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Surfperch and nature on the sandy beaches

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  • Algae

Morning Magic

  • by minustide
  • Posted on September 15, 2019
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Seaside Silhouettes

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Dreamy Drift Macrocystis

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Melobesia, a Coralline Crust on Seagrasses

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  • Posted on July 18, 2019
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Out of the Shadows

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  • Posted on July 13, 2019
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Serenity on the Shore

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  • Posted on June 30, 2019

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Beach Combing

theoutershores

My thoughts and experiences on the exposed outer coast. Lots of photos and a few words about intertidal nature. I’m always thinking about sandy beach connections to its sister ecosystems, the rocky intertidal, estuaries, and coastal forests. You can see photos of things I’ve found washed ashore on my Wrack Line pages. If you are looking for new takes on common intertidal algae, plants, and animals, I’m always updating my Variety of Life pages. I love the full-page layout on all theoutershores’ pages.

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Tolerant of sea spray⁣ ⁣ Notes on names: Salal, Gaultheria shallon. Same family as cranberry, blueberry, and rhododendron.⁣ ⁣ Natural history notes: It’s not unusual to find salal wherever the forest drops steeply down to the shore. Occasionally, patches of salal overhang the cobbles or even beach sand.⁣ ⁣ August 1, 2019⁣ ⁣ #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #beachnaturalist #oregonnativeplants #ericaceae #fbf
Throwing back to that crab in the August driftline. If you walk the beaches much, you know crab molts and carcasses are common wrack. Can you identify this one? ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: With a shell about four inches (10.2 cm) wide, this is a decent-sized rock crab. On the northern Oregon coast we expect only two rock crabs to reach this size. This one is easy to identify by the red spots on its underside. It’s Romaleon antennarium (previously Cancer antennarius), the spot-bellied or Pacific rock crab. I’ve seen it called brown rock crab too. Do you notice less spots on the belly than you might expect, given the common name? you’re right, the abdomen, what you might call the belly, is missing here. ⁣ ⁣ Notes on zones: You can find them among the rocks and sand-filled pools at very low tides, but I come across more drifted molts (spring and summer) and carcasses.⁣ ⁣ August 1, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #beachnaturalist #beaches #beachcombing #wrackline #tideline #tbt
Aglaophenia⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: If Aglaophenia doesn’t roll off your tongue, try ostrich plume hydroid. Around the edges and out of focus- (1) crustose reds; (2) a bladed red, Hymenena/Crptopleura (probably) in the lower left corner; and (3) compound tunicates, upper left.⁣ ⁣ Notes on the Zone: Ostrich plumes lean toward low intertidal, or lower. So does Hymenena/Crptopleura. I’d call this a low to very low intertidal scene.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Most of the live ostrich plumes I find are attached to vertical rocks and other structure (e.g., kelp stipes) in wave-swept settings. The longest plumes seen here are about 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) long. ⁣ ⁣ August 1, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #beachnaturalist #tidepools #hydroids #tbt
Flashing back to a beachcast event on this day four years ago when the beach was littered with these⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: These curious and seldom seen creatures are Paracaudina chilensis, the rattail sea cucumber. On the off chance you’re not in tune with cucumbers, they are echinoderms, allied with starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, and feather stars. ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Orientation: The mouth is on the thicker rounded end, the anus is on the tail-like posterior end. If I’ve got it right, they lie buried, presumably more or less on their side, while extending their anus above the surface where waste is expelled in jets of seawater. Back to the other end, feeding tentacles attending the mouth are retracted here.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: The sense I get, from the few accounts I’ve read, is that the rattails we see on the exposed outer coast bury themselves in shallow subtidal sediments.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Most of the intertidal encounters I’m aware of are beachcasts involving great numbers. I’ve heard it said that rattails can be washed ashore by large waves, but plenty of other ocean factors can cause beachcasts. For scale, the fat part of the body is about 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) in length.⁣ ⁣ August 30, 2015⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #beachnaturalist #beaches #beachcombing #wrackline #tideline #seacucumbers #fbf
