Underwater Canaries

Scallops are extremely sensitive to their environment and have been called underwater canaries. They are like the canaries that were once carried in mines to determine air quality for the sake of miners. If scallops decline in waters, it is an indication of pollution, such as a red tide that occurs when algae proliferate in bays.

I was interested to learn about the Great Bay Scallop Search, which has been conducted for several years in Tampa, Florida. It is a popular volunteer event with families snorkeling in the bay to count the elusive bivalves. They try to learn if the scallop population is rebounding from restocking efforts. The Tampa Bay event gave me the idea to tell in this book about Helpful Humans who are searching for scallops.

Skippy Scallop is a bay scallop, Argopecten irradians. When it is in the larval stage, it attaches to sea grass. But when the scallop is an adult, it doesnt have to stay in one place unlike other bivalves, such as oysters. It can move around independently by contracting its muscles and clapping its shell, which propels it through the water in a jerky motion. Plankton is filtered by the scallop for food at all stages. Skippy represents a species of scallop that has a maximum size of about 3 inches and lives a short life up to two years.

I think one of the most interesting features of the bay scallop is its tiny blue eyes (as many as 50) along the inside of the shell. It cant see well with the eyes, but they are important for detecting motion and warning of enemies. There are many predators that come after a scallop: blue crabs, sea stars, octopuses, rays and gulls. In Skippy Scallop, my readers will recognize some of the characters from other books in Suzanne Tates Nature Series.

While writing this book, I saw the fan-shaped scallop shell in decorative form in many places. It has been used as an artistic motif since ancient times. I think my readers will enjoy learning about the interesting marine animal represented in the art.

Suzanne Tate