Barrier Islands and the Coastal Zone

The Outer Banks, North Carolina

Faith Berry McKenna Bowling

Weather conditions

• January:49°F • February : 46°F• March: 43°F • April: 51°F • May: 68°F• June: 74°F • July: 86°F • August: 85°F • September: 81°F• October: 71°F• November: 58°F • December: 40°F

Generally, the weather in the fall and winter months is windy, with little chance of heavy snowfall. Sleet can be common, but the precipitation during this season consists mainly of heavy rain. During the spring and summer, the temperatures increase dramatically from month to month, and while there is less rain, there are still occasional heavy showers. Most of the days during this season are sunny.

Endangered Species

• Five of the seven types of Sea Turtles, including the loggerhead, green turtles, Kemp’s ridley’s, leatherbacks, and infrequent hawksbill, are found on the shores of North Carolina.

• Sea Turtles have been on the endangered species list since 1977 when the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) established the Sea Turtles protection program with The Fish and Wildlife services under Section 6 of the Endangered Species List.

Human impact

• Due to the high amount of tourist who visit the coastlines of North Carolina there has been in increase in the need of buildings. The hard structures of the buildings damage the sand on the shore. So in an attempt to protect the sand hard structure bans have been put into place.

Producers

• Algae can be found in the waters of the Barrier Islands in North Carolina.

• Sea oats and bitter pancum can be found on the dunes in North Carolina.

• Trees or shrubs found in North Carolina are live oak, red cedar, and slash pine.

Consumers

• Blue crabs can be found in North Carolina.• Seagulls • The waters of North Carolina are home to

various fish, such as bluegills, blue catfish, carp, and blueback Herring.

Bibliography• http://www.outerbanks.org/ (weather conditions, images)• http://www.thinkcurrituck.com/currituck-county-area-profile.aspx (map)

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/ (Sea Turtles)• http://www.obtf.org/specialconcerns/seaturtles/seaturtles.html (More

about Sea Turtles• http://www.northcarolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=1293 (Sea

Turtles picture)• http://www.mbgnet.net/salt/sandy/barrier.htm (Producers)• http://www.hrla.com/NCFish/fish.htm (Fish)• http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-recent/6374 (Human impact)