Old Clinton Beach

Old Clinton Beach team photo 2010 Old Clinton Beach team photo 2010

Checking salinity Checking salinity

Profile reading Profile reading

..Chthamalus dalli.. Little brown barnacle Chthamalus dalli Chthamalus dalli

Recording data Recording data

..Littorina scutulata.. Checkered periwinkle Checkered periwinkle Checkered periwinkle

..Hermissenda crassicornis.. Opalescent nudibranch Opalescent nudibranch Opalescent nudibranch

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

It was an enthusiastic team of five that closed out Whidbey Island's 2010 monitoring season at Old Clinton Beach on August 10th with Virginia Allen at the helm. A thick layer of eelgrass blanketed the lower intertidal and the gung ho monitors carefully sorted through it in search of the small organisms that call this rich habitat home. They were rewarded with the discovery of three species of sea slugs (Phyllaplysia taylori-eelgrass sea slug, Hermissenda crassicornis-opalescent nudibranch, and Onchidoris bilamellata-barnacle eating nudibranch). They also saw quite a few eelgrass limpets (Lottia parallela) and at upper levels of the intertidal zone there were large numbers of little brown barnacles (Chthamalus dalli). With the tide dropping below the -2 foot level, the profile line at this beach extended 410 feet to the water’s edge. This beach is just down from Clinton's ferry landing so the team enjoyed watching the big boats coming and going as they worked. Topping it all off were flybys by pairs of great blue herons, bald eagles, and belted kingfishers.

Ledgewood Beach

Profiling Profiling

Ledgewood Beach Team Photo 2010 Ledgewood Beach Team Photo 2010

Species consultation Species consultation

..Gobiesox meandricus.. Northern clingfish Gobiesox Gobiesox

..Pisaster ochraceus.. Purple sea star Pisaster ochraceus Pisaster ochraceus

..Amphipholis sp... Dwarf brittle star Amphipholis sp. Amphipholis sp.

Six Beach Watchers and one neighborhood resident showed up to check out the beach at Ledgewood on the nifty singular date that can be written out as 8/9/10. Three species of seastars were found (mottled, sunflower, and purple) and one species of brittle star (Amphiphois sp.). This was the first time several of the team members had seen a live brittle star so they were quite thrilled by that discovery. A close look at the mottled seastar (Evasterias troschelli) revealed that it packed along a commensal scaleworm. The team also encountered hundreds of tiny Lacuna snails. While Lacuna snails are generally less than a cm. tall, a vast majority of those found at Ledgewood were so small as to be barely discernable as snails. Each of the six quadrats at the +1 foot and 0 tide levels had almost 100% coverage by Ulva sp. To top off the morning, two great blue herons flew past the profile area and loon call was heard.

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!

Partridge Point

Partridge Point team photo 2010 Partridge Point team photo 2010

Team at work-Partridge Point Team at work-Partridge Point

..Leptosynapta sp... Burrowing sea cucumber Burrowing sea cucumber Burrowing sea cucumber

..Gobiesox meandricus.. Northern clingfish Tiny clingfish Tiny clingfish

Probable Mopalia sp. Probable Mopalia sp.

..Suberites sp... Suberities sp. Suberities sp.

..Henricia sp... Blood star Blood star Blood star

..Halichondria sp... Breadcrumb sponge Halichondria Halichondria

After the cold windy conditions encountered monitoring Rosario Beach, the Partridge Point team was relieved the next day to find that the weather was considerably improved. In fact, it was downright nice as the team of six surveyed that very diverse rocky, high energy west Whidbey beach. They found four species of encrusting sponge (breadcrumb, purple, red, and Suberites), two species of sea stars (blood star and sunflower star), and a nifty large green and gray shrimp. It was unusual that no Leptasterias (six-rayed) sea stars were seen as that species has been a common find on this beach in previous years. Large numbers of little brown barnacles (Cthamalus dalli) were observed on the high intertidal erratic at the start of the profile line and further down, team members were delighted to find numerous tiny northern clingfish (Gobiesox maeandricus) among the kelp. Two unusual finds were those of a small white burrowing sea cucumber of the genus Leptosynaptas and a brightly colored chiton thought to be one of the Mopalias.

..Acrosiphonia coalita.. Green rope Acrosiphonia Acrosiphonia

..Plocamium cartilaginium.. Sea comb Plocamium Plocamium

..Osmundia spectabilis.. Sea laurel Sea laurel Sea laurel

..Bossiella sp... Red coralline algae Bossiella Bossiella

As the tide reached its lowest point (-2.7 feet), an amazing assortment of seaweed was revealed including Osmundia spectabilis (sea laurel), Plocamium sp. (sea comb), Alaria marginata (winged kelp), Egregia menziesii (feather boa kelp), Nereocystis luetkeana (bull kelp), upright and encrusting red coralline algae, and Acrosiphonia sp. (green rope). In addition the seagrass Phyllospadix grew from low intertidal boulders.