Corallina⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: The satisfactions, and the setbacks, of identifying articulated corallines, trying to identify them, is an attraction of any minus tide. This one resembles Corallina officinalis. I’m not sure what the red blades on the left are. Top center and out of focus is a patch of dark red Osmundea.⁣ ⁣ Notes on the Zone: This is from the edge of what I would call a low semi-sheltered pool.⁣ ⁣ August 1, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #beachnaturalist #tidepools #seaweed #algae #tbt
In a quiet pool⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: These are pink-tipped green anemones, Anthopleura elegantissima. They also go by aggregate and aggregating anemone, as well as elegant. All good, but none beat Anthopleura elegantissima. There are brown, red, and green algae in the scene too. Can you find them? That’s right, Fucus, the brown, in the upper left; there’s a delicate red, maybe Ceramium, peeking out just below Fucus; and something approximating Ulva, the green, at the lower left.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: When you see Fucus, you’re probably not too low. This is an isolated high mid-intertidal pool.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: So much has been said about A. elegantissima. I’ll just say they are at home with partial burial. On the exposed coast, expect them to be partially buried by sand. These, from Galiano Island, BC, Canada, extend through a layer of shell fragments.⁣ ⁣ August 18, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #salishsea #beachnaturalist #tidepools #anthopleura #fbf
Ceramium⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: Harry Potter seaweed is the best common name I’ve come across. I think it’s in reference to the apparent pinching claws on this delicate red’s branch tips. If you can confirm, please let me know. There are a few Ceramium on Pacific shores. This is one of the big ones. I estimate it’s long dimension at around 6 in. (15 cm). If you want to see the pincher-like branch tips you’ll have to spend some time scanning around the image. Below and to the left of the Ceramium you’ll notice blue or bay mussels, Mytilus. Normally, I would call these Mytilus trossulus, but mussels are complicated in this neck of the woods (Salish Sea).⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: I came across this healthy-looking specimen in an isolated high mid-intertidal pool.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Lamb and Hanby say Ceramium likes shallow pools where the water warms beyond that of the surrounding sea. That was certainly the case with this one. I’ve either not come across or not recognized Ceramium on my home beaches. This one is from Galiano Island, BC, Canada.⁣ ⁣ August 19, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #salishsea #beachnaturalist #tidepools #seaweed #algae #tbt
Winding down with a dire whelk ⁣ Notes on Names: Lirabuccinum dirum⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Mid- to lower intertidal and subtidal⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Specializes in injured animal prey. This snail is about 2 inches (5 cm) long⁣ ⁣ August 17, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #salishsea #beaches #beachnaturalist #tidepools #pacificshells
Ostrich plume⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: Hydroids can become detached and wind up in the drift. There is good hydroid diversity, so you may see a few different kinds. This one is distinctive. Everybody calls it ostrich plume, or Aglaophenia if they are a show-off.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Most of the live ostrich plumes I find are attached to vertical rocks and other structure (e.g., kelp stipe) in the exposed low intertidal. This one, detached and drifted, is shown with a drifted mussel shell for scale.⁣ ⁣ June 4, 2019 ⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #beachnaturalist #beaches #beachcombing #wrackline #tideline #fbf
Blending in, as amphipods are wont to do.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Orientation: The head is pointing left and slightly downward. On that end there are two pairs of antennae. The eye is barely visible at the base of the first antennae. Behind the head are seven segments, each with a pair of legs. The first two legs are called gnathopods. They are tipped with pinching claws. The remaining five legs are called pereopods. The abdomen and what we might call the tail curve underneath the body on the right. Females brood embryos there. ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: There are lots of amphipods on exposed rocky intertidal shores. They are referred to as beach hoppers or sea fleas. Beyond that, this one’s going to remain a mystery for now. As consolation, you might be interested in the tiny white solitary hydroid rising up in front of the the hopper, just about center view. For scale, the amphipod is a little less than an inch long, let’s say 1.8 cm.⁣ ⁣ Notes on the Zone: Get the alga the mystery hopper is sitting on and you’ll get the zone…⁣ ⁣ That’s right, it’s Ptilota, a low intertidal to subtidal red. This is down in the lowest intertidal.⁣ ⁣ August 1, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #beachnaturalist #tidepools #crustacean #amphipod #tbt

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