 We couldn’t believe our eyes! Hundreds of tiny dry SAND DOLLARS were folded into the weeds in the highest wrack line at Gulfside City Park Sunday evening. We saw one or two…then another… and another… and another one. Clark and I only had to walk a few yards to collect all of the these.
We knew these were not alive since they were completely dried, mostly white and had little to no “fur” on them. Â It was so much fun to be able to collect so many in one spot on the beach… but after walking closer to the water to see many LIVE ones in the surf, it was a bit overwhelming. Clark reached down in the water and picked up this many SAND DOLLARS in one scoop. They are all alive! You can tell by the dark color and the cilia or hairs all along their bodies (tests).
Then we started to get worried after seeing thousands of them washing up in the surf.
We could hardly find a place to walk as they got thicker and thicker in density.
Clark walked out to the sand bar and yelled back at me that they were even out there densely covering the sand.
 I have talked to some scientists who have told us before that it is natural for mass mollusk die-offs or masses of animals exposing themselves (when we had concerns about masses of FIGHTING CONCHS on the beach) in low tide situations like we are having this week with the full moon. So before we jump to any conclusions, y’all, I’m doing some research. I have been in contact with Kristie Anders and research scientist Dr. Richard Bartleson of the Conservation Foundation to find out if they might know a reason for this very unusual occurrence. Kristie said “It is possible the sand dollars are trying to move away from water that has little oxygen in it (hypoxia). The little bit of surf agitates the water and increases the oxygen much like a bubbler in an aquarium”. Dr Bartleson said he will try to get some oxygen readings this week and will let us know if that is the reason this is happening.
When I hear anything from SCCF’s research, I will update this post to let you know as well.
UPDATE: July 24, 2013- I received a message from Kristie Anders from SCCF tonight. She said…  “The marine lab did salinity studies along the beach. Apparently the water releases and the rain run off from our own area dropped the salinity down to less than a third of was is tolerated by animals like the sand dollars.” So it looks like this unusual situation is because of the freshwater influx rather than the lack of oxygen in the Gulf. So much fresh water being released from Lake Okeechobee could be a problem as well.
But meanwhile, you can watch this little video I shot while I was in total awe and amazement by this site…
PS- I had a big hat, long sleeve cover-up and sunglasses! I’ve figured out evenings are fine!
Wow – I’ve never seen sooooo many baby sand dollars! Thanks for sharing that amazing video. We will be coming for a few days next week…looking forward to some shelling.
Amazing, every day on the beach can be so different, thanks for your post!
let us know never have I seen anything like that
We were at the Signal Inn last week and it was like that all week! So sad! But they are really cute. I found some smaller than a pencil eraser. I had heard that when the water was turbulent and caused the sand to cover them too deep, they die off and then wash up later. I’ll be interested to hear what you find out!
That brings tears to my eyes, Pam – and I’m so glad you got to experience it, even tho it IS bittersweet. THAT’s what you get when you live on Sanibel full time. I can’t wait for that to happen. SOMEONE please come buy my beautiful log home in TN so I can stay down there in “heaven”.
One year in Virginia Beach gazillions of starfish washed ashore. They are probably still selling them at the souvenir shops.
Amazing!! I look forward to your follow-up post letting us know what other information you found out. And soooo happy to know you are able to enjoy the beach in the evenings!!
Oooh I hope I can see something interesting like this when I arrive on Friday for a week!!
Oh my! That is odd.
Bittersweet indeed! Thanks for all the information on this Pam! I know you will keep us all informed..Amazing Mother nature is trying to send a message!!
We visited about a month ago and found hundreds of baby sand dollars high up in the wrack line and shell beds. It was so sad to see how many got stranded as the tide went out. Sad as I was, however, I and my daughters picked up hundreds to bring home. Poor little babies. Thanks for the info.
That’s amazing! Wow. I’m really curious about what’s going on – I look forward to hearing what you find out. Thanks for sharing!
We were out there about 3 weeks ago and was shocked when I brought up a full scoop of these in my wire shelling scoop. They were alive though, so we got out of the water because we felt like we were crushing them.
Jenny we were also on Sanibel three weeks ago at the Island Inn. We also found that everywhere we were walking in the chest deep waters we stepped on both sand dollars and starfish, we too felt we needed to move out of the area becasue we didn’t want to smash them. It made it difficult to dive and dig for shells with so many sand dllars and starfish.
I had this exact experience almost two months ago at the exact same location. Millions of tiny sand dollars in the tide pool and at the tide line. People out on the sand bars then were finding very large sand dollars.
