December 2, 2012 Ocean Sunfish Stranding on First Encounter Beach

-

Sunday, December 2, 2012 


Photo by Michael Webster. 
On Saturday, December 1, 2012 Michael Webster stopped by Mass Audubon at Wellfleet Bay to report a dead ocean sunfish a mile or so south of Thumpertown Beach in Eastham, MA. With the help of Mass Audubon, Michael got connected to NECWA by calling Krill and providing detailed information about this stranding to her directly. 



The next day, Krill and Lauren Tauer, a Biology Senior at Bridgewater State University (BSU), headed down to Eastham in the hopes of relocating this carcass.  Melissa from Mass Audubon lives in the Eastham area and kindly offered to look for the carcass early in the morning. With her trusty dogs, she has 3, Melissa scoured some of the beaches in the area, but was not able to find the carcass. But Melissa did contact someone who had seen the carcass that morning so she was able to get us connected!

Lauren with the ocean sunfish carcass. 
This semester Lauren has been working in the lab at BSU on an aging project for ocean sunfish. Under the direction of Dr. John Jahoda and Professor Carson (Krill), Lauren is attempting to age ocean sunfish using banding patterns in their vertebra. 

Lauren working to get the straps under the carcass. 
Lauren finally had a chance to get out of the lab and see an ocean sunfish first hand. With the help of Melissa, they found this animal just a bit north of First Encounter Beach. The carcass had moved over the course of the night, probably due to the rise and fall of the tide and the prevailing currents. 

Lauren standing next to NECWA's weighing tripod. 
This ocean sunfish turned out to be a male that was approximately 6 feet in length and weighed close to 300 lbs. Although that might seem like a large fish, this individual is probably only a few years old. Adult ocean sunfish can grow to be 8 to 10 feet long and weigh over 2 tons.


Lauren taking the tripod apart. 
Lauren did a great job and really enjoyed the experience. She is a fabulous field biologist for she never complained a second and worked really hard through difficult conditions. Not only did it rain intermittently during the morning hours, but the tide was rising making it difficult to access the carcass.

Krill cutting into the mouth to examine the throat. 
Pharyngeal teeth of the ocean sunfish. Helps to keep the jellyfish down. 
Lauren working on the carcass as the tide is rising. 
NECWA staff love to provide budding scientists like Lauren with these types of experiences and opportunities in the field of marine biology. And we greatly appreciate their help especially given the large number of ocean sunfish carcasses that we have necropsied this season. This ocean sunfish carcass makes #24 for the season, which is a record number of carcasses for us!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Electric Torpedo Ray of New England

-
Image
The Shocking Ray of New England Blog by  Coleman Earner - December 21, 2020 Dead Torpedo Ray in Brewster, MA Torpedo Rays are a genus of rays that are part of the Order  Torpediniformes (electric rays). In reference to local sightings, the most commonly seen torpedo ray in the Cape Cod region is the Atlantic Torpedo ( Torpedo nobiliana ). They are cartilaginous fish (most similar to the structure of sharks and skates) with a flat and rounded disc-like structure. As suggested by their order, torpedo rays are most commonly known for their ability to discharge electricity of up to 220 volts from both pectoral fins (pectoral fins are flat and expanded and fused to the head area) as a self defense mechanism or as a means of capturing prey. Their feeding strategy consists of burying themselves under the sand and waiting for unsuspecting prey to wander by.  Dead Torpedo Ray on a Cape Cod Beach. Torpedo Rays feed mainly on benthic/pelagic fish such as flounders, damselfish, and other small fis
Read more

Ocean sunfish stranding at Linnell Landing - October 9, 2010

-
Image
This afternoon, Chris called about an ocean sunfish that stranded dead at the end of Linnell Landing in Brewster, MA. Krill Carson along with two NECWA interns, Nick Schomburg and Caitlyn Dionne, headed down or met at Linnell Landing in the late afternoon. When they arrived on the shores of Cape Cod Bay, a crowd was gathering around the ocean sunfish carcass that was just off the beach parking lot. This sunfish was almost 6 feet in length and some of the beachgoers indicated that it had come up on the beach around 2 pm that day. At first, it was difficult to look at the deep propellor scars that cut through the dorsal (top) surface of the sunfish and extended into its left flank. But sunset was quickly approaching so this team focused at the task at hand, that was collecting body measurements as well as tissues from this carcass. Nick and Krill conducted a Level A exam on the carcass and Caitlyn took pictures as well as recorded data. Krill was able to determine that this animal was
Read more

Ice Cream Social for NECWA Interns and Volunteers

-
Image
INTERN AND VOLUNTEER ICE CREAM SOCIAL AND FUN DAY   Written by Emily Gerrior Last Sunday (July 14 th , 2024), interns and volunteers were treated to an ice cream social, courtesy of NECWA. This event took place on the lawn outside NECWA’s Marion Field office. This event marked my first time meeting many of the interns outside of our weekly ZOOM meetings. I was also pleased to see many of the interns I had already worked with during previous NECWA educational events.  There was plenty of ice cream of all flavors to go around, served with reusable bowls and spoons, as well as popsicles, a fruit salad, chips, and cool drinks. After days of sweltering heat, it was certainly nice to have a cold treat!  Additionally, there were games for us to play. Some attendees chose to play cards and Jenga, while others participated in lawn games such as cornhole. We also swapped stories about NECWA events and successes.  Throughout the social, we had surprise visits from several (adorable) dogs, includi
Read more