Raking the wrack wrecks
coastal wildlife’s home
By Patricia Behnke
Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
MyFWC.com
What is brown, teeming with
life and raked off our beaches fre-
quently? You may be struggling with
an answer if the beach you frequent
in Florida receives a clean sweep of
all debris – both human-made and
natural – before you put one big toe
on the sand.
Beach wrack is the answer, and it
is necessary to beach life, just as air
is necessary to breathing. So why is
it destroyed before the beach lovers
hit the coast? It’s not sexy. Or at
least on the surface, it’s not.
But that brown clump of sea-
weed teems with life and pro-
vides food and shelter for many
animals that feed upon it. Beach
wrack may not look like it, but
it’s a pivotal part of the beach
ecosystem. Yet, many beach lov-
ers have never had the chance
to ponder what lies beneath the
surface.
“Local governments allot large
amounts of money to beach raking
every year,” said Nancy Douglass, a
biologist who monitors shorebirds for
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conser-
vation Commission (FWC). “They do
that because they are under the as-
sumption everyone wants it done.”
But do we really want that? Do we
want to take away a source of food for
already stressed shorebirds pinched
by sea level rise on one side and
development on the other? Before an-
swering those questions, take a stroll
through Beach Wrack 101 with me to
learn more.
Beach wrack consists of seagrass
and marine algae mixed with shells,
sand dollars, starfish, tiny shrimp,
driftwood, sponges, coral and other
biotic treasures that have drifted at
sea before washing ashore, especially landscape of one that is groomed,”
after storms. After landing on dry Douglass said. “We can strengthen the
land, beach wrack becomes host to a health of habitats that are already
diverse cast of insects and other tiny being pinched by leaving more wrack
invertebrate animals, such as jump- so beaches can support migratory and
ing beach hoppers, which are harm- wintering birds that use the wrack for
less rice-sized crustaceans. The tiny both food and cover.”
animals, in turn, serve as food for However, Douglass cautions that
many other creatures. stopping the raking of beaches alone
Migrating shorebirds fly thousands is not a panacea for what is inevitable
of miles each year to munch on the in Florida. Sea level rise is squeez-
nutritious meals found in that clump ing an already narrow, linear habitat
of seaweed. that is limited even under the most
Wrack also provides a safe haven natural of conditions. Unfortunately,
for many animals that escape preda- shorebirds are being pinched between
tors by hiding under it or by blending rising water levels and a solid line of
in with it. A shorebird can “disappear” roads and buildings in the most con-
while napping among the similarly gested areas. Combined with sea level
colored shades of seaweed browns and rise, beach habitat becomes an even
grays. narrower corridor for wildlife. And
raking those narrow corridors
creates sterile beaches that are
Beach wrack consists of seagrass and not friendly to wildlife.
marine algae mixed with shells, sand “In the short term, we can’t
dollars, starfish, tiny shrimp, driftwood, move the condos, and we can’t
stop sea level rise,” Douglass said.
sponges, coral and other biotic treasures “But we can try to be more re-
that have drifted at sea before washing sponsible in how we manage our
ashore, especially after storms. beaches. Stopping the removal
of beach wrack will serve as a
stopgap measure for shorebirds
Beach wrack also is critical to the that are in trouble now. Individuals
health of the dunes by providing plant can contribute by making their voices
nutrients and stabilizing windblown heard in the community.”
sand. The wrack carries seeds from Douglass suggests that folks voice
many dune plants, such as beach their opinions about how their beach-
morning glory and sea rocket. As sand es are managed to community leaders
builds up and the seeds within the and beach businesses, as well to the
beach wrack take root, new dunes tourist councils that may encourage
grow. raking the beaches to attract visitors.
On some beaches, the sand is Wildlife needs the wrack, but there
machine-raked; new dunes are are other benefits. Wrack provides a
manicured away; and the wrack is line of protection for structures dur-
removed. These efforts cost taxpayers, ing tropical storms by lessening the
but there is a price paid by the beach impact of storm surge. It also saves
system as well. A natural wrack line municipalities money and lessens our
is a key component of a healthy beach carbon footprint by keeping those big
ecosystem. machines off the beach.
“While a natural beach may not Maybe that makes beach wrack
look as manicured as a raked beach, sexy after all.
the diversity and richness of a natu-
ral, functioning beach is infinitely Contact Patricia Behnke at
more interesting than the sterile pat.behnke@MyFWC.com