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Surfperch and nature on the sandy beaches

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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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Matching its background⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: This well-camouflaged isopod is Pentidotea. There is a decent chance it’s the rockweed isopod, P. wosnesenskii, but I can’t promise. Do you recognize the background?⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: The background is Ulva (all the green), looking good in the high to mid intertidal.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: This small patch of Ulva was home to several Pentidotea. Most of them were dark green, like the one shown. A couple were greenish-yellow, a hue that didn’t match as well.⁣ ⁣ Flashing back to August 19, 2019 | Galiano Island, BC, Canada⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #tidepools #SalishSea #GalianoIsland #BeachNaturalist #fbf
Looks rubbery, and it is⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: This is hairy seaweed, Cumagloia andersonii, one of those reds. ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: High to mid intertidal.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Cumagloia is at home draped over down-sloping rocks and overhangs. When the stalks are in good shape, as these are, they are supple and elastic.⁣ ⁣ Throwing back to June 4, 2019 | Central Oregon coast⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepool #seaweed #algae #tbt
Throwing back to that sculptured remnant⁣ ⁣ Notes On Names: This bleached empty shell belongs to Leukoma staminea, the Pacific littleneck, or locally, rock cockle. Some reds made their way into the scene as well. Across the top, Plocamium. Bottom left of the littleneck, how about that bumpy crustose red? That’s Lithothamnion, or something looking the part. Over in the lower right corner, Corallina.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Pacific littlenecks live just below surface in the mid intertidal and lower. Where did this drifted seashell come to rest? Judging by the assemblage of reds, I’d say mid to low intertidal.⁣ ⁣ June 4, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepool #beaches #PacificShells #bivalves #beachcombing #driftline #wrackline #tideline #fbf
Said to be luminous, I’m going to agree with that.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: This is the lovely moonglow anemone, Anthopleura artemisia. The slender tentacles sometimes have white bands. ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Not much to go on here. Besides the moonglow, just some Ulva and Fucus. The little tidepool is filled with seashell fragments. I’ll call this mid intertidal.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Moonglows like a little sand or seashell burial. It’s not a surprise they also go by burying or buried green anemone. I’ll take moonglow any time. One happy moonglow oddity is it’s fairly common to come across individuals with bright orange tentacles.⁣ ⁣ August 19, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #tidepools #SalishSea #GalianoIsland #BeachNaturalist #anthopleura #tbt
Seaweedscape⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: The star of the show here is Pyropia, otherwise known as Nori or Laver. It’s the one with the broad brown blades. I love its contrast with the green blades of Ulva. In the upper left, a bit of olive green Fucus. Over on the right edge, tufts of a nail brush-like red, maybe Endocladia or Gloiopeltis. All this on a bed of Pacific blue or bay mussels. Rounding out the scene, a few acorn barnacles, Balanus glandula.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: This time it’s your call. ⁣ August 19, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #SalishSea #GalianoIsland #BeachNaturalist #tidepool #seaweed #algae #fbf
Death in the driftline⁣ ⁣ You won't walk the driftline long without finding signs of the cycle of life. Seashells, bleached bones and fresh carcasses each evoke their own emotional response in the beachcomber. Every scene of death or decay is intimate and compelling in its way.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: This is the shiner surfperch, Cymatogaster aggregata. Shiner perch is a good name too, since they tend to avoid surf. Here and there you’ll hear them referred to, charmingly, as pogies.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Shiners are common in shallow waters but we’ve caught them in fairly deep trawls in Monterey Bay, California. As for where this one landed, As for where this one landed, the shot doesn't yield many clues. Notice the limpets (left) and a Pacific oyster (lower left). I’d call this scene mid- to high intertidal.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Shiners have internal fertilization and females give birth to a small number of live young. This one is from sheltered Salish Sea waters.⁣ ⁣ August 17, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #SalishSea #GalianoIsland #BeachNaturalist #beachcombing #driftline #wrackline #tideline #surfperch #tbt
Flashing back to that red rock crab⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: Cancer productus, a good-sized rock crab, the biggest in our area. It’s worth comparing to the Spot-bellied or Pacific rock crab I posted just a couple images back. Adult C. productus are brighter red, have comparatively short antennae, and smooth, not hairy, legs. Above and to the right of the crab, Fucus.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Intertidal and below. You can tell from the Fucus, the setting here is mid to high intertidal.⁣ ⁣ Other Notes: This one is from protected Salish Sea waters⁣ ⁣ August 17, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #SalishSea #GalianoIsland #BeachNaturalist #tidepool #decapoda #fbf
Tenant of a narrow band⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: The pale strands are Pyropia (formerly Porphyra), otherwise known as nori or laver. Pyropia is a complicated group with lots of species in the Pacific Northwest. It shares occupancy here with a sparse population of small acorn barnacles, Balanus glandula⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: High intertidal. The occupied area is rarely is submerged, but being completely exposed, it takes direct wave hits and gets a ton of splash.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Pyropia is common on mid and high intertidal rocks. It’ll give you a lot of looks, with blades ranging from narrow and ruffled (like the one featured above) to broad. without ruffles. Color ranges from grayish-green to greenish yellow, pale yellow, purple, and dark purplish-brown. Blades tend toward translucent and a bit rubbery to the touch. Don’t be surprised if you notice iridescence.⁣ ⁣ April 23, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepool #beaches #seaweed #algae #tbt
Flashing back to June 5, 2019 and more drifted mussel shells than I have ever seen. There were tons of shells in this drift. There is some wear, but not much, indicating they were tossed by surf and sand only a short while before high tides and big surf pushed them to their resting place.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: California mussel, Mytilus californianus⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: These shells have been tossed up into the highest reaches of the supralittoral fringe, higher than the highest barnacles. It took huge seas to do this.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: my immediate thought was that this was the result of a die-off. I have since read about a die-off of California mussels, in June 2019, in Northern California. That one was thought to be due to exceptionally warm air temperatures, among other things. Could these shells be remnants of a similar mass mortality event? I don’t have any evidence, it’s just a possibility I’ve been thinking about.⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #PacificShells #beachcombing #driftline #wrackline #tideline #fbf
Blending in ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: Romaleon antennarium (previously Cancer antennarius), the spot bellied or Pacific rock crab, has hairy legs and a creamy yellow underside with red spots. From above they are a brownish brick-red. The heavy pinching claws are impressive. The mid- to low intertidal seaweed surroundings here include feather boa, back pine and some inscrutable red blades with which it blends beautifully.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: This one is from the exposed central Oregon coast ⁣ ⁣ August 1, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepool #tbt

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