Chambered Nautilus on Northland beach

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Chambered Nautilus on Northland beach

From: Wade Doak
Date: 28-04-08
Time: 15:58

Comments

A Ngunguru friend of ours, clay artist Akke Tiersma, recently found a rare tropical chambered [or pearly] nautilus shell on Ngunguru sandspit.They float well. About the same timeI was with a woman who picked up a proper coconut in its husk on a beach a bit further south: Mangawhai.

I had just taken a photo of a collection I have made of beach shells from Ngunguru sandspit. Titled 'Riches of Ngunguru Sandspit' it complements the detailed studies Jan and I have made of the flora and fauna in that much disputed area. Some nice shells from out in the bay.

Akke took the lovely pearly spiral shell back to her pottery studio where she used it to inspire young people to make pottery 'objets d'art' from natural patterns. The day Jan and I went to get a picture of her with the unique shell she had a handsome young boy called Jamal [ Indian or African,] who had just made a remarkable abstract artwork inspired by the spiral nautilus shell and its patterning.

My aim is to enhance the natural history, wilderness and educational values of this very special area as against having 350 houses there. It should be a sandspit equivalent of the Poor Knights and just as big an asset.

THE CHAMBERED OR PEARLY NAUTILUS - ARGONAUT

And there, at the foot of the reef we discover a live pearly nautilus. Hanging in the blackness like a flashback to the Cambrian period. This weird, shell-dwelling relative of the octopus is carrying a crab in its tentacles. We get some rare film of it in its natural habitat and I burn up two rolls taking still shots of its antics. This must be the most unorthodox of sea creatures. A living fossil 600 million years old, it seems quite out of place here in today's seas. As if defying natural laws a solid, heavy shell is hanging poised in the water above the bottom, wobbling and oscillating . Then it starts spinning wildly around as though on a turntable, trying to avoid the flare path of our torches. There is nothing else which moves in such an alien way - like an animated piece of porcelain ware water-jetting along with lazy pulses of its siphon tube, its big flat eyes closed to vertical slits, peeping over the flange of the shell. The strange disruptive pattern of radiating brown bands on the shell confuses the eye, a protective colour pattern making it hard to focus clearly on the animal." The peculiar feeling we get when we watch it swimming is quite explainable: no other animal uses the buoyancy control system of the nautilus. Its strong spiral shell consists of a series of mother-of-pearl lined chambers linked by a connecting tube or siphuncle. Through this tube the nautilus can alter the hydrostatic balance of gas and liquid within each chamber so that it can adjust its weight to a perfect equilibrium wherever it is. By day the nautilus takes refuge in deep water, sinking down beyond the sun rays to depths of up to 1000 feet. At night when crabs and other crustaceans leave their shelter to feed over the open bottom the nautilus adjusts its buoyancy, releasing more gas into each chamber and absorbing some of the fluid into its blood cells, so that like a bathyscaph lifted by its envelope of petrol, the nautilus can jet its way easily up the steep reef face to the upper slopes where we are exploring. Here it seeks its prey with twin clusters of short, suckerless arms, up to fifty in number, bearing taste buds to detect its food in the darkness. The prey is seized by the finely ridged arms and rendered with its powerful beak.

At first light the nautilus will retreat to the safety of the depths, its only real danger being strong currents and storms which can sweep it helplessly into shallow water where it is smashed on the reef.

The nautilus system of living was once very common. About 3000 species of nautilus inhabited ancient seas. All over the world fossil-bearing rocks show how widespread and successful these animals once were. A related group, the ammonites had shells fifteen feet across. Nowadays only six nautilus species remain. Unchanged after 600 million years these living fossils -invertebrate coelacanths" - are found only in the western Pacific, around New Caledonia, Fiji, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Next day, heading across the Pacific for Port Vila in the New Hebrides, we heard on the radio that the deep-diving submarine belonging to Walt's friend Ed Link, had a tragic accident in the Caribbean the day before, killing two of its occupants.

WADE DOAK: “SHARKS AND OTHER ANCESTORS, PAGE 135

From: saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:17:21 +1200 To: Wade Doak <wade@igrin.co.nz> Subject: Re: Guest column Doak

Just saw your column in the reporters email - thank you so much it looks wonderful.

Hope you had a lovely weekend. _________________________________ Saskia Konynenburg Reporter The Northern Advocate Whangarei p:: 09 470 2834 f :: 09 470 2865 e:: saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz

Wade Doak <wade@igrin.co.nz>

12/04/2008 09:58 a.m. To <saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz> cc Subject Re: Guest column Doak

Saskia: when is deadline? My lovely weekend may be disruptible...wade

From: saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:15:47 +1200 To: Wade Doak <wade@igrin.co.nz> Subject: Re: Guest column Doak

Hi Wade,

Thanks for getting back to me. I love the potential theme - I think the readers would find that very interesting. I actually need a column for next Friday coz I have a gap - if you can do it by then that;d be wonderful but if that's too short notice then that's absolutely fine.

Let me know, have a lovely weekend. _________________________________ Saskia Konynenburg Reporter The Northern Advocate Whangarei p:: 09 470 2834 f :: 09 470 2865 e:: saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz

Wade Doak <wade@igrin.co.nz>

11/04/2008 09:05 a.m. To <saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz> cc Subject Re: Guest column Doak

Dear Saskia: I would really like to support your new column. No doubt you will have a rush of people eager to participate. When it slacks off and there is a need appearing, please advise. I have swags of material here.

I am late in responding because, while maintaining a demanding Northland exploration schedule, Jan and I have been busy setting up our LOW LIGHT Seascape photo expo at the Old Library Gallery, Rust Lane, in conjunction with my niece Nicola Sharma who does oils based on our underwater pix of fish, seascapes and birds. Have a look some time.

POTENTIAL THEME: Jan and I are currently visiting many forest remnants in Northland to checkout birds and endangered plants. The growing bird silence in these forests is a major concern. As veterans of the undersea world for a half century we are viewing the topside one with growing dismay: if our reefs were as devoid of fishes we would be screaming out. Nationally how can we claim carbon credits for forests that are emasculated? Birds, along with geckoes, skinks and bats ,are part of their reproductive system. We feel drastic measures are called for if our forests are to be claimed as Kyoto assets- or even tourism assets. They are finite without their genitals..

Wade Doak

From: saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:34:39 +1300 To: wade@igrin.co.nz Subject: Guest column

Dear Wade,

At the Northern Advocate we've just launched a weekly environment page called Planet Watch. We're inviting people to be guest columnists. It's quite exciting for us to have this new page, it's weekly on Friday and will always include a guest column written by someone in the community who is heavily involved with special programmes that help the environment or rare/endangered animals or people that are specialists in conservation fields.

The column should be about what you do, why its important, any interesting facts, how the community can help etc.

If you are keen to write a column for one week then please let me know and email me the column by 3pm on Wednesday of whichever week its for. It needs to be min 350 words, max 500 so there is a bit of freedom for you. I also need to introduce you with a bit of blurb - so if you could just write at the top who you are, what your profession/title is, how long you've been doing that, and topic you are writing about. It should also include a photo of you, if poss.

I hope you enjoy writing it - it can be quite fun. If you know of anyone else who might be interested, just forward them this email. I can also write enviro stories for the page so anything you think might be interesting, drop me a line. I may need a column for next week, if that would be possible or whenever you have time.

Warm regards,

_________________________________ Saskia Konynenburg Reporter The Northern Advocate Whangarei p:: 09 470 2834 f :: 09 470 2865 e:: saskia.konynenburg@northernadvocate.co.nz

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Last changed: 28-Apr-2008