but mainly people call these plants seaweed or kelp. Unlike land-based plants they do not have a root system to take in their nutrients but rather use their leaves known as fronds.

8

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Sea lettuce Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

9

Encrusting tube worm

Photo: Hannah Sadler

What do they look like?

Often a thick squiggly white growth which is seen on rocks and looks like coral. It is actually the case of a tube worm. If you look closely you can see the individual tubes, each closed by a tiny spiky trapdoor.

Where do they live?

On rocks in the mid- tide zone but single tubes can be seen above the highest tide only to be wet by sea spray.

What do they eat?

Tube worms are filter feeders. They stay permanently in their tubes eating the nutrient particles from the water around them. Their black feeding tentacles pop out when covered with water.

Cool fact When the tubes are uncovered by water the animal is impossible to see as it closes a little trap door at the end of the tube to protect itself. The trapdoor is called an operculum.

10

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Encrusting tube worm Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

11

Blue bottle

Photo: lifeinthefastlane.com

Photo: Cork

What do they look like?

This jellyfish-like creature is known as a blue bottle because of its colour and shape when washed up on the beach. It is sometimes know as a Portuguese Man O’War because it is said to look like a Portuguese battleship with a sail. It has a gas filled float which can be between 3 and 15cm long and tentacles which can range in length from 15cm up to 10 metres! Many blue bottles can be washed up on beaches after stormy weather.

Where do they live?

They float on the ocean surface with their tentacles hanging below. They cannot move on their own but use their float as a sail and also get carried with the currents and tides. It is for this reason that when you have onshore weather they can sometimes be washed up in big numbers.

What do they eat?

The blue bottle has dangerous stinging parts on their tentacles which sting and kill small sea creatures such as small fish and shrimp. They eat their food by oozing special enzymes to break down the animal so they can digest it.

Cool fact The blanket octopus is immune to the venom of the blue bottle, and they have been known to rip off its tentacles and use them for defensive purposes.

12

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Blue Bottle Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

13

Waratah anemone

Photos: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A rich red jelly like blob when out of the water. When under the water it sticks out its bright red tentacles like a flower. Can be up to 4cm wide.

Where do they live?

They are found at mid-low tide level in crevices and on the underside of rocks. They like semi-protected and rocky sea shores and are often found in rock pools.

What do they eat?

At high tide and in rock pools with plenty of water the anemone opens up to feed. All anemones have stinging cells, nematocysts, like those of the painful Blue Bottles, but luckily for us the venom of most anemones does not affect humans. The nematocysts on the tentacles fire off to catch and immobilize unwary animals such as small crustaceans and fish that come too close.

Cool fact Although anemones appear to be stuck to one spot they actually move really, really slowly. They glide over rock surfaces towards food or to attack other adult anemones!

14

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Waratah anemone Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

15

Shellgrit anemone

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

They are hard to see because they are often partly covered in sand or shell grit like in the photos above. It has about three rows of pale tentacles with darker bands. The shorter ones hold onto the grit. It can be up to 8cm wide.

Where do they live?

Common in rock pools and crevices. As long as it remains covered by water it can sometimes be found where the rocks merge into the beach.

What do they eat?

The Shellgrit Anemone is thought to feed mainly on molluscs such as small mussels that are dislodged by waves.

Cool fact Shellgrit anemones are usually attached to rocks several centimetres below the sand by a column and a muscular disc that clings to the rock and is very hard to dislodge.

16

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Shellgrit anemone Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

17

Barnacle

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

Are hard plated animals which attached themselves permanently to rocky surfaces. Adult rock barnacles are protected by four, six or eight calcareous plates, which form a volcano-like cover. The top entrance is covered by another two plates. They are very rough and spiky and can make walking on rocks in bare feet a very unpleasant experience!

Where do they live?

Barnacles live from the high tide to mid tide mark on rocky ocean shores. Some barnacles live where they are exposed to heavy wave action and others prefer to be more sheltered. A lot of barnacles have very specific locations and levels on the sea shore.