That is amazing. What an experience to see all those sand dollars. I have only ever seen big ones, never babies like these.
When we were there in May it was like that. They were everywhere. Very delicate and fragile. So sad if they are “beaching” themselves. Keep us up to date.
When we were there in May it was like that. They were everywhere. Very delicate and fragile. So sad if they are “beaching” themselves. Keep us up to date.
Oh my goodness, indeed! I wonder what the cause of this really is? It’s as if the slot machine has overloaded when you hit the jackpot in Vegas, but in a bad way here. All those babies. :-/
I was wondering about you being in the sun. Take care.
My goodness. What an incredible sight. I hope you learn what is happening and it stops soon before more die.
Wow, that is amazing! Wish I had some of those little suckers!
Really interesting! Thanks Pam!
We were on Sanibel for the month of June and every time we went to Gulfside the sand dollars were there. We brought at least 100 home. It was amazing to walk out in the water and see how they were everywhere. My pictures aren’t nearly as good as yours. Wish I were back on Sanibel gathering tiny sand dollars.
Judi
We were staying on Estero Island in 2003 or 04 and one am we walked out on the beach and it was covered with large sandollars…you couldn’t walk without stepping on them. Later in the am they disappeared. It was awesome to see so many.
Just did a salinity test at Port Sanibel Marina yesterday and it came up zero. Yep, no salt. They have to put salt in the bait tanks to keep the bait alive! Hmmmm, is all I have to say.
Me too Angela. “Hmmmmmm”
When we where visiting in May, we noticed this too. I got out of the water because I was afraid to crush all those precious little live sand dollars! You couldn’t walk without stepping on them.
I’m very interested to hear the outcome of the test.
Crazy! Maybe it’s some sort of cyclical thing…will be curious to hear an update on any further info. They sure are stinkin’ cute, no pun intended. I would guess that if this has happened before and sounds like it has it’s just a blip on the radar. Gosh, if there are that many washing up there must be many more out in the water that will survive! Thanks, Pam for again educating us and sharing the wonders of Sanibel beaches.
Great news that you have found a way to get to the beach. I’m fascinated by the sand dollar situation and look forward to reading more.
We just left the island on Sunday, but Saturday we also realized that the sand dollars were on the down side. I saw many in the water that were already starting to turn color. I believe the huge amount of fresh water relesed into the Gulf from Lake Okachobee is the reason. Sand dollars are after all salt water creatures. You could taste the lack of saltiness in the water, if you happen to have gotten a mouthful.
We live in Texas and went to the coast just a few weeks ago. We found lots of the mini’s along the shore and I remembered reading where there were a lot being found there in the Sanibel area. At the time I thought how odd that there were so many along the Port Aransas beach as there in Florida. Now after reading this, I’m so very curious as to what is going on. I will be watching to see what is found out there but I also wonder about the other beaches all along the Gulf Coast. So, so sad!!
Very interesting. Maybe Fran and Angela are on to something. The fresh water release coincides with no salt in the marina water. I wonder if there was a fresh water release back in May when so many said they saw the abundance of sand dollars too. I’m thinking that maybe the sand dollars are so fragile that they are more susceptible to the changes in salt levels in the water. Hmmmmmmm. Can’t wait to hear the final report.
I love collecting shells but not at the expense of a major die-off. I am so sad to read about this. Please keep us posted on this situation.
We are heading down Oct. 19th. Hope to see you on one of the beaches Pam!
So cool, don’t see many sand dollars and certainly nothing like this. Hope its not because they are all dying….
UPDATE: July 24, 2013- I received a message from Kristie Anders from SCCF tonight. She said… “The marine lab did salinity studies along the beach. Apparently the water releases and the rain run off from our own area dropped the salinity down to less than a third of was is tolerated by animals like the sand dollars.” So it looks like this unusual situation is because of the freshwater influx rather than the lack of oxygen in the Gulf.
What a shame. When I heard about the large freshwater releases from Lake O, I wondered what effect it would have. :-(
It makes perfect sense but boy, what a shame. Are other animals as sensitive as the sand dollars and effected too? I also wonder how long before the salinity levels return to normal? It is so interesting how every aspect of our environment effects other areas. It just goes to show how environmentally responsible we all need to be.
Pam, this is really fascinating (and sad). Thanks for doing the extra digging to find the cause of the problem. My husband and I were visiting Sanibel over the 4th of July. During that week Sanibel had downpours every day, 2-3 times a day. I wonder if the excessive rain contributed to the saltwater dilution?
