Critters

From sea turtles to tree frogs to naked sea butterflies, we’ve published material on all kinds of critters. And there’s much more in our Sharks section, too.

Dec 14, 2020

Naturalist’s Notebook: Sparrows and Rising Seas

Two coastal study sites now support hundreds of saltmarsh and seaside sparrows but might only provide habitat for 25 by 2060.

Sep 16, 2020

Last Word… More Than Sand Dollars

The bright white sand dollars prized by beachcombers and coveted by craft makers were once masters of their seabottom habitat.

Sep 16, 2020

Naturalist’s Notebook: Is Climate Change Affecting Sea Turtle Hatchlings?

Research shows that warming temperatures cause loggerheads to give birth mostly to female offspring.

Sep 16, 2020

Blood Draw at the Horseshoe Corral

An essential medical safety test used around the world depends on horseshoe crab blood, and scientists may have discovered the key to a sustainable supply.

NC Division of Marine Fisheries oystersancturary-1488

Jun 16, 2020

Naturalists Notebook: In Search of Ancient Oysters

Restored oyster reefs provide healthy habitats and great places for fishing. Ongoing threats to oysters, such as disease and harvesting, mean that unless we make deliberate efforts to restore them, we are in danger of losing the benefits that oyster reefs provide.

Mar 23, 2020

Sea Science: An Underwater Soundscape Is Worth a Thousand Pictures

Olivia Caretti (here) and her colleagues have identified the exact dates when several fish species begin spawning on restored oyster reefs in North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound.

Mar 19, 2020

The Greatest Show on the East Coast

The Outer Albemarle Peninsula offers some of the darkest skies on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard, with sites for unsurpassed stargazing and a nightscape experience full of wildlife at play under the music of the spheres.

Dec 16, 2019

Sea Science: You Say Starfish, I Say Sea Star

Even though they live in water, they don’t have scales, don’t swim, and aren’t “fish.”

Nov 8, 2018

Naturalist’s Notebook: Returning to Shore

Theirs was a long journey. Leatherback sea turtles undertake migrations of up to 3,700 miles from their feeding grounds to where they breed and nest. In total, they can travel up to 10,000 miles a year.

Sep 1, 2017

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER (DAMS)

Long, long ago in a wetland not very far away, nature’s architects sculpted the landscape to create places to live and food to eat. North American beavers altered the environment to fit their needs until the needs of humans drove them out of their jobs — and out of their homes.