plant/animal reference) to get a bigger picture
Christmas anemone |
Metridium sp. |
Opalescent nudibranch |
Libby Hayward and Finn Gatewood brought together a team of eight to check out Double Bluff/Cirque Point on a cold and rainy May 29th. Because of the rainfall, they did not get a team photo but take our word for it, it was a good looking (although slightly soggy) group! This west Whidbey beach has a rocky substrate with numerous boulders both large and small and erratics that are blanketed with life so the team saw and documented a real diversity of organisms. Among the day’s highlights were Christmas (Urticina crassicornis) and white plumed (Metridium sp.) anemones, red sea cucumbers (Cucumaria miniata), and three species of sea stars (mottled, purple, and sunflower). The team also spotted flatworms when they tipped up rocks and Libby Hayward identified Chthamalus dalli, a BB sized species commonly known as “the little brown barnacle”. The most popular find of the day seemed to be a flamboyant inch long opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis).