Langley Seawall

Profiling Profiling

Langley Seawall Monitoring Team photo 2010 Langley Seawall Monitoring Team photo 2010

Whale feeding pits on beach Whale feeding pits on beach

..Neotrypaea californiensis.. Ghost shrimp Ghost shrimp with copepods Ghost shrimp with copepods

The 2010 Whidbey Island beach monitoring season hit the starting gate on April 29th with first time team captain Vickie Chapman heading up the Langley Seawall team. Charlie Seablom and four brand new Class of 2010 Beach Watchers joined the expedition and saw a real variety of species. As small boulders were tipped up, flatworms, polychaetes, and Oregon shore crabs were revealed. Moving along into the broad stretch of sandy beach, the team found ghost shrimp with egg masses and the tiny red copepod Clausidium vancouverence tucked beneath the carapace. Numerous gray whale feeding pits were evidence that the big baleen cetaceans are also aware of the presence of ghost shrimp.

..Phyllaplysia taylori.. Eelgrass sea slug/Taylor's sea hare Phyllaplysia Phyllaplysia

What's this? What's this?

..Aglaja ocelligera.. Aglaja ocelligera Aglaja ocelligera

Checking out Pycnopodia Checking out Pycnopodia

Further out, the -2.4 tide rolled back to expose patches of eelgrass with the rich variety of fauna that it supports. A close look revealed caprellid amphipods, isopods of the genus Idotea, eelgrass sea slugs (Phyllaplysia taylori) and the nudibranch relative Aglaja diomedea, and three sunflower stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides).

Langley Seawall-May 28, 2009

Langley Seawall Team photo 2009

Melanochlamys

Langley Seawall team at work

Pisaster brevispinous

Lottia parallela

Phyllaplysia

The Langley Seawall team had a -2.6 foot tide to work with on May 28th and Yvonne Palka put together a team of seven to get it done. This beach is composed of a concrete seawall with a short stretch of rocky substrate and then a broad expanse of sand that supports eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in the lower intertidal. Several tiny red velvet mites (Neomolgus) were seen scurrying about their business on the concrete seawall and peeking into its crevices revealed the hiding places of sea slaters (Ligia pallasii). Along the sandy expanse, the team found ghost shrimp and the tiny sea slug identified as Melanochlymus. As the team delved into the eelgrass they found a giant pink seastar (Pisaster brevispinous), eelgrass limpets (Lottia parallela),and eelgrass sea slugs (Phyllaplysia taylori).

Langley Seawall

Cerebratulus sp.

checking profile level

Dungeness crabs in mating embrace

Langley Seawall Monitoring Team photo 2008

Sand lance

Yvonne Palka's Langley Seawall team was also out on June 4th working under overcast skies with intermittent rain showers. The tide dropped below the -4 foot level exposing a vast expanse of sandy beach and lush eelgrass beds. This team had a moment of jaw dropping astonishment when a bivalve dig revealed a ribbon worm nearly 3 feet in length. The worm was identified as belonging to the genus Cerebratulus, a predator that feeds primarily on polychaete worms. As impressive as this individual was, Cerebratulus can grow more than 6 feet long! Other great finds were those of the forage fish Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), tiny Caprellid amphipods, and a pair of Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) bound together in a mating embrace.