Some form a dense cover of hundreds or even thousands of barnacles.

What do they eat?

Adult barnacles cannot move about and depend upon the high tides to bring all the things that they need to survive. They open their two top plates and draw bits of plankton and broken down matter into their shell to eat.

Cool fact Young barnacles can swim around before they eventually stick themselves permanently to a rock. They use chemical and touch detectors that can recognise adults of their own species and suitable homes to attach themselves to for the rest of their lives.

18

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Barnacle Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

19

Marine pill bug

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A small flattened and segmented body like a Slater, Marine pill bugs can have a translucent white colour. Can be up to 2cm long and have little wing-like appendages which stick out from their last appendage.

Where do they live?

They live under stones and among algae in sheltered areas just below the low tide.

What do they eat?

Marine pill bugs are scavengers and browsers, feeding on living and rotting algae and other debris on the sea floor.

Cool fact Marine Pill Bugs are one of the animals referred to by fishermen as sea lice.

20

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Marine pill bug Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

21

Decorator Crab

Photo: Australian Museum web

What do they look like?

Orange to grey with reddish orange claws with light coloured tips.

But the most distinguishing feature of the Decorator crab is that it is usually covered in seaweed which it attaches to its body as a camouflage.

Where do they live?

They live amongst the weed in rock pools, or under rocks on moderately exposed reefs at or below low tide.

What do they eat?

The diet of the decorator crab is consisting of both algae and small invertebrates. These crabs use the longer pincers to pluck small animals from crevices and are scavengers of the sea floor.

Cool fact The decorator crabs body has spines, knobs and fine hooked hairs, through which the crab threads snipped off algae and sponge pieces. They do this to camouflage themselves so that they go undetected by predators.

22

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Decorator crab Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

23

Black lipped abalone

Photo: Australian Museum web

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

They have an ear shaped shell which can grow up to 21cm in length and is spirally ridged on the outside, often covered in algae which makes it hard to see. The meaty foot of the abalone has a distinct black lip which can suction onto rocks. Different species of Abalone have different coloured lips.

Where do they live?

Abalone stick to rocky surfaces and are found in crevices and caves on reefs. They generally live in waters between 5 and 10 metres deep, but can be found in waters up to 40 metres in depth.

What do they eat?

Black lip abalone feed on drift seaweed and graze on seagrass leaves and seaweed growing on rocks. Their diet is predominantly of red seaweed.

Cool fact Abalone blood contains no blood-clotting mechanism, so if the animal is cut it can bleed to death!

24

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Black lipped abalone Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

25

Limpet

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

Limpets have a distinctive oval shaped shell with a peak more or less in the centre. They have a very strong foot which holds fast to tiny bumps and holes on rocks. They can be up to 8 cm long.

Where do they live?

They live on exposed rocky shores on the mid-low tide levels.

What do they eat?

When the tide is high limpets move around and graze on algae.

As the tide drops they usually return to their resting place.

Cool fact A number of unrelated marine gastropods have evolved limpet-shaped shells, and this can make identification of limpets difficult. There are a whole group of false limpets, many of which are unrelated.

26

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Limpet Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

27

Ribbed top shell

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

The shell is off white in colour with distinct spiral ridges. The shell is up to 25 mm high and just as wide.

Where do they live?

Sheltered and moderately exposed rocky shores, mudflats, seagrass beds from the mid-upper tidal area.

What do they eat?

They are grazers and bulldoze along the surface of rocks eating mostly algae, but also whatever else they happen to swallow. See the feeding tracks of ribbed top shells in the photos above.

Cool fact Ribbed top shells, like many molluscs, produce a shell by absorbing calcium carbonate and other ingredients from their habitat and food and secreting it in an orderly fashion to form a shell house. They keep adding to this shell and keep it under repair throughout their entire life.

