The New Zealand
Seashore Guide (2022)
Sally Carson Photos:
Rod Morris
Potton & Burton
NZ$49.99
ISBN 978-1-98855-042-8
The text is bang up-to-date with modern research but is
written in a friendly and easily understood way. The arrangement is logical, user-friendly
and well-designed. As a bonus it’s an enjoyable read.
Sally Carson has the ability to put words together so skilfully
that they reach out from the page and drag the reader in. Who can resist a
section beginning, ‘For many coastal
birds, the seashore is like a restaurant with limited opening hours.’?
Many of her sentences create remarkable, often
unforgettable, mental images. Of the Common octopus (Wheke) she writes, ‘As long as an opening is big enough to fit
their beak, they will be able to squeeze their body through.’
This book also passes the curious items test, where facts
are so unexpected and surprising that people feel obliged to read them out
aloud. Did you know that ‘New Zealand is
famous the world over as a place to study living brachiopods’? That’s
because elsewhere they have been extinct for up to 260 million years. Once you
have read up on Brachiopods you’ll also know that there are 38 species of this
shellfish (lamp shells) tucked away in our rocky shores. They come in two
colours (red and black) and they haven’t changed much in the last 550 million
years. Sumptuous colour photos show just why washed-up shells are called
mermaids’ toenails.
Amazing! We’re five paragraphs into a review of a Potton
and Burton book and this is the first mention of the illustrations! They are,
of course, superb. Even by the already high standards of Rod Morris’s photography,
they are magnificent. Every picture, whether underwater or above, is sharp,
clear and – given the subject matter – surprisingly colourful. The Shortsnout pipefish
displays its red gill cover, while the Red striped anemone, Orange clingfish and
Olive rockfish show just why they got their names. The Jingle shell (Poro) is ‘a beautiful golden yellow, orange or silver
colour’ so Rod Morris has shown it three times, the third as a beachcomber’s
jingling wind-chime.
The cover picture, an atmospheric shot of Motukiekie
Beach’s rock pools at low tide with starfish tightly draped over the rocks,
looks like an alien planet. Even more alien are some of the creatures photographed
including the various sea squirts, the nudibranchs and the chitons.
The Sacoglassan sea slug, a sap-sucker with club-like
outgrowths, is straight out of Dr Who, as is the Ten tentacle worm.
The various coastal images come from all over New Zealand
but Otago Peninsula’s beloved Harbour Cone, which has become an icon in Rob
Morris’s work, appears satisfyingly often. Nearby Portobello is the home of the ‘Fish
Hatcheries’ better known as the NZ Marine Studies Centre, Department of Marine
Science of the University of Otago, where Sally Carson is the director.
Her book invites young would-be scientists to try unusual
seashore experiments. ‘Whelks … are well
known for their predatory lifestyle and keen sense of smell’ is a sentence
we might not agree with. Is it really well-known? But then we are told exactly
how to carry out our own smell and speed tests on whelks. ‘Being
curious and making observations are key skills that contribute towards being a
good scientist.’
The Seven-armed sea star (Papatangaroa) is known to
consume at least 60 prey species, ranging from snails to paua. To aid in this
task it has pedicellaria, little pincers. Sally Carson’s enthusiasm for sea
creatures bubbles up in her suggestion: ‘If
you put the hairy part of your arm near the upper surface of this sea star, you
may feel its tiny pincers grabbing these fine hairs.’ This book is certain
to spawn a generation of young naturalists (most with smooth arms).
Sections on every subject from Sponge Secrets to Beachcombing
are truly illuminating. The one-page essay on Mussel Anchor Lines begins with describing
the byssal threads extruded by mussels to use as climbing ropes and anchors.
Then Sally Carson speculates on how these threads offer potential for man-made
medical adhesives and stretchy sutures. Oh, and more acidic conditions in the
sea are weakening these threads and thus pose a possible threat to mussel
communities and the aquaculture industry.
Essays about A Changing Ocean and Other Coastal Concerns
offer up-to-date research on the degradation of our seas and seashores.
For foodies, the Edible Seaweed section includes serving
suggestions for seaweed salad and kelp chips. Speaking of kelp, there are reminders
of bags to carry shellfish being fashioned from the blades of kelp. I had thought
we also carved kelp stalks to make bouncy balls for beach cricket but I see now
that we were carving the stipes.
All the terms used are clearly defined, often with carefully-labelled
photographs (such as Tidal Zonation) to assist. Common names, Maori names and scientific
names for species are given along with the description, habitat, lifestyle,
size, tidal zone and distribution. For critters that live regionally rather
than nationally, there are even maps which show their distribution.
The New Zealand
Seashore Guide comes in a handsome easy-to-hold format, with a sewn binding
that allows the book to opened flat without damage. It has literally been designed to take to the
beach, where it will be the ideal companion.
20 Jan 2023
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