Hey, All;-
        Have just returned from a week at a beach outside Charleston in the S.
of C. What was notable was what was NOT there. We have been going for
about 35 years. This year the beach and tide pools were a desert.
This was missing:
        No sea whips with atached Simnia.
        No Epitoniidae or Olivella w/hermit crab. (One only)
        No Coquinas doing their ritual dance up and down the beach.
        Only one or two sand dollars.
        No moon snails or busycon whelks with their little mounds in low-tide
sand. (usually plentiful)
        Very few pelicans. No flights of them late in the day to their night
islands.
        On the other hand: lots of starfish. Good fishing for Whiting. Dolphins
feeding just off the beach.
        The only explanation I can come up with is the increased water
temperature.
        So what do you think?
        Question Man