For more than 30 years, Lawrence Curtis has walked the beaches of Cape Henlopen, closely studying the health and habits of one of the strand’s most numerous occupants: mud snails. His work has uncovered secrets about why the snails act the way they do, and revealed how snails can help identify pollutants.

	University of Delaware emeritus professor Lawrence Curtis’s new book “A True Tale of Science and Discovery,” describes the scientific process through Curtis’s work in the Cape Region discovering the secrets behind mud snail behavior.

The University of Delaware emeritus professor spent more than a year and a half condensing three decades of work into one volume, a book called “A True Tale of Science and Discovery,” published by Nova Science.

“I wanted the book available to anyone who wants to understand more about how science is done,” said Curtis. The book is illustrated by Nathan Lee Tanner, who produced black-and-white images of Curtis doing research.

Curtis’s research began in 1975 when he was working at the Air/Sea Interaction Lab at Cape Henlopen State Park. What began as a search for something to investigate led Curtis into years of work to explain how parasites control their hosts’ behavior and how common chemicals poison marine life.

His early work examined what mud snails eat, which is virtually everything. “Usually snails are carnivores or herbivores, one or the other, not both,” said Curtis. Studying snails collected at The Point of Cape Henlopen, Curtis discovered they need a balanced diet of both meat and plant material.

Dr. Lawrence Curtis, an emeritus professor at the University of Delaware, will sign copies of his book “A True Tale of Science and Discovery,” from 4 to 6 p.m., Friday, July 30, at the Pelican Grill.

Curtis also discovered that nearly two-thirds of the 4,000 snails he plucked from the sand in the early 1980s were infected with worm-like parasites called trematodes. On the northeast end of the Cape, more snails had parasites than on the southwest end, he found. Infected snails are rendered sterile almost immediately, he said. “The window to reproduce is much more quickly shut. So, if you want to be a snail producing offspring, you want to be on the southwest end of the flat,” he said. Still, the parasites do much more to snails than prevent reproduction.

“The first behavior alteration I ran into is one that drives the snail to carrion,” said Curtis. Among snails affected by a specific type of parasite, many more females are attracted to eat dead animals, Curtis found.

“By far the most interesting thing is another trematode causes snails to march up the beach,” said Curtis. Snails follow the water as the tide changes. “Normally, snails don’t move up the beach. Snails with this parasite do,” said Curtis.

The snails move a meter up the beach, beyond the water line, leaving a mucus trail behind them. The mucus trail is full of parasite larvae, which are picked up by a crustacean called a beachhopper. Beach hoppers do not live where snails are normally found, near the water, but the worm adapted by changing the behavior of the snail.

“To get to the next host, the parasite modifies the behavior of the snail and makes it do something it doesn’t normally do,” said Curtis.

Pollutants also modify snails. In the 1980s, boaters who wanted to keep barnacles and algae from sticking to the hulls of their craft used a special paint that contained tributyltin (TBT) or organotin. But the chemical did not stay in the paint. It would leach out of the paint into the water. Curtis discovered it caused a phenomenon called imposex in female mud snails.

Imposex causes female snails to develop male genitalia, although they can still reproduce. Today, scientists around the world look for the imposex phenomenon to see if harbors are polluted, said Curtis.

Curtis began by sampling snails in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal near the Roosevelt Inlet, where about one-third of females suffered from imposex. Farther up the canal, by the Lewes Harbor where water was more sheltered and flowed less, very nearly 100 percent of female snails had the condition, said Curtis.

“The snail isn’t the real problem. It’s too bad about the snails, but there are other things pollution harms much more severely,” said Curtis.

Curtis’s research has led to changes in the paint industry that have cleaned up the waters for everyone. Not bad work for a snail.

A variety of state parks programs will meet at Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum on Route 1 in Delaware Seashore State Park, north of the Indian River Inlet and south of Dewey Beach. Some programs meet at another indicated location. For more information or to register for a program, call 227-6991.

