On the rocks, please... intertidal monitoring bliss

Skillz: a park volunteer (yet another professional biologist) perched atop a large marine boulder (at Cabrillo National Monument) searching for and measuring every owl limpet (Lottia gigantea) within 1 meter of a metal bolt. Note the wet spots where her feet were are only where owl limpets are not. She's good. =)

This is a picture of a good day.

If you see me doing this,

you will know I am in my happy place.

I will have ocean-soggy feet,

blonde hair flying wildly,

and a semi-permanent grin on my face.

I love the above photo

because it shows you a part of this work

that is very important,

but few would ever think of.

Our team: 3 professional biologists working for free 'cause a) we're just that nerdy, b) it's such a freakin' awesome place, and c) it's a fabulous cause. =) Note the orange chalk marking either the plot boundaries, or owl limpets that have already been measured.

Something that adds another level of complexity

and makes me love this work all the more.

Aside from having to lean into, hover over, squat under, or perch upon

a cold, hard, damp, variably squishy or scratchy boulder for up to an hour, 

and find and measure all the owl limpets

(being careful not to confuse smaller L.g. with other species),

you need to do it without crushing any owl limpets.

Don't tread on me! Lovely owl limpets. Note the area they've cleared of competitors (via bulldozing) so they can farm algae. Pretty awesome and interesting way of life. Clearly, though, it's tough to doze your own back....

And perching can include tip-toe-ing around on slimy

boulders or ledges: slipping is not an option.

Sometimes you get smacked around by waves,

and you always have to watch the tide.

Sing with me! "Every Lottia is sacred. Every Lottia is great. If a Lottia gets wasted, bb gets quite irate."

Finally, these boulders, ledges, and cliffs were selected for this study

because they sport so many owl limpets. High density.

I kind of love that.

So, while you try to work quickly and accurately,

to accomplish as much as possible in the time given,

within an ever-changing environment that's entirely out of your control,

you must also ensure that you don't hurt anyone.

I think it's good practice.

For lots of things.

=)

xoxobb

Photo quiz, more intertidal mania, + new-to-me species

  
First, the photo quiz. How many animal species can you find and name in this photo? It's officially a photo of 2, but maybe you'll find even more. =)

So, I'm thinking. Maybe I can have Photo-quiz Phridays as a regular feature (pheature?). I may have enough of a bank of pics, be they obscure, or abstract, to try that out for a while. Thoughts? Please opinion-ify in comments.

More from the glorious days in the rocky intertidal at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. HEA-ven.

First, the setting in the southern-most part of the rocky intertidal. It's closed to the public (so SOME part of the intertidal gets a break from people trampling and flipping rocks, etc.) but as I was there to sample, me and my scientific friends got to explore. We also knew what stuff to try and avoid stepping on. =)

View of absolute southern tip of Point Loma, gazing east, beyond the study area, and into the San Diego bay. It's GORgeous out there. LOVE this place. There's a string of large boulder pointing south, upon which we have numerous plots to work, so it's a happy obligation to trek out here.

Zoomed in a bit more. You can see the Coronado Bridge on the left of the horizon.

Looking SSE (ish) at, among other things, Mexico. My friend who sampled with me said the whole time he was there (Point Loma rocky interitdal), his cell phone was convinced he was in Mexico, and thoroughly confused. The WHOLE time.

Looking (mostly) south. There you can see, if you look closely (and enlarge) in the foreground are snowy egrets, demonstrating the birds we wanna count in the shorebird count as they are predators which shape the intertidal. Actually, by eating species which compete with each other, they moderate this competition, which allows more species to exist. Nice! In the background are terns and gulls resting, staring into the breeze, occasionally squawking. They're so chill.

Here are two friends, one new, one old, sampling (finding and measuring longest dimension of) owl limpets (Lottia gigantia) on a boulder which is one of the permanent plots.

FYI, I am obsessed with doing Lottia plots. Obsessed.

The tiny person in the foreground was volunteering because her biology professor at Point Loma Nazarene, bless him, requires his students to GO OUT and DO BIOLOGY/ECOLOGY for part of their grade. What a delight. SO helpful to let folks know what it's actually LIKE. Genius.

The gentleman in the background was my study partner my entire last year of college (undergrad) and is why I got straight As. He's much more disciplined than I, so cracked the whip, and up my GPA went. Yay!

They are both great field people. Accurate, motivated, good communicators, relaxed and fun.

So, here's a closer shot of a plot with gorgeous mussels and actual Lottia and chalk marks, which help us track what limpets we've already measured.

I think these mussel beds are particularly handsome.

If you look closely, you can see the tell tale marks where the Lottia has grazed over the mussels, keeping them clean of algae, pesky barnacles, etc. Tough to describe, but they're definitely visible (again, if click on) on the mussel with the watermark. Seeing those grazing marks makes me inordinately happy. Above that central mussel, right above the watermark, is an actual Lottia, and clearly one that's already been measured.

Beneath the mussel mass are aggregating anemone. Also festooning mussels are thatched barnacles. Scientific names for all in last post.

Glamour shot:

sigh...

So beautiful.

Urf.

Oh, yeah. Waking back up from gorgeous mussel-induced dream state. Resume blog!

Here's the other species I saw that weekend for the FIRST time in those tidepools, despite YEARS of exploration of same.

SO charming. Here's a zoomed in view:

It's the ringed nudibranch, San Diego dorid, common names vary, but Diaulula sandiegensis, not so much. CHARM-ing creature. SO excited to see it.

I had to tell the person who pointed it out to me that it made my day, the next day, and the day after that.

Apparently these guys eat sponges. I seem to have noticed more and more sponges in the CABR rocky intertidal in the previous 5 years than before then, but maybe it's just me. Thanks to http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=diausand for the clues.

I love nudibranchs. Love.

I used to think that they are among the VERY few creatures I adore enough to study to get Ph.D., but need for Ph.D. never materialized. Plus, I'd probably go more toward landscape ecology, but these little creatures are so TEMPT-ing to study. Just to see and be with them.

It's probably me. Tho', if I remember correctly, my high school biology teacher, who was WONderful, LOVED nudibranchs.

Anyhow, that's enough for now.

In summary re: comments:
1. please guess what creatures are in photo quiz
2. what do you think about having Photo Quiz Phridays?
3. do you prefer photographs centered or flush left on this blog?
4. have you gotten out for any outdoor nature adventures of late?

xo biobabbler

off to splash in the intertidal

        

I'm heading south to do some rocky intertidal sampling this weekend.

I'll be slapping on sunblock, sloshing around in soggy fleece pants, trying not to crash and burn on a boulder (one time that created what has ever since been called, and I was quoting an urgent care doctor, the "terrible hematoma"), or get swept away by a sneaker wave (happened--lifted by wave, carried off a few yards and unceremoniously dumped), and seeking and measuring owl limpets (Lottia gigantia) for hours at a time.

I CANNOT WAIT!

I seriously live for this kind of thing. =) 

Am bringing (typo was "brining") camera, even though I'll be in an environment (splashy, salty, wet, algae-y, slippery, sandy, rocky) that terrifies my Nikon. So, hope to have some pics of SOME kind next week from this adventure, as well as a healthy camera--no promises, though, re: photos, as I will be sampling and since it's only possible when the tide is out, one is somewhat pressed for time.

Hm.... where did I put my drybag?

the biobabbler