Novelist John Steinbeck's best friend was Ed Ricketts, a marine biologist and pioneering ecologist who published Between Pacific Tides. Ricketts' masterwork is a classic not only of marine biology but also of literature. The science in the book is mind-blowing; the writing is muscular. Ricketts provided the model for "Doc," the beer-guzzling philosopher-scientist of Steinbeck's classic Cannery Row. Ricketts also inspired other literary luminaries such as Henry Miller and Joseph Campbell. His lab in Monterey, Pacific Biological Laboratories, served as a meeting place for fertile minds that mixed science, art and philosophy in a stimulating brew. The intersection of marine biology and human i
Like an octopus, the tidepool sculpin, Oligocottus maculatus, can change color to blend with its background. The sculpin's chameleon skills are slow and subtle compared to the quick-change artistry of an octopus, which flashes color in a fraction of a second, allowing it to instantly vanish. Nevertheless, the sculpin is a master of disguise. This fish that hunts tiny invertebrates in tidepools and avoids birds and larger fish can change costumes to match a broad palette of colors, from the tan of sand (top photo) to the pink of coralline algae (bottom photo). A swirl of sand betrays the presence of camouflaged sculpins when they dart away from creatures creeping toward their tidepool. If a g
