Monitoring the Wadden Sea

Beach Activity

We started the morning with

exploring the sea floor, searching

for living creatures underneath the

surface. We were given many

tools to dig in the seabed and

collect a variety of fish, crabs,

mussels, worms, and other animals.

Finally, we met up to talk about

what we found.

Worms

While we were looking, we found some black worms around twenty centimeters long. The guide told us that they dig in the sand making a sort of ‘U’ shape while searching for plancton.

Crabs

There were many crabs caught in the net that was left by the biologists of the museum. We also managed to find some of their shedded exoskeletons on the surface of the sea floor.

Fish

We found a Sole Fish that had camoflauging characteristics that helped it blend in with the sea floor.

Oysters

Generally, oysters are found in the Pacific Ocean, but they are carried over to the Wadden Sea by ships. Then they grow under the surface for many years. Some oysters we found were around 15 years old.

Clams

Like with the oysters, you can tell the age of a clam by the number of lines on its shell. The clams we found live around 20 centimeters under the surface.

Shrimp

The shrimp we found in the sea have black spots all over their bodies that grow and shrink in size as a sort of camoflauge mechanism. We also learned from our guide, that they are edible and taste just like sushi.

This experience was has been useful to teach us about the wildlife of the Wadden Sea. We also had a lot of fun!