Dear Q-Man,

How about the draught?....possible fluctuations in the current?....water
levels have been down on the entire coast perhaps? Those little coquinas
had to take their little hat dance somewhere, and the B-Whelks probably
opted for better "drive up service" near the surf line; the food chain
was probably not as plentiful in what used to be the "Tidal Pools" that
have probably vanished this summer. And then there's even the remote
possibility that someone simply walked off with the spoils and nothing
was left on your midnight excursions....maybe dead batteries in your
flashlight?

Serious questions deserve serious contemplation!

Dave
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On Tue, 3 Aug 1999 14:37:19 -0700 Art Weil <[log in to unmask]> writes:
>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