State park naturalists will conduct seining programs every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 1:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 am this week and continuing through the end of August. Especially popular with young people, seining provides an opportunity to identify various fish, crabs, snails and other critters that call the Rehoboth Bay home. Participants will help pull a 20- to 30-foot net through calm, shallow water and carefully place the catch into tubs for a close-up study.

Closed-toe shoes are required for all who will enter the water, and sunscreen is encouraged for everyone.

The program fee is $4 per person and preregistration is required.

This summer, the park is offering guided kayak tours through creeks around the salt marsh islands of Rehoboth Bay at 9:30 a.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday through the end of August. The cost is $30 per person. Participation is limited and preregistration is required. Participants will depart from Savages’ Ditch Road after receiving basic instruction on kayaking skills and safety. Delaware Seashore State Park provides sit-on-top kayaks for this trip, which are easy to learn how to use, so those new to kayaking are encouraged to participate. Visitors will need to bring a supply of drinking water as well as wear close-toed shoes, clothes that can get wet, sunglasses and sunscreen. Participants must be 13 years of age or older. Trips will involve about one and a half hours of paddling, the exact time depending on tide conditions.

The park offers two distinct pontoon boat tours on Indian River and Rehoboth bays every Thursday through the end of August. Seating is limited and preregistration is recommended. Both trips depart the Indian River Marina in Delaware Seashore State Park, and participants should look for the 50-foot Sand Dollar near the marina’s office and snack bar. Participants may begin boarding 10 minutes before sailing times. Drinking water and sunscreen are recommended.

From 10 a.m. to noon, the park conducts an estuarine ecology tour on Indian River Bay that includes simple water tests, and collection of marine animals and plants.

Visitors will have an opportunity to participate in the testing and collection activities.

The program fee for the morning tour is $20 per person. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., the park conducts a sightseeing tour that includes a short jaunt across the northern part of Indian River Bay and a large circle in Rehoboth Bay. Naturalists will discuss estuarine and salt marsh ecology and the connections between humans and the Inland Bays. The program fee for the sightseeing tour is $18 per person.

A squid dissection class will be offered at 1:30 p.m., every Tuesday through August. Participants will each receive their own squid specimen to examine, and a park interpreter will be there to guide the class through the dissection process. Not only will participants gain an understanding of how the squid moves, feeds, and reproduces, but at the conclusion of the class, their study specimens will be deep-fried for an afternoon calamari snack.

The program fee is $8 per person and the session is suitable for ages 8 and up. Space and materials are limited so preregistration is required.

Woven rope bracelets - called sailors’ or surfers’ or Turks-head knot bracelets - have been worn by mariners for ages. Staff from the Delaware Seashore State Park will provide the rope and instruction for participants to make their own to keep or give as gifts. This summer the class will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Wednesdays.

The program fee is $7.50 per person and covers both materials and instruction. Preregistration is required.

Join park naturalists on the beach in the search for ghost crabs, the elusive crustaceans of the night, every Friday from 8:30 to 9:45 p.m. Participants are encouraged to dress for the weather of the evening and bring a flashlight to help spot the crabs as they scurry from side to side over the sand in search of their evening meal.

Ghost crabs are typically nocturnal and spend most of their life on land, though they are quite comfortable in the surf zone. There is no charge for this program.

Riding on two wheels has become a popular way to see the Cape Region. The opening of the Junction & Breakwater Trail between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, two resort towns in the Cape Region, offers a safe and fun way to move around the area.

The trail has become extremely popular with cyclists, runners and hikers. On summer weekends the trail is filled with people enjoying nature, exercising and going to work.

Because of the trail, it is possible to bike between the two towns and never ride on a major road (like Route 1). Getting to and from the 5-mile trail might require some road riding, but once you are on the trail, the only concern you will have is watching out for other cyclists, walkers and runners when you make a few blind turns.

All but two-tenths of the trail in Rehoboth Beach is crushed stone and better suited to fatter tire bicycles, although you will see road bikes on the trail.

Bike rental shops are plentiful, and if you ride the paved trail in Cape Henlopen State Park near Lewes you can take advantage of using a free bike.