28

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Ribbed top shell Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

29

Conical sand snail

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A pale brown or cream coloured smooth shell up to 35mm high.

Can be known as a moon snail.

Where do they live?

They live on open and semi- protected beaches crawling just under the surface of the sand.

What do they eat?

They are carnivores and use their abrasive tongue like radula to drill holes in bivalves and absorb the animal inside. You will often see the empty bivalve shells washed up on the shore with the neat looking drill holes in them.

Cool fact During the summer in Tasmania, there are often sausage-shaped jelly masses washed up on our shores. These are often thought to be jellyfish but they are actually egg masses laid by sand snails, often more than twice the size of the actual snail. If you look really closely you can see that it is in fact made up of thousands of tiny dots- each dot is an individual sand snail egg.

30

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Conical sand snail Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

31

Cuttlefish 1.

3.

Photo: Doug A Underwater Australasia

Photo: A Wind

2.

Photo: H Sadler

1. Cuttlefish eggs, Somerset beach, September 2010 2. Cuttlebones 3. Live cuttlefish amongst the seaweed

What do they look like?

Cuttlefish are similar to squid, they have eight arms and two suckered tentacles with which to capture food. The cuttlebones which are commonly washed onto beaches are the skeletons of the cuttlefish. The cuttlebone acts as a buoyancy mechanism for the animal, enabling the cuttlefish to remain on the bottom or swim freely at any depth. The cuttlefish can quickly change colour to camouflage into its surroundings.

Where do they live?

Cuttlefish live in temperate and tropical seas around the world, especially in shallow water areas and around reefs.

What do they eat?

They feed mostly at night, on fish and crustaceans.

Cool fact When disturbed, cuttlefish eject a cloud of dark brown ink from an ink sac to protect themselves from predators. The original “India Ink� used in fountain pens before the ballpoint pen was invented was ink from cuttlefish collected in the Indian Ocean.

32

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Cuttlefish Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

33

Little black horse mussel

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A small black-blue bivalve which is common in large clusters on rocky shores. They can grow from 1.5 - 3cm long.

Where do they live?

The little black horse mussel is an extremely common species living in large clusters where sand and rock meet on medium to high energy coasts. It also occurs in some areas on jetty piles above the mid tide level.

What do they eat?

The little black horse mussel is a filter feeder. It opens up its shells and sieves food particles from the water.

Cool fact Bivalves are a type of mollusc which have two shells. Other examples of bivalves include oysters, scallops, clams and pipis.

34

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Little black horse mussel Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

35

Narrow wedge shell

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A whitey cream bivalve shell which is common on sandy beaches. Sometimes called a Pipi. It can be up to 2.5cm long and triangular.

Where do they live?

Just under the sand on sandy beaches at low tide. Their shells are often washed up on the beach.

What do they eat?

They are filter feeders. They open their shells and sieve food particles from the water.

Cool fact Often on low tide you will see lines or squiggles of disturbed sand where the tide has receded. If you look closely you will see a bump at one end which is the narrow wedge shell as it moves slowly through the sand feeding. See photo above.

36

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Narrow wedge shell Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

37

Sea Cucumber

Photo: Sealily

What do they look like?

A long, sausage-shaped animal, sometimes seen with feather-duster like tentacles sticking out of their mouth. There are many different species of sea cucumber in Tasmania, which come in a variety of colours, including black, brown, green and red. Most Tasmanian sea cucumbers are less than 20cm long.

Where do they live?

Along rocky shorelines (most often under or between large rocks), or on the sandy sea-floor.

What do they eat?

Sea cucumbers eat sand, and filter it through their bodies to remove tasty things like tiny pieces of seaweed and bits of fish poo.

Cool fact Sea cucumbers breathe through their bottom!

38

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Sea cucumber Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

39

Sea star

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A flattened, star-shaped animal, usually with five arms, or arms in multiples of five. Some sea stars have arms which are fused together, so that they look more like a five-pointed pin cushion than a star. There are many different species of sea star in Tasmania, which come in a wide variety of colours and sizes.

