Low tides exposing sand dollar treasures along the coast

Sand dollars ought to have received scattering the coast, an iconic coast determine once a common view along Southern California coasts. Winter low tides help revelation the dead sand dollar skeletons, which look like they’ve been stamped by a flower.( Photo courtesy of Joe Katchka)

Sand dollars have been witnessed dotting the coast, an iconic beach perceive once a common sight along Southern California beaches. Winter low tides help revelation the dead sand dollar skeletons, which look like they’ve been stamped by a flower. Seen here with beach dollars hears are Jack Katchka, 4, Addison Krepistman and Addison Katchka, both 6.( Photo courtesy of Joe Katchka)

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Sand dollars ought to have spotted flecking the coastline, an iconic beach discover formerly a common slew along Southern California coasts. When alive, as seen here underwater and wedged in the sand, they have a purple hue and have a fuzz-like coverage.( Photo courtesy of Julianne Steers)

Sand dollars have been attained flecking the coastline, an iconic coast acquire once a common see along Southern California seas. Winter low tides help disclose the dead sand dollar skeletons, which look like they’ve been embossed by a bud.( Photo courtesy of Joe Katchka)

Sand dollars ought to have find speck the coastline, an iconic sea spot once a common vision along Southern California beaches. Winter low tides help disclosure the dead sand dollar skeletons, which look like they’ve been embossed by a grow.( Photo courtesy of Joe Katchka)

Sand dollars ought to have saw scattering the coast, an iconic beach encounter formerly a common seeing along Southern California seas. Winter low tides help show the dead sand dollar skeletons, which look like they’ve been stamped by a flower. Colin Anderson, of Huntington Beach, ascertained a beach dollar skeleton at San Onofre State Beach last-place February.( Photo by Laylan Connelly/ SCNG)

Sand dollars ought to have encountered speck the coastline, an iconic beach locate once a common seeing along Southern California seas. When alive, as seen here underwater and wedged in the beach, they have a purple hue and have a fuzz-like coverage.( Photo courtesy of Julianne Steers)

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You might not be able to spend these dollars at the neighbourhood supermarket, but come across one and you may feel like you’ve procured a treasure.

Beachgoers in the past few months have been sharing photos of sand dollar encounters along the shore, a common view off the Southern California seashore a few decades ago, but less so in recent years.

With extreme winter low tides in the afternoon hours this weekend, it could be a good time to get a glimpse of these beach attractions that look as if they’ve been embossed by a delicate flower.

Julianne Steers, a naval biologist and board member with the Beach Ecology Coalition, said winter months are the best time to find sand dollars, when increases are bigger and can push the lightweight sea beasts to the shoreline.

Steers, a diver, said there’s plenty of living sand dollars offshore that beachgoers don’t commonly investigate unless they are below the ocean surface.

Whether they have had a recent revitalization on the beach, though, is debatable. It could that with beings sharing their knows on social media, it exactly emerges there have been more sand dollars lately.

“I think that’s part of it. We’re more aware of what’s happening in our natural environment, ” Steers said. “Every individual is armed with a camera.”

In years past, she said, “If they read it, they’d appreciate it with who was with them at the time … now they see it, grab a photo and it moves out to everyone.”

Or perhaps their population really is on an upswing. “Every population goes through ups and downs, ” she said.

Like sea superstars, which were wiped out by the millions a few years ago due to a wasting disease, but now are rebounding , sand dollars are echinoderms, implying they have five components, Steers said. The easily identifiable flower-like design is checked on the skeleton after a sand dollar dies and bakes out.

Huntington Beach photographer Joe Katchka is regularly on the lookout for them, each time tides sink and expose areas of beach frequently covered in saltwater. He makes his two adolescents — son Jack, 4, and daughter Addison, 6 — along for the exploration.

Katchka’s strategy for know topics to photograph: Follow a group of fowls feeding in the shoals and you might find their favorite tact, such as crabs, starfish and beach dollars.

“You should be able to see the design on top, ” he said. “That goes to show it is dead.”

Jackie Person, of Huntington Beach, ensure one recently during a march at Bolsa Chica State Beach.

“I went out there and the first thing I accompanied was that little itsy-bitsy sand dollar, ” she said. “The first thing I thought was how cute it was, it looks like a leaf or a flower.”

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Sand dollars are related to sea urchins and commonly are are available in the low-grade intertidal zone from Alaska to Baja, California, according to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro.

They use their countless prickles to burrow themselves into the sand. Those spines likewise help them travel along the sand’s surface, with the help of the curves. In rough waters, the swine lie flat on the surface of the sand, according to the aquarium.

Sand dollars can reach a diameter of about three inches and have a life span of about eight years. Predators include California sheephead, starry falter, spiny beach hotshots and pink stars.

Steers said if you find a sand dollar, even if it’s dead, it’s best to leave it at the sea. Its fragile skeleton eventually deteriorates and turns into sand — an important commodity with California coasts becoming beach starved in recent years.

“That’s an important part of our ecosystem, ” Steers said. “It’s a crucial part of our habitat, for the sand environments. Observe with your eyes, take a photo for your caches is the best thing to do, so the environment can exist for many years to come.”

Require to explore the changing coast?

An Urban Tides Beach Walk will begin at 7 a. m. Saturday, March 7 at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, to learn about the changing coastline, the feigns of rising sea level, and how making photos can help plan for the future. Meet at the Cabrillo Beach Bath House.

Negative, extreme winter tides are expected in the afternoon hours this weekend, spawning excellent conditions for tidepooling and exploring the intertidal zones. Low tides should reach -1. 3 paws at 2 p.m. Saturday, and -1. 4 feet at 2:36 p.m. Sunday, according to tidal maps for Orange County.

What else can you see at low tide?Keep an attention out for crabs, ocean ragamuffins, ocean slugs, octopuses and more.

And remember, search but don’t take.

Read more: ocregister.com.