plant/animal reference) to get a bigger pictureOnchidella borealis | Looking under a rock | Rough piddock |
Amphiodia | Opalescent nudibranch |
Team captain Jan Holmes and the Double Bluff/Wahl Farm team put up with intermittent rain showers to get profile and species data on July 3rd but when more ominous looking dark clouds appeared and thunderclaps began to rumble, the team headed for their cars, deciding quadrat observations could wait until another day. Their retreat was well timed because just as they reached the parking area, the clouds opened up with torrential rain. The slightly soggy but otherwise gung ho team had a grand time while they were on the beach finding an incredibly diverse group of organisms including
caprellid amphipods, opalescent and barnacle eating nudibranchs and their little sea slug relatives commonly known as leather limpets (Onchidella borealis). In addition they identified rough piddocks (Zirphaea pilsbryi), four species of bryozoans, and a long-rayed brittle star Amphiodia sp.). June Davis brought along her 4-year-old granddaughter who had a great time making new friends and learning about the beach critters. Finn Gatewood pulled double duty that morning, starting out collecting data for a pigeon guillemot survey along the Wahl Farm beach bluff and then joining the monitoring team after finishing her bird survey.