Where do they live?

Along rocky shorelines (most often under or between rocks), or on the sandy sea-floor.

What do they eat?

Small marine animals and algae. Some sea stars are very strong, and can pry clam shells apart to eat the clam’s insides.

Cool fact A sea star’s mouth is on its underside and is very small. So to feed, sea stars spit their stomach out of their mouth, cover their prey and digest their prey outside of their body. Once their food has been digested, they suck their stomach back into their mouth.

40

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Sea star Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

41

Sea urchin Photo: library.thinkquest.org

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

A ball of spines. Often black, but sometimes brown, dark green, pink or dark red. There are a variety of sea urchins in Tasmania.

Most grow to between 5 and 15cm wide.

Where do they live?

Along rocky shorelines (most often under or between rocks), or on the sandy sea-floor.

What do they eat?

Most sea urchins eat algae. An invasive species of sea urchin (called the long-spined sea urchin, or Centrostephanus rodgersii) is currently destroying kelp beds in Southern Tasmania by eating them to the sea floor.

Cool fact While beach rambling, keep a look out for hollow, pale coloured balls with small holes in stripy or star-shaped patterns- these are sea-urchin’s ‘tests’ or skeletons! See photo above.

42

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Sea urchin Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

43

Toadfish Photo: H Sadler

Photo: Australian Museum

What do they look like?

They have torpedo shaped bodies, small round fins and soft skin with no scales. They often have a light belly with black blotches on their back and can grow up to 25cm in length. These predators are experts at camouflage and can lie motionless until prey comes close. They have a lethal poison in their skin and should not be eaten!

Where do they live?

On sheltered sand and seagrass up to 20m deep and sometimes common in estuaries.

What do they eat?

Small fish, squid, shells and crustaceans.

Cool fact Toadfish are sometimes known as ‘Pufferfish’ because they can quickly gulp in huge amounts of water or air to turn themselves into a ball several times their normal size. This is a defence mechanism because they are not very good swimmers.

44

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Toadfish Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

45

Stringray/Skate Photo: H Sadler

Skate egg case washed onto the shore

Photo: Google images

What do they look like?

Stingrays and skates are related to sharks. They have a wide, flattened body, with gills and mouth on the underside and a long, narrow tail, usually with a barb attached. There are a number of different species of stingray and skate in Tasmania.

Where do they live?

On the sandy sea floor, often half buried in sand.

What do they eat?

Mostly clams, crabs and other invertebrates.

Cool fact The largest species of ray is the manta ray which has been found to be up to 7.6 metres across, with a weight of 2,300 kilograms. It ranges throughout tropical waters of the world and is typically found near coral reefs.

46

Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Stingray/Skate Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Flathead

Photo: G. Edgar

What do they look like?

Flatheads are a fish with a long, narrow body, a broad, flattened head and a row of spines along their back. They are usually light brown or mottled brown in colour and can grow to over 50cm in length. There are several species of flathead in Tasmanian waters.

Where do they live?

On the sandy sea floor.

What do they eat?

Crustaceans and small fish.

Cool fact Flathead are sometimes called ‘frogs’ or ‘lizards’. The spines on their back are extremely sharp. If you catch a flathead while fishing, ask an adult to handle it for you.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Flathead Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Flounder Photo: fishingkites.co.nz

Photo: spooled.com.au

What do they look like?

Flounder are a very flat, oval-shaped fish. Their dorsal fins extend most of the way around the edges of their body. Both of their eyes are on the top of their body. Flounder are usually a mottled brown or green colour and sometimes have faint spotty, striped or ringed patterns. They can grow to around 40cm long. The two most common species of flounder in Tasmania are greenback flounder and long-snouted flounder.

Where do they live?

On the sandy or muddy sea floor.

What do they eat?

