Mysteries

New Mysterious finding!
Help Massachusetts Audubon investigate...

New Mysteries:

Surprising Finds in our Fish Traps!

Salt water leeches in Essex!

Numerous leeches (both brown and green) were found on Mummichogs caught in Essex, near Conomo Point Road. The salinity of the water was high at the time: 30 ppt! Leeches on mummichogs have been found at two different occasions at this site. We're surprised because we didn't expect them in salty water. If you find leeches on mummichogs (or on other organisms) let me know!

Rodents in Newburyport!

On two different occasions we have found rodents inside the fish traps at Joppa Flats in Newburyport. One was found upstream, and one was found downstream. Both were no longer alive when we found them. We did not identify what kind of rodent they were.

 

Tons of 9 Spined Sticklebacks in Revere!

The samplers in Revere were out all winter long in tough conditions. They found some interesting results. In January 9 spined stickleback populations began to grow and in February, they had way more 9 spined sticklebacks than mummichogs. Check out more of their graphs on the fish data page.

Murder in the Salt Marsh:

Multiple of Mummichogs Murdered!

Massachusetts Audubon scientists received a shock when they pulled a fish trap out of a salt marsh in Rowley. Expecting to find healthy, hardy fish, they found a mass of murdered mummichogs instead! Only a few live fish survived.

Observers noticed that many of the dead fish had pieces of flesh missing that were roughly the size of a dime. The fish were not bleeding. Other dead fish showed no missing flesh. No species other than mummichogs were inside the fish trap at the time it was found.

The death of these fish baffled Massachusetts Audubon Scientist Robert Buchsbaum. He was mystified about what happened in the trap because mummichogs are typically very hardy.

"Mummichogs abound in the tidal creeks that cut through the salt marshes. They are so resistant to a lack of oxygen, the presence of carbon dioxide, and unfavorable surroundings generally that they can survive in very foul water," according to Dr. Buchsbaum.

"Do they eat each other?" asked a curious bystander. This question was promptly tested as a dead mummichog was placed in a small bin with some live ones. The live fish showed no interest in the dead mummichog.

Pine Grove students are investigating the case further, and would like your assistance in deciding who murdered the mummichogs. If you have ideas, evidence, or further information, please send it to lduff@massaudubon.org.

Suspects
To help you investigate the following list of suspects, seventh grade students from the Rupert A. Nock Middle School in Newburyport, MA, have submitted the following pages from their Field Guide to the Merrimac River. Click on the suspects below to view pictures and drag down to read information about each one.

Kingfisher
Snowy Egret
Jellyfish
American Eel
Green Crab
River Otter
Mummichog
Raccoon

If you think you've solved the mystery or if you have an environmental mystery that other schools could help you investigate, please send information to: lduff@massaudubon.org.