My latest favorite tidepool creatures: an isopod, a fish, and, wait for it . . . an arachnid. The red velvet mite has been adding vivid dots of crimson color to the rocks around Ecola Point. According to Professor Google, a mite is an arachnid (which makes the red velvet mite an arthropod--in the same phylum as crabs). Also, I read that red velvet mites parasitize kelp flies--anyone who has been pestered on a windless shore by kelp flies can appreciate this. So, armed with new-found knowledge and a newly purchased magnifying glass (which I am ridiculously excited about--best $7.99 I ever spent), I ventured back into the field. Using said magnifying glass, I counted eight legs and saw the plu
Have the tidelands been invaded by zombies? I've been seeing pale anemones in tidepools; I’ve also been reading about anemones expelling zooxanthellae, the symbiotic algae that give them their bright colors. Zombie anemones have caught my attention because of the Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching event in the news. According to the University of Google, anemones also bleach for various reasons. For the past seven months I've observed ghostly anemones in caves (no sunlight for the zooxanthellae to photosynthesize). I've also seen pallid anemones in tidepools with an influx of freshwater (an osmotic emergency for the anemones). But here's the weird thing: I’ve been seeing colorless giant gree
What do a cloud hovering over Haystack, a puffin perched on the rock's upper slope, and a barnacle at its base have in common? The word cirrata, from Latin, meaning curl, tuft, or fringe. Cirrus Cloud Merrimam-Webster: 3: a high wispy white cloud usually of minute ice crystals formed at altitudes between about 20,000 and 40,000 feet (6,000 and 12,000 meters) Origin of cirrus: New Latin, from Latin, curl Barnacle Cirri University of Washington: "Barnacles have appendages called cirri. They reach out into the water and grab food particles like a scoop net. When the cirri is drawn back, the food is scraped off into the mouth." Collins Dictionary - cirrus: zoology: a slender tentacle or filamen
