More Fiddler Crabs, Dolphins, and a Tortoise

Regis, a friend, and I went to the GTM NERR (Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve) to conduct more volunteer work on an intracoastal monitoring project where they are studying wave action from boats. It’s a great opportunity to ride in a golf cart along about 3 miles of the reserve (six miles roundtrip) and enjoy the natural environment.

I thoroughly enjoy the fiddler crabs and got new video with a few different behaviors. Considering we are on a project that studies wave action, it was interesting to watch the behavior of the crabs and the water movement. The crabs appear to want to be next to the water to feed, but scurry out of the way when the waves come. I don’t know what this does to their energy requirements, but lots of waves impacts their behavior.

We saw dolphins and have a little bit of video.

On the way back, we had to stop to let a Gopher Tortoise cross the path.