Honeymoon Bay

Honeymoon Bay team photo 2010 Honeymoon Bay team photo 2010

..Lophopanopeus bellus .. Black clawed crab Black clawed crab Black clawed crab

A team of four turned out for Honeymoon Bay on July 11th with Finn Gatewood heading up the team. Using 20 foot sections, they made quick work of the profile line. Along the way they found 3 plainfin midshipmen fish guarding their egg clusters. Those midshipmen fish that guard the egg clusters are typically males that remain for the 15 days it takes for the eggs to hatch and then continue to guard the larvae for about a month until they are mature enough to leave the nest. This team also found an abundance of black clawed crabs (Lophopanopeus bellus). Owners of this beach and a couple of their friends came along for the survey and noted they are beginning to find non-native purple varnish clams showing up along this stretch of the intertidal zone.

Columbia Beach

Columbia Beach team at work Columbia Beach team at work

Working on profile line Working on profile line

Bill and Evelyn Blair put together a team of seven to look at Columbia Beach on July 10th. They found dramatic changes had taken place due to shifting sediments building up the beach. It was especially noticeable against a bulkhead that at one time stood 5 feet above the surface but now only 15 inches of it remains visible above the sand. Drift logs have also washed in and helped to stabilize the new sediment. This in turn has allowed backshore plants to make an appearance. The team found that overall abundance of organisms was down in comparison to previous years including numbers of moonsnails. The most popular critter find of the day was a caprellid amphipod.

North Hastie Lake

..Chthamalus dalli.. Little brown barnacle Chthamalus dalli Chthamalus dalli

North Hastie Lake team photo 2010 North Hastie Lake team photo 2010

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

..Pisaster ochraceus.. Purple sea star Pisaster ochraceus Pisaster ochraceus

..Haliclona sp... Purple encrusting sponge Haliclona Haliclona

..Haematopus bachmani.. Black oystercatcher Black oystercatcher Black oystercatcher

..Bossiella sp... Red coralline algae Red coralline algae Red coralline algae

..Costaria costata.. Seersucker kelp Costaria costata 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.

West Sunset

..Pisaster ochraceus.. Purple sea star Pisaster ochraceus Pisaster ochraceus

West Sunset Beach team photo 2010 West Sunset Beach team photo 2010

..Archidoris montereyensis.. Monterey sea lemon Archidoris montereyensis Sea lemon Archidoris montereyensis

Here is team captain Charlie Seablom's report from West Sunset Beach: It was a good day to be on the beach. The weather was nice and the second lowest tide of the year – what more could a Beach Watcher ask for? The upper part of the beach has few organisms living there. In the first 110+ feet we saw nothing but amphipods, barnacles, and a couple of limpets. When we got to the big rock it got interesting. It has three kinds of barnacles, tubeworms, ribbon worms, mussels, limpets and more. Farther down the number of species dropped off, but there were a few boulders exposed that had enough stuff to keep us interested. Because of the good weather there were a lot of walkers on the beach. Some of them stopped to ask us what we were doing. One even wanted to get a team photo for herself. The best part was the walk back through the peat beds. Lots of clams had their necks exposed. A sea lemon and a purple Pisaster were found. Eventually we ended up at the starting point and then to home.

Harrington Lagoon

Looking through the substrate Looking through the substrate

Harrington Lagoon team photo 2010 Harrington Lagoon team photo 2010

Bivalve dig Bivalve dig

Recording the data Recording the data

Sea stars on moon snail egg cases Sea stars on moon snail egg cases

..Euspira lewisii.. Moon snail Moon snail Moon snail

A team of five hit the beach at Harrington Lagoon on June 14th under the leadership of Liz and Pete Berg. With the tide dropping to the -3.4 foot level, the profile line extended out 340 feet. The surface substrate of this east Whidbey beach is composed primarily of gravel and shell debris. The team found three live moon snails and dozens of their egg collars, some of which had mottled sea stars adhering to their surface. It is uncertain whether the sea stars were feeding on the egg collars or simply wanting something to hold onto. One of the live moon snails had an unlucky littleneck clam engulfed in its massive mantle; a close look revealed the predatory snail was in the process of drilling into the clam.

..Pectinaria sp... Ice cream cone worm Pectinaria tube Pectinaria tube

..Pectinaria sp... Ice cream cone worm Pectinaria sp. Pectinaria sp.

Another great find was that of Pectinaria, the ice cream cone worm. This small tube worm builds a unique cone shaped tube with sand grains perfectly butted up against one another. Looking in the end of the tube reveals what appear to be metallic gold eyelashes. Another polychaete, Hemipodis put on quite a show by repeatedly shooting out its large proboscis. The team found so many little Hemigrapsus shore crabs that Pete dubbed beach “crab alley”.