critters tend to take the brunt of hurricanes a bit harder than
Team Marsh. Sponges and corals are often ripped from their
anchoring as strong currents sweep the coastline. Take a walk
on a post-hurricane beach, and you will see what I mean.
Marine invertebrates litter the sands. Among the corals and
sponges, you will find mollusks, crabs, urchins, and sea stars.
All of them, though mobile, are slow-moving surf dwellers.
Their easygoing pace of life prevents them from outrunning
the maelstrom.
On the other side of the Island, oysters, tucked safely
behind Kiawah in marshland, can escape most of the ocean’s
hurricane-driven wrath. However, they cannot escape the
uprooted trees, unmoored docks, and “freed” boardwalks.
These heavy items are picked up by high tides and sent by
strong currents on a path of destruction. Oyster beds in the
way can be knocked apart. Nor do the oysters only have to
worry about the big stuff; sediment shifts endanger oysters
also, and mud in swift currents blanket many beds.
Sea turtles, depending on their current stage of life, can
be both locked into place and slow-moving. Nests are almost
always washed out by heightened tides. Adults, with their
lackadaisical swimming style, can get swept up by rough seas
and washed ashore. Once the storm has passed, the sea turtle
peril is not necessarily over. The following nesting years will
likely pose new challenges because of eroded dune habitat.
SUMMER/FALL 2018 • VOLUME 40
A stroll down Kiawah’s beaches after hurricanes Matthew
and Irma revealed that the dunes, once gently rolling hills,
had become harsh, sheer walls. No sea turtle can surmount a
vertical climb to lay her eggs safely above the high tide line.
Thus, in years following hurricanes, our turtle patrol has to
be on the lookout for more frequent instances of nests below
the high tide line.
Back on land, mammals, reptiles, insects, amphibians, and
passerines are going to be hunkering down when hurricane
alert levels go code red. Trees are extremely popular with
wildlife seeking to ride out tempests. Raccoons, opossums,
owls, bats, squirrels, and woodpeckers all cram into tree
cavities to stay safe. Passerines, with their clamping back toe,
can lock themselves down onto inner tree branches and hang
on for one wild ride. Tree frogs and small reptiles, like skinks
and anoles, wedge themselves into palmetto trees, warm
and cozy under the dead fronds that line the trunk. Others
squeeze themselves under loose bark on pine trees. Insects
will also seek out hollow trunks, shelter under bark roofs,
clamp onto shrubs, or cling to tall wildflowers. Immediately
after Irma left Kiawah, I found dozens of butterflies clinging
for dear life to flowers in Rosebank Farm’s flower fields.
And bees living in a hive built in a hollow tree trunk on
Oak Point’s driving range had to be rescued after Hurricane
Matthew knocked down their tree.
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