plant/animal reference) to get a bigger pictureChthamalus dalli | North Hastie Lake team photo 2010 | Anthopleura artemisia |
Pisaster ochraceus | Haliclona | Black oystercatcher |
Red coralline algae | Costaria costata |
Sue Howard put together a team of ten to work at North Hastie Lake on June 14th. In past years, there has been a large pool of water in the mid-intertidal area on this beach. The water drains out as the team works its way down the upper beach and is dry by the time they reach that area. This year, the drainage path had accumulated so much sand, the drainage was blocked and the pool of water remained. Because of this about a quarter of the profile line and the +1 foot quadrats were under up to a foot of water. The team worked their way through the water and did their best under challenging conditions. They still made some good finds including the BB sized little brown barnacle Cthamalus dalli, moonglow anemones, and three species of encrusting sponge (breadcrumb, purple, and red). Other highlights from the day were an aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima) that appeared to be in the process of dividing, several decorator crabs, a deer seen wandering down the beach, and a small flock of oystercatchers that winged their way by. Quite a variety of seaweeds were seen including red coralline algae, Alaria marginata, and Costaria costata.