For roadies who want to venture out beyond the trails to nearby towns like Milton and Georgetown, check out www.sussexcyclists.org for ride information.

For more than 375 years, the sea has shaped the history of Lewes. It provided a fishery that grew into a major industry. It required boats that were built along the shores. It demanded lights that guided mariners, pilots to navigate the shoals, a great harbor to shelter ships from ice and storms, and courageous men to rescue the crews of stranded vessels. The sea brought war and pestilence to Lewes, but it also brought prosperity and a nationally important marine science center.

This is the story told by the Lewes Maritime History Trail, an approximately 4.3-mile route that takes visitors to 10 sites where the city’s past unfolds. Walk, bike or drive the trail. See historic photographs while you stand before what’s left today. Whether in the forlorn stone ruins of the quarantine station or in the journal articles of University of Delaware scientists, Lewes’ maritime heritage is strong.

An audio tour about Lewes’ maritime history and other Lewes history is available from the Lewes Historical Society and the Lewes Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau. For more information call the historical society at 645-7670 or the chamber of commerce at 645-8073. Also, visit historiclewes.org or leweschamber.com.

Decked Out benefit set for July 29
The 4th Annual Decked Out! fundraiser for the Center for the Inland Bays will take place from 7 to 10 p.m., Thursday, July 29, on the deck at the center as the sun sets over Indian River Bay. Tickets for Decked Out are $40 and can be purchased online at inlandbays.org or by calling 226-8105.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the center’s endowment fund at the Delaware Community Foundation.

The evening will feature dessert tastings and munchies by area restaurants Big Fish Grill, McCabe’s Gourmet Market, Catch 54, Touch of Italy, The Cultured Pearl, The Blue Scoop, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Cake Break and others. Guests will also enjoy festive cocktails from The Margarita Man, and other beverages donated by Dogfish Head, Outlet Liquors, Oak Creek Wine & Spirits and Diane Hanson. Entertainment will be provided by steel drum band the Sounds of Steel. The event has become an important fundraiser and friend-raiser for the CIB. For sponsorship information, ticket reservations or for more information visit inlandbays.org or call 226-8105.

One of just 28 National Estuary Programs, the Center for the Inland Bays is a nonprofit organization established in 1994 to promote the wise use and enhancement of the Inland Bays Watershed through habitat protection and restoration, science and research, education and outreach, and public policy.

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Ghost Crab Saunters scheduled
Delaware Seashore State Park offers free Ghost Crab Saunters from 8:30 to 9:45 p.m., every Friday, through the end of August. Participants should bring flashlights to spot the crabs as they scurry from side to side over the sand on the beach in search of their evening meal. Ghost crabs are typically nocturnal and spend most of their life on land, though they are quite comfortable in the surf zone. Participants are encouraged to dress for the weather of the evening. The program meets at the Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum in Delaware Seashore State Park. For more information, call 227-6991.

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Register now for Memory Walk
The Alzheimer’s Association is accepting registrations for this year’s Memory Walk online at memorywalk2010.kintera.org/Rehoboth. For more information, call Jamie Magee at 854-9788 or 800-272-3900. Team Captain kits are available online at alz.org/desjsepa. The walk will be Saturday, Oct. 2, at The Grove park.

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Concert to benefit education group
A benefit concert with professional musicians Brian Cheney, tenor, Teresa Eickel, soprano, and Catherine Venable, piano, will be held at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 7, at Epworth United Methodist Church on Holland Glade Road north of Rehoboth Beach. The concert, “From Music Man to Madame Butterfly,” will include a selection of solos and duets from popular shows including “Music Man,” “Chicago,” “Carousel,” “The Desert Song,” “Elixir of Love,” “Madame Butterfly” and more.

Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students. Complimentary homemade refreshments will be served during intermission. To purchase tickets, call 302-381-8444 or 800-362-6955. Proceeds benefit P.E.O. International, a philanthropic educational organization dedicated to women’s higher education through loans, grants and the stewardship of Cottey College.