Marsh Mud and Mummichogs: An Intimate Natural History of Coastal Georgia

by Evelyn B. Sherr

Overview

“This book,” writes marine biologist Evelyn B. Sherr, “is meant to give others an understanding of the fascinating life of the region, from the smallest creatures in marsh mud and estuarine water, to the mummichogs and multitudes of other animals that find food and shelter in the vast expanses of marsh grass, in the sounds, and along the beaches of the Georgia Isles.” Sherr not only spent years doing research in coastal Georgia, she began her family there. Although Sherr’s career would take her around the world, this special place stuck with her. Here she shares her deep knowledge of the remarkable environment that she, her scientist husband, and their two children explored time and again.

Dr. Sherr is the ideal companion with whom to discover coastal Georgia. She points out its swimming, running, flying, drifting, and wriggling wildlife—and tells how it all exists in balance in a landscape subject to its own daily ebbs and flows, its own seasonal cycles. As we learn about Georgia’s distinctive intertidal salt marshes, subtidal estuaries, and open beaches and dunes, Sherr reveals the creatures that support—and are supported by—these habitats: the microbes in estuarine water and in marsh mud; the zooplankton swarming in the tidal rivers and sounds; and numerous fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

This engaging and curiosity-rousing book blends scientific fact with a timely conservation message and anecdotes of a family’s encounters with nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780820351407
Publisher:	University of Georgia Press
Publication date:	04/15/2017
Series:	Wormsloe Foundation Nature Books , #26
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

EVELYN B. SHERR, an emeritus professor of oceanic and atmospheric sciences at Oregon State University, has published widely in the fields of marine ecology and biogeochemistry. She was a research scientist at the University of Georgia Marine Institute from 1974 to 1990.

EVELYN B. SHERR, an emeritus professor of oceanic and atmospheric sciences at Oregon State University, has published widely in the fields of marine ecology and biogeochemistry. She was a research scientist at the University of Georgia Marine Institute from 1974 to 1990.

Table of Contents

Preface. Island Bound ix

1 Marine Habitats of the Georgia Coast 1

2 What You Don't See: Microscopic Life 10

3 Marsh Grass, Live Oaks, Sea Oats 32

4 Creatures of the Black Goo 49

5 Mud Dwellers of Marshes and Creeks 58

6 Creepy Crawlies: Insects and Spiders 73

7 Marsh Life: Scales 79

8 Marsh Life: Feathers and Fur 86

9 What Lies Beneath: Zooplankton 101

10 Attachment to Place: Settlers 109

11 Sound Swimmers: Nekton 115

12 On, and under, the Beach: Living in Sand 132

13 Loggerheads 146

14 Shorebirds 150

15 Seasons in the Sun 157

16 The Once and Future Coast 171

Acknowledgments 191

Appendix 1 Where to Go to Enjoy Georgia Coastal Wildlife 193

Appendix 2 Conservation Organizations Working to Protect the Georgia Coast 197

Appendix 3 Methods for Collecting and Inspecting Coastal Biota 199

Bibliography 203

Index 219

Editorial Reviews

Marsh Mud and Mummichogs is a motivating introduction to the natural history of coastal Georgia. It is perhaps the most in-depth yet friendly natural history that I have ever read, and the scope will expand the knowledge and understanding of everyone with an interest in the coast.

Clay L. Montague

“Marsh Mud and Mummichogs is a motivating introduction to the natural history of coastal Georgia. It is perhaps the most in-depth yet friendly natural history that I have ever read, and the scope will expand the knowledge and understanding of everyone with an interest in the coast.”—Clay L. Montague, Associate Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Florida

From the Publisher