Possession Point

..Upogebia pugettensis.. Blue Mud Shrimp Upogebia Upogebia

Possession Point Team Photo 2010 Possession Point Team Photo 2010

..Melibe leonina.. Lion nudibranch Melibe leonina Melibe leonina

Three dedicated Beach Watchers took on Possesion Point on August 9th with Kathy Fritz heading up the team. Kathy reports that the beach had a lush growth of eelgrass and they made some interesting finds including Melibe, the lion nudibranch. This is a strange gelatenous looking organism that makes its home in kelp and eelgrass where it employs a hoodlike apparatus to capture amphipods and other small organisms, the hood functioning somewhat like a Venus flytrap. Another great find was that of a mud shrimp. Team members were rather startled when one of them was dive bombed by a sea gull that dropped a large butter clam on her!

Possession Point-July 21, 2009

..Zostera marina.. Eelgrass Eelgrass Eelgrass

Possession Point team photo 2009 Possession Point team photo 2009

..Anthopleura artemisia.. Moonglow anemone Anthopleura artemisia Anthopleura artemisia

..Lottia parallela.. Eelgrass limpet Lottia parallela Lottia parallela

..Smithora naiadum.. Red fringe Smithora Smithora

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

Jim Shelver had a team of eight humans and one pug show up to survey the beach at Possession Point on July 21st. They found lots of eelgrass to explore and discovered many of the fascinating community of organisms that inhabit eelgrass beds. Numerous eelgrass sea slugs (Phyllaplasia taylori) were reported, including three in one quadrat. This species is so well camouflaged that a sharp eye is needed to detect it. The team also found eelgrass limpets (Lottia parallela), moonglow anemones (Anthopleura artemisia), and Smithora (commonly called red fringe) which is a red algae that grows on eelgrass as an epiphyte.

Possession Point

Team at work-Poss Pt

Opalescent nudibranch

Check it out-7-08

Amphipod

Juvenile red rock crab

Polychaete

Barnacle eating nudibranch

Possession Point team photo 2008

Parasitic isopods on mud shrimp

Butter clam

Gaper clam

After several days of sunshine and summer-like temperatures, July 1st dawned with overcast skies and breezy conditions, signaling that a change in weather was on the way. Jim Shelver's Possession Point team hit the beach that morning to find the tide rolling back to the -3.4 foot level and revealing a lush layer of eelgrass. Bob Gentz discovered a small opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis) that had sought refuge under the eelgrass and the team also found a number of barnacle eating nudibranchs (Onchidoris bilamellata) on the undersides of cobbles. Bill Blair's bivalve dig brought up a blue mud shrimp (Upogebia pugettensis) and close inspection revealed a pair of parasitic isopods (Ione sp.) adhered to the side of its carapace. In addition, the team sighted juvenile red rock crabs (Cancer productus), several large amphipods, and a large polychaete belonging to the family Glyceridae. The polychaete demonstrated a remarkable talent for repeatedly everting its large proboscis. Jim Shelver was surprised that more clams were not found this year. The team dug up a few gaper (Tresus capax), butter (Saxidomas gigantea), and pointed macoma (Macoma inquinita) clams but numbers were down considerably compared to previous years. Possession Point is located at the southern tip of Whidbey Island.