| Preface to the Third Edition | viii |
| Preface to the Second Edition | x |
| Preface | xi |
| Introduction | xii |
| Chapter 1 | General Shore and Faunal Features | 1 |
| The Habitats | 1 |
| The Fauna | 4 |
| Lifestyles | 4 |
| Invertebrate Taxa | 5 |
| Chapter 2 | Jetties and Groins | 9 |
| The Ubiquitous Barnacles | 10 |
| Fleet-Footed Scavengers | 11 |
| Oyster Drills and Hermit Crabs | 12 |
| Flowers in the Crevices | 14 |
| Crabs and Shrimp on the Jetty | 15 |
| Migration of the Sea Hare | 16 |
| Spiny Delicacies | 17 |
| Beach Fleas and Skeleton Shrimp | 17 |
| Jetty Animals That Resemble Plants | 18 |
| Chapter 3 | Sandy Beaches | 21 |
| Life on the Upper Beach | 22 |
| Life on the Littoral Beach | 24 |
| Snails That Leave Trails | 25 |
| Worms in the Surf Zone | 27 |
| Life Below the Littoral Zone | 28 |
| Starfishes and Sea Pansies | 28 |
| Yellow and Purple Whips | 30 |
| Life Beyond the Breakers | 30 |
| Crabs | 30 |
| Snails | 31 |
| Clams | 32 |
| The Edible Blue Crab and Its Kin | 34 |
| Spider Crabs | 37 |
| Chapter 4 | Flotsam and Jetsam | 39 |
| Portuguese Man-of-War | 40 |
| Purple Sailors and Bubble Rafts | 41 |
| Onions from the Sea | 42 |
| The Floating Sargassum Community | 42 |
| A Deep-Sea Castaway | 45 |
| Chapter 5 | Offshore Bottoms: The Shrimp Grounds | 46 |
| The Ubiquitous Fauna | 47 |
| Nearshore Worms and Neighbors | 50 |
| Spring Bloomers | 53 |
| Shrimp for the Table and Aquarium | 55 |
| Crabs--Like Hermits and Frogs | 58 |
| Creatures to Entice the Sea Lover | 60 |
| The Elusive Octopus | 62 |
| Chapter 6 | The Bay Shore: Salt Marshes | 63 |
| Mussels and Worms in the Mud | 65 |
| Fiddler Crabs and More Fiddler Crabs | 66 |
| Key to the Fiddler Crabs of Northwestern Gulf Coast | 67 |
| Life in the Marsh Debris | 68 |
| Land Crabs | 69 |
| Invisible Grass Shrimp | 70 |
| Chapter 7 | The Bay Shore: Mud Flats | 71 |
| Razors, Jackknives, and Boring Clams | 71 |
| Clams for Food, Roads, and Barter | 73 |
| Mud Crabs and Mud Shrimp | 74 |
| Delicate Ribbon Worms | 75 |
| Augers, Drills, and Moon Snails | 76 |
| Hermit Crabs on the Bayshore | 77 |
| Worms and Their Neighbors | 77 |
| Life in the Seagrass Meadow | 79 |
| Clams and Scallops of the Grass Beds | 81 |
| The Inconspicuous Cucumber | 83 |
| The Carnivorous Whelks | 83 |
| Tusks and Bubbles | 84 |
| Chapter 8 | Artificial Reef Habitats | 86 |
| Barnacles Upon Barnacles | 87 |
| Add Soft Colors and Textures | 88 |
| Serpentine and Mossy Forms | 89 |
| Denizens of the Crevices | 94 |
| Pill Bugs, Crabs, and Sea Spiders | 95 |
| Clams, Oysters, and Mussels | 98 |
| Chapter 9 | Oyster Reefs | 102 |
| Reef Inhabitants | 103 |
| Oyster Predators | 104 |
| Oysters as Shelter | 105 |
| Chapter 10 | Shell Habitats | 107 |
| Shell Inhabitants | 108 |
| Slipper Shells | 108 |
| Hydroids | 108 |
| Bryozoans, Sponges, and Scaleworms | 109 |
| Anemones and Flatworms | 110 |
| Chapter 11 | Plankton and Nekton | 112 |
| Plankton and Nekton | 112 |
| Sea Nettles, Sea Wasps, and Sea Walnuts | 113 |
| Nekton | 117 |
| Chapter 12 | Sea Turtles | 119 |
| Loggerhead Turtles | 123 |
| Green Turtles | 127 |
| Kemp's Ridley Turtles | 134 |
| Leatherback Turtles | 137 |
| Hawksbill Turtles | 141 |
| Appendix A | A Note on Biological Terminology | 144 |
| Appendix B | Phylogenetic List | 145 |
| Glossary | 152 |
| Bibliography | 156 |
| Index | 172 |