Polychaete worms and small crustaceans Cool fact When flounder are still young or in the ‘larval’ stage they swim normally and have one eye on each side of their head but as they grow, one eye gradually shifts around or through the head and the two eyes become positioned together so that they can see upwards better.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Flounder Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Australian salmon Photo: Australian Museum web

What do they look like?

Australian Salmon have a long, streamlined body and a forked tail. They are silver with brown spots and have yellow pectoral (side) fins. They can grow up to 90cm long. They can be seen in schools on our beaches, identified by moving patches of rough water.

Where do they live?

In open water, river mouths and just off beaches.

What do they eat?

Small fish Cool fact Most Australian Salmon found in Tasmania are juveniles. They move towards mainland Australia as they reach maturity.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Australian salmon Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Silver gull Photo: M Finzel

Photo: H Sadler

What do they look like?

Silver gulls are the most common type of gull found on Tasmanian coasts. They are mainly white with silver-grey wings as adults and reddish / orange beaks. The younger birds are darker in colouring, they can have a speckled appearance on their wings and can have a yellow beak.

Where do they live?

They are coastal birds but can live near inland waters, on farmland and in urban areas.

What do they eat?

Food includes worms, fish, insects and crustaceans. They have become a successful scavenger, readily pestering humans for handouts of scraps, pilfering from unattended food containers or searching for human refuse at tips.

Cool fact Silver gulls nest in large colonies on offshore islands. Often two broods will be raised in a year and both adults share nest-building, incubation and feeding duties. With greater access to a wide range of food, the Silver gull has been able to increase its population in areas of human activity.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Silver gull Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Pacific gull

Photo: B Colson

Photo: Cradle Coast NRM

What do they look like?

They are a big gull. They have a white body with dark grey/black wings and a bright yellow beak with a red tip. The younger birds are a speckled dark brown colour with dark beaks. As they age the colouring becomes lighter until it matures into the adult colouring which takes 5 years! The young birds are often not even recognised as being a gull.

Where do they live?

They roost on boats, piles, reefs, on open beaches and in dunes.

They are usually found near the coast but also sometimes rubbish tips.

What do they eat?

Food includes worms, fish, insects and crustaceans. They are scavengers.

Cool fact They break open shell fish to eat the animal inside by flying up high and dropping the shell from a height onto rocks.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Pacific gull Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Pied Oystercatcher

Photo: B Colson What do they look like?

They have black head, neck, back and wings with a white belly.

They have a long orange/red beak and a red eye. Young have a speckled grey shading.

Where do they live?

They are usually seen singly or in pairs on sandy shorelines and breed on sandy beaches. They live on one section of beach for their whole lives. They nest in a simple scrape in the sand somewhere between the high tide mark and the sand dune so are rarely noticed by people. They are well camouflaged and therefore many eggs and youngsters can be accidentally stepped on.

What do they eat?

Beach macroinvertebrates within the sand and sea grass, marine worms and bivalve molluscs - the chisel like bill of the bird is able to prise open the shell to get at the soft flesh inside.

Cool fact This bird is only found in Australia. The Oystercatcher rarely eats oysters!

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Pied Oystercatcher Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Sooty Oystercatcher

Photo:Martin Finzel

What do they look like?

They are black with a long orange/red beak and have a red eye. Youngsters are brownish in colour.

Where do they live?

They are usually seen singly or in pairs on rocky shorelines and breed on small rocky islets. They can be seen sometimes on the sandy part of the beach too.

What do they eat?

Beach macroinvertebrates within the sand and sea grass, marine worms and bivalve molluscs - the chisel-like bill of the bird is able to prise open the shell to get at the soft flesh inside.

Cool fact This bird is only found in Australia and is the only completely black shorebird. Both members of a breeding pair take turns to incubate eggs and care for the young. They nest in a simple scrape on the ground among pebbles or shells on rocky shores or cliffs.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Sooty Oystercatcher Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Little penguin

Photo: Raelee Turner

What do they look like?

They are a bird with a blue-black back and a white belly.

Where do they live?

