Monthly Archives: November 2005

Rhodomela larix : The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
rhodosp

Rhodomela larix surrounding two species of barnacles and the Red Algae Halosaccion sp.

 

Classification:
Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Rhodophyceae
Order: Ceramiales
Family: Rhodmelaceae
Rhodomela larix (Turner) C. Agardh

redpool

Many Rhodophytes are represented in this photo, including Rhodomela larix

Description: This plant is erect, up to 30 cm. high, brownish black in colour, in clusters, attached to the substrate by a discoid holdfast. The plant is branched, usually with one or more major cylindrical axes. The major axes have a profusion of radially arranged cylindrical branchlets, all approximately the same length and unbranched. At the apices of the branches, evanescent trichoblasts are apparent.

Habitat: On rocks in the intertidal zone.
Pacific Coast Distribution: Bering Sea to California
Robert Scagel, 1972

Other Rhodophytes or Red Algae at Race Rocks

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.  Ryan Murphy

 

Prionitis lanceolata : The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
prion

Prionitis lanceolate in the author’s hand. Photos by Ryan Murphy

 

 Description: This plant is erect, up to 30 cm. tall, reddish brown in colour, growing in clusters, and attached to the substrate by small discoid holdfast. The erect portion is narrowly stipitate below, tapering above to a flattened lanceolate portion. The apices of the branches taper gradually to a point. Numerous proliferous flattened short pinnately arranged branchlets occur along the margins of the main axes

Classification:
Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Rhodophyceae
Order: Cryptonemiales
Family: Cryptonemiaceae
Prionitis lanceolata (Harvey)
Habitat: On rocks in the lower intertidal and upper subtidal zones
Pacific Coast Distribution: Alaska to Mexico.  Robert Scagel, 1972

Other Rhodophytes or Red Algae at Race Rocks

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. — Ryan Murphy

 

Mastocarpus cristata: (Gigartina)–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
mastocarpus-1

Mastocarpus sp.in a bed of Endocladia sp.Ryan Murphy photo

 

Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Rhodophyceae
Order: