In the absence of sea shells

Observation by Mike Brubaker: I have been watching the same stretch of beach now for 25 years. It is the north side of McDonald Spit, located between Seldovia and Homer. I remember in the early 2000s walking the beach with toddlers, buckets in hand, and the fun of looking for unusual shells that we could bring home and turn into an art project. There were all kinds, in addition to the clam shells and cockles, there were blue mussels, tridents and all kinds of snails, scallops, pacific oysters, sand dollars. Yesterday I walked the entire 3 mile loop of the Spit and did not see a single shell. There were pieces of old shells but nothing along that water line that was new. Or to speak of above tide line. What happened? This is not an area that is under pressure from over zealous collectors. I am guessing that this has to do with a more gradual decline in marine life in the intertidal zone of this area. I feel like I have seen this gradual decline over years. I am hoping that our friends at the Kasitsna Bay Laboratory or the Alaska Sea Life Center can advise on this observation.

Comment by Kris Holderied:

It's interesting that you saw such a large change along McDonald Spit. I've also found that beach to have many seashore treasures, but I haven't walked out there in the last few years. I agree with you that I wouldn't expect a lot of shell collecting from that area. Do you think it was a relatively sudden change in the shells this year, a decline over time or a bit of both? If it's been a sudden change, one thing I'd wonder about is ice scour, since there was so much ice on both sides of Kachemak Bay this winter. Strong winter wind and wave patterns might have also have caused sand movement and sedimentation to change the beach and move things around - did you notice a change in the slope or shape of the beach? It will be interesting to see if more shells show up this summer and how the shape of the beach changes with summer ocean patterns. Thanks for the observation!