In burrows that they dig in the ground or amongst vegetation (under bushes) in the coastal reserve.

What do they eat?

Pilchards and cuttlefish.

Cool fact The male cleans out the burrow to attract females into the burrow to mate.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Little penguin Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Seal

Photo: B Colson

Photo: Martin Finzel

What do they look like?

They are mammals that have adapted to spending most of their lives in water. They have stream lined bodies, forelimbs modified as flippers and webbed hind limbs.

Where do they live?

They can live on land as well as in the sea, but you will usually find them in the sea or on exposed rocky shorelines.

What do they eat?

Fish, other marine life and large invertebrates.

Cool fact They are excellent divers reaching depths of over 130m while searching for fish.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Seal Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Dolphin

Photo: treehugger.com

What do they look like?

They are mammals which are specially adapted to live in the sea.

They are so well adapted to sea life that they resemble fishes much more than terrestrial mammals.

Where do they live?

Sheltered bays in the ocean.

What do they eat?

Fish, squid and other marine life.

Cool fact Dolphins have to be conscious to breathe. This means that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, because then they would suffocate. Dolphins have "solved" that by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time. Dolphins sleep about 8 hours a day in this fashion.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Dolphin Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Whales

Photos: G Ewing

What do they look like?

They are two kinds of whale: a toothed whale and a baleen whale. The baleen whale is much bigger than the toothed whale.

This is why the baleen whale is commonly referred to as a ‘great whale’. There are 80 species of whale and dolphin.

Where do they live?

The sea.

What do they eat?

Toothed whales eat fish, squid and other marine life. Baleen whales eat plankton which they filter using modified hairs that form sieve plates around the mouth.

Cool fact Under the whale’s skin they have a layer of fat called ‘blubber’ which provides insulation and food storage.

We can see these great whales as they migrate past our shores on their way to the Antarctic. The most commonly seen whales along the coasts of Tasmania are the Humpback whale and the Southern Right whale.

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form

Whale Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form What did you see?

Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? Was it behaving strangely? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form What did you see?

Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? What was it doing? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Beach Detectives Sighting Form What did you see?

Date: When did you see it? (morning, lunch, afternoon, night)

Where did you see it? What part of the beach? (dry sand, wet sand, rocky reef, surf zone)

Was it dead or alive?

What was the tide doing? Low, High, on its way out, on its way in?

Notes and other interesting things‌ (do you see it often? Was there more than one? Was it behaving strangely? Was it eating or being eaten?)

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Glossary Appendages: an external body part that protrudes from an organism’s body, such as a limb (e.g. arm or leg, antennae, mouthparts, wings, tail).

Bivalves: have a shell consisting of two asymmetrically rounded halves called valves that are mirror images of each other, joined at one edge by a flexible ligament called the hinge.

Broods: collective offspring – i.e. new organisms, made by reproduction, produced by one or more parents.

Browsers: herbivorous predatory animals feeding on plant material.

Buoyancy: the ability of an object to float in a liquid, such as water.

Calcareous: mostly or partly made up of calcium carbonate.

Calcium carbonate: is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CaCO3. It is the main component of the shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls and egg shells.

Camouflage: the ability of an organism to avoid being seen or detected by other organisms, so that it can survive predation. For example, an animal may be of a similar colour to its surroundings, like a flounder.

Carnivores: are ‘meat-eaters’ or organisms that get their energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly of animal tissue. In a food chain, carnivores are either secondary or tertiary consumers.

Cephalopods: are marine mollusc animals with a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles (e.g. cuttlefish, octopus, nautilus, and squid).

Conscious: having the mental faculties fully active and aware; in a state of wakefulness.

Crustaceans: a very large group of arthropods (invertebrates with an external skeleton, segmented body, and jointed appendages), including crabs, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles.

Debris: scattered remains of marine organisms.

Dorsal: located on the back of a fish, whale, dolphin or porpoise. The main purpose of the dorsal fin is to stabilise the animal against rolling and assist in making sudden turns.

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Glossary Estuaries: a partly closed body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a connection to the open sea. They form a transition zone between river and ocean environments, and are subject to marine influences (waves, tides and the influx of sea water), and riverine influences (flow of freshwater and sediment).

Evolved: characteristics developed gradually over evolutionary processes.

Forelimbs: the front limb of an animal (e.g. flipper, leg, limb or appendage).

Fronds: leaf-like structure Fused: joined together in a whole.

Gastropods: a group of molluscs, including snails and slugs, which can live in marine, freshwater and land environments.

Herbivore/herbivorous: an animal that feeds mainly or only on plants.

In a food chain, herbivores are primary consumers.

Incubate/Incubation: The process by which birds hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period.

Insulation: to protect from cold; and prevent or reduce the transmission of heat from the animal’s body to the cold surrounding water of the sea (e.g. whale blubber).

Invasive: not native to, and tending to spread widely in a habitat or environment. Invasive species often have few natural predators or other biological controls in their new environment. Although not always considered to be harmful to an environment, invasive species can become pests and displace native species from their habitats.

Invertebrates: an animal without a backbone. This group includes 95% of all animal species (i.e. not including animals with a backbone – fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). Examples of invertebrates include jellyfishes, sea anemones, starfishes, sea urchins, squid, snails, bivalves and sponges.

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Glossary Larval: immature (not yet mature) of its kind. The newly hatched, earliest stage of various animals that undergo metamorphosis (biological processes resulting in noticeable and abrupt change in the animal’s body structure), differing markedly in form and appearance from the adult.

Lethal: something that is capable of causing death to a living being.

Macro-invertebrates: Macro-invertebrates are an integral part of the aquatic food web. They help to cycle energy though the system by breaking down organic material, harvesting algae, shredding course material, feeding on other macro-invertebrates or smaller micro-invertebrates and being eaten by larger vertebrates like fish.

Without them, the system may start to fail, organic material is not broken down in the same way, larger invertebrates have no food, and twigs and leaves will start to pile up.

Maturity: the stage when an organism can reproduce.

Metabolism: The set of chemical reactions that happen in living organisms to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments.

Migrate/Migration: directed, regular or systematic movement of a group of organisms or animals (e.g. whales or fish migrate during certain times of the year to feed or breed).

Molluscs: the generalised mollusc has a single, "limpet-like" shell on top. The shell is secreted by a mantle that covers the upper surface.

The underside consists of a single muscular "foot". The soft, non-muscular metabolic region of the mollusc is called the� visceral mass�.

Nematocysts: a type of venomous cell unique to corals, sea anemones, jellyfish, etc. This enables them to catch prey and defend themselves from predators.

Pectoral: pectoral fins of an aquatic animal, such as a whale or a fish, are located on both sides of the body.

Photosynthesis: the process of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugars, using energy from the sun.

Pilfering: stealing.

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Glossary Plankton: The collection of small or microscopic organisms, including algae and protozoans, that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water, especially at or near the surface, and serve as food for fish and other larger organisms.

Polycheate worms: segmented worms, sometimes referred to as ‘bristle worms’, because they have bundles of bristles (called setae) from each of their parapodia (paired outgrowths from the side of their bodies). They are often brightly coloured, and may be iridescent or luminescent.

Predator: an organism that lives by preying (feeding) on other organisms.

Prey: the organism that is attacked (i.e. preyed upon by a predator).

Roost: a place for temporary rest or sleep.

Scavengers: an animal that feeds on dead or decaying matter.

Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition (process where dead tissues of an organism break down) of dead animal remains.

Schools (of fish): a group of fish.

Suffocate: to die from lack of air or oxygen.

Terrestrial: living or growing on land (not aquatic).

Torpedo: cylindrical/cigar-shaped.

Translucent: allowing light to pass through partially or diffusely; semitransparent.

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