Phil, I can not say that I have seen anything positive in the way of shell collecting as the result of sand dredging from off shore and beach replenishment of the Florida West Coast. :( Quite the opposite seems to be true around Venice and the Englewood area. LaVerne *************************************** >From: Phil Liff-Grieff <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Beach shells and beach replenishment >Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 14:39:59 -0700 > >Roland, > >There is an interesting side aspect of this question that I have >encountered in Southern California recently. Normally our sandy beaches >have a limited fauna in evidence. Some of the beaches in San Diego >County, however, are being replenished with sand dredged from >offshore. The one beach that I visited is suddenly loaded with shells >of many different types. > >There are deeper water species in evidence (Cancellarias, Turrids, >Bursa, some deepwater Epitoniums, etc.) and many shallow water species >as well. These shallow water shells, however, include species normally >found in muddy bays and other environments unrelated to the current >habitat in that spot. > >What is going on here? It happens that the dredged sand is coming from >a submerged beach terrace that was the coastline about 10,000 years >ago. So, this particular beach is strewn with shells that are the >remains of current intertidal residents, current deeper water species >and fossil/subfossil species. Could it get more confusing? > >Is this experience similar to what one finds in beach replenishment >projects in Florida? > >Phil Liff-Grieff >[log in to unmask] >La Crescenta, California > >Roland Anderson wrote: > > > Hi All,Does anyone know the relationship between the live mollusks > > living intertidally on a beach and the dead shells you might find on a > > beach? How well do the washed-up shells reflect the actual population > > living there? Anybody know of any studies done on this > > subject?Thanks.Roland _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com