Pam, THANKS FOR THE UPDATE ON THE BABY SAND DOLLARS. I AM ALSO VERY HAPPY TO HEAR YOU ARE BUNDLED AND DOING YOUR THING ON THE BEACH. PLEASE TAKE CARE. L-o-r-e-e
Last night we were in the surf in front of Loggerhead Cay and found sand dollars of all sizes on the sand bars. There were hundreds of them, all sizes. Also found an amazing spot to dig by the fishing pier where we pulled up a huge amount of lightening whelks, shark’s eyes, you name it, we found it, even a (partial) Scotch bonnet.
Clare, thsnk you so much for the update!
Thanks for the update. Hopefully this situation will not be repeated any time soon!
One time i was down in san diego walking along the beach in front of he hotel del coronado….found sooo many sand dollars, big and small…in order to get them home in one piece, i pulled all the kleenex out of the cube style box and carefully wrapped the dollars and put the kleenex back into the box.. of the thirty or so, only like 2 were broken!!!!
Now on to sanibel shelling…are you going to be having a shellaballoo in the fall once the temperature and humidity isn’t so hellish?!?!?!
We were just in Sanibel from the 16th through this Tuesday (23rd). We noticed them all over the sand bar as we were walking on it. You couldn’t step anywhere without stepping on several. We were as careful as possible as we hated stepping on them. We started seeing the baby sand dollars by the thousands in the surf over the weekend. We watched many get “beached” and were scooping them up and getting them back into the water as fast as we could but just couldn’t save them all. We, too, we’re curious why this was happening.
In addition to the sand dollars we saw hundreds of olives (thankfully those were alive), many dead or dying sea cucumbers and dead pork. We also found a couple blue crabs, 2 Nine Legged Sea Stars, 1Five Legged Star Fish and a very tiny sea star that I have yet to identify. A couple other people found baby octopus as well. All these were alive but I thought it was unusual to see so many live animals. This was our first trip to Sanibel so I didn’t know what was normal and what was not. I knew the Sand Dollars were not normal especially when so many people were talking about never finding even one Sand Dollar in the many years they had been coming to Sanibel.
Just came home from a week at Sanibel and miss it already……Zillions of coquina shells (OK, maybe hundreds or thousands) near the lighthouse point on Thursday afternoon, many shells are still covered by thick sea grass(?) that washed up and sits on the beach in rolls. It’s actually kind of neat looking, seems to act as a break for the waves reducing erosion. That’s a good thing! Probably picked up about 250 coquina shells. Maybe the coquina shells are the same that were in large groups at Ft. Myers beach a week or two ago? Some shells need to be cleaned with tweezers because algae or a dead animal was attached, but easy to accomplish.
Saw several dolphins. Horseshoe crabs were mating under the Blind Pass bridge. Found some nice Fighting conchs and a nice Flat Scallop in the surf at Turner Beach Captiva and a small shell pile was forming. Amazing how the beach at the rocks on Captiva has changed since last summer. The beach is smaller, but there’s a nice looking “pool” to swim in since the incline isn’t as sharp as it was last summer. We also took a drive to Lover’s Key. Very nice and calm waters. Again, found coquinas and a few pink tellins and saw more horseshoe crabs. One of my favorite finds was a fossilized wentletrap, found near the causeway. Also saw many live baby sand dollars on Saturday, the 20th that we didn’t take, hoping they might survive. As Pam reports, most did not. Was excited to find about 30 that I could take home since I’ve never found any in past years. Soaking them in fresh water and replacing the dirty water about once a day until the water remained clear did the trick as far as taking away most of the dark color and smell. A great vacation as usual!!
I ran across a big area (approximately 10 square yards) of baby sand dollars washed up in the wrack line earlier this summer at my favorite Gulf Shores spot to walk. Sounds like a similar situation with either the desalinization or oxygen scenario. They were already dried out and I about went nuts scooping them up! The previous year we had pretty much the same thing with starfish. Sad to see happen, but WOW what a bonus to us hard core beachcombers!
I found a baby sand dollar several months ago on Revere Beach and it’s in the box that I keep my most precious shells in.
where is this?
We are in orange beach and today there are millions of baby sand dollars washed up on the beach. It is awful! I have pics but could not share them here. I would love to know where the fresh water runoff is coming from here.
This event is occurring again 5/2/2018 on Bonita Beach. Hundreds and hundreds. Out in the water they are still alive.
We were at West Gulf Beach this morning and there were thousands and thousands of sand dollars in the water! It was amazing! We found many tiny sand dollars dead in the wrack line. 50 feet out or so, my boys were diving and finding lots of dead sand dollars.