seaweed – theoutershores

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Tidepool Treat: The Schizymenia – Katharina Connection

By: minustide October 25, 2020

Photo Challengechitons, intertidal, Lens-Artists, nature photography, oregon coast, seaweed, tidepools15 Comments

The low tides of late summer brought me a tidepool treat. I’d read about a connection between a red seaweed called slimy leaf, Schizymenia pacifica, and the Katy chiton, Katharina tunicata, but hadn’t seen it myself. I had seen Katy chitons decked out with various seaweed and animal hitchhikers, but I did not recall slimy leaf among them. By…

Missed Opportunities with Littorina sitkana and Gloiopeltis furcata

By: minustide June 28, 2020June 28, 2020

Photo ChallengeGaliano Island, intertidal, Intertidal invertebrates, periwinkles, PNW, Salish Sea, seaweed, tidepools7 Comments

I’ve surprised myself twice recently by unexpectedly noticing species I’ve never seen in the wild in my photographs featuring other species. The periwinkle below, the little striped snail, escaped my attention while I engaged in a four-photograph sequence featuring the limpets. The little snail is Littorina sitkana, the Sitka periwinkle. Who knew a snail could…

Earth Day 2020

By: minustide April 22, 2020

Earth DayEarth Day 2020, intertidal, seagrass, seaweed4 Comments

Sunrise on beds of seagrass and kelp Will future generations marvel at sunrises over these lush beds? You’re part of this

Bringing out the Red in Rhodophyta

By: minustide November 5, 2019

Photo Challengebeaches, Lens-Artists, oregon coast, seaweed, tidepools10 Comments

The intertidal can be a drab place, it usually is where I wander. In these images I’ve made it all the more so by dialing down the colors to grayscale. Everything but the reds. A patch patch of Plocamium looks good against the surrounding grays. Below, a red epiphyte, probably something like Antithamnionella pacifica. The…

A Brief Account (with Video!) of the Bangia-Human Hair Resemblance

By: minustide March 31, 2019March 31, 2019

Algaebangia, intertidal, oregon coast, Rhodophyta, seaweed2 Comments

Bangia-like filamentous reds are a naturalist’s delight in the exposed upper intertidal, where they favor the tops of rounded boulders and rocks. The filaments of these inscrutable reds wave in the swash like thinning human hair, soaked and windswept on a blustery day. When the surge recedes the filaments fall limply, like a mop or…

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.