Marine biology -- Great Britain; Seashore; Seashore biology
With such a spot as his headquarters the most enthusiastic
sea-side naturalist will find ample employment. The exposed rocks and
rock pools yield abundance of life; and if these be searched when the
tide is out, there will remain plenty of sea angling and other
employments to occupy him at other times.
We will now describe the actual work of the sea-side naturalist, giving
the necessary instructions for the observation and collection of the
various living things he will meet with.
First, then, with regard to work on the cliffs, a very few words will
suffice; for, seeing that the objects of interest to be met with here
will consist principally of the various flowers that are peculiar to or
characteristic of the sea shore, and certain insects and other creatures
more or less partial to a life on the cliffs, we may regard these as
coming within the range of the general work of the botanist,
entomologist, &c.; and since instructions for the collection and
preservation of such objects have already been given in former works of
this series, we may pass them over at once in order to deal with those
objects which are essentially marine.
It has already been hinted that the right time for collecting on the
shore is when the tide is at its lowest; and in order that the best work
may be done the collector should consult the local tide-tables, or
calculate, if necessary, the time of high tide from the establishment of
the port; and, of course, the period of spring tides should be selected
if possible. The time during which work should continue must be
regulated according to the enthusiasm of the collector or the time at
his disposal, but, as a rule, it is advisable to be on the scene of
action about three hours before the time of low tide, with a
determination to work continuously until the lowest ebb of the water.
On reaching the beach it is always advisable to start by examining the
line of miscellaneous material at high-water mark, along which may be
found quite a variety of objects, more or less interesting, which have
been washed in by the breakers, especially just after a storm, together
with numerous scavengers of the shore that perform a most useful work in
devouring the decomposing organic matter that would otherwise tend to
pollute the air.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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