Naturally Kiawah Magazine Volume 41 | Page 48

Kiawah’s Small Wonders They come in all shapes and sizes Pluff Mud and Fiddler Crabs From Jake Zadik Not only does Mother Nature on Kiawah Island sport some of her most beautiful attire, but she actually smells pretty good much of the time as well. That is no small accomplishment in the Lowcountry where the scent of pluff mud is all too familiar. Of it, Pat Conroy said, “I don’t know of any place that smells like this. It’s a magnificent smell. It’s the smell of where all life comes from.” The fact of its smell is arguably much less romantic than the author’s description; in fact, rotten eggs may well come to mind. So why is its briny odor not ever-present on Kiawah? Jake Zadik from the Kiawah Island Golf Resort Nature Center tells us that the offensive scent is a result 46 of hypoxic substances—low oxygen environments that harbor bacteria and other microbes that emit hydrogen sulfide as they break down the decaying grasses and marine life that fuel our nutrient-rich marshes. Some scientists believe that our numerous fiddler crabs create burrows in the marsh substrate that help aerate it. Jake cites a couple of research papers on the subject, one that attributes a dissipation of the odors from pluff mud to fiddler crabs, and one that suggests they play a much smaller role. No matter what the reason, we are happy to be relatively free of this memorable smell!