Life on Galveston Beach

Photos by Members of the Friends of Galveston Island State Park Galveston Bay Area Chapter Texas Master Naturalists, including Mel Measeles,Frank Budny, Steve Alexander, and Vic Madamba Edited by Nathan Veatch

Coquina Clams Coquina (Donax) clams live right at the edge of the surf in the swash zone where the water flows in and out. They live buried in the sand until exposed by a receding wave.

One of the siphons brings water into the clam where microscopic food is filtered with its gills and the other siphon carries the water back out. The coquina clam has two siphons and digs quickly with its foot down into the sand.

Mole Crabs Mole crabs live at the edge of the Gulf in the same area as the coquina clams. They too are exposed by the waves and must dig quickly back into the sand. They also eat minute particles in the water by trapping them with their antennae.

What causes the holes at the edge of the surf?

Ghost Shrimp The ghost shrimp lives in 12 to 18 inch deep burrows on the beach and uses its fan-like appendages to bring a water current into the burrow. They filter the water for tiny particles with their antennae. By reversing the movement of the fan, inedible sand grains are pushed out of the hole and may be seen on the next slide.

This dome of inedible sand has been pushed out of the ghost shrimp’s hole.

eggs The orange eggs are held under the female ghost shrimp until they hatch and the larvae leave the burrow in the water flow.

Creature Catcher This “Creature Catcher” can be used to remove the ghost shrimp from its burrow. It is extremely difficult to dig one up without this special tool. To purchase a U-Catch 'em Creature Catcher, call 325- 248-1381 in Llano, Texas, or find them at fishing supply stores in Port Aransas, TX.

Mud Shrimp cone Mud shrimp are very similar to the ghost shrimp, but make a cone at the mouth of the burrow. They also live along the bay shore.

The line of debris from the last high tide is called the drift or wrack. Floating objects, like this piece of wood may have gooseneck barnacles attached to it. Gooseneck barnacles

Portuguese Man-O-War The Portuguese Man-O-War is the most dangerous of the jellyfish on our beaches and can cause painful stings to the unwary swimmer or beachcomber. The long tentacles hang from a gas filled float and contain stinging cells.

Sargassum Laughing Gulls These Laughing Gulls enjoy feasting on all the animals that live in the clumps of the floating brown algae, Sargassum.

Sargassumfish and shrimp A number of small brown animals live in the clumps of Sargassum. They do not eat the brown algae, but use it as a life raft to hide from predators. Sargassumfish and shrimp

The pipe fish may live in Sargassum or in seagrass beds in the bay The pipe fish may live in Sargassum or in seagrass beds in the bay. They are related to the seahorse and the males have a pouch to hold the females’ eggs until the young are ready to hatch.

Moon Snail or Shark’s Eye A hermit crab has taken over a moon snail shell on the beach.

The moon snail cruises the sandy beach below the low tide level and feeds on clams by drilling a hole through the clam’s shell with its rasping tongue. Note the brownish operculum, or trapdoor on the left, that covers the opening of the shell to protect the withdrawn snail from predators.

The lettered olive has a beautiful shell and is one of the few snails that does not have an operculum or trapdoor.

The blood ark clam is one of three very common clams that are found on Galveston’s beaches. You can tell an ark clam by the comb-like hinge.

What causes the holes on the upper beach near the dunes?

The ghost crab scurries around on the beach on hot days and feeds on whatever has washed up. The crab must go to the water and wet its gills at least once a day.

The ghost crab.

The goat-foot morning glory or railroad vine is one of the first plants to colonize the sand in front of the dunes.

This a photo of the dunes at Galveston Island State Park one year before Hurricane Ike.

After Hurricane Ike, FEMA constructed a sand berm to rebuild the dunes at the park. In July of 2009, school children planted single sprigs of bitter panicum grass.

Here is the berm in October 2009 after the bitter panicum grass and other plants have grown up.

Each clump of panic grass that is producing seeds in the photo comes from one sprig that a school child planted in July of 2009.

Visit Galveston Island State Park for a guided exploration of the beach or bay shore! From March to November: Beach Explorations, every Saturday at 10 am. Bay shore Explorations, every Sunday at 10 am. Meet at the Welcome Center on the bay side at 14901 FM 3005. Friends of GISP http://www.fogisp.org/ Texas Marine Education Association- http://www.statweb.org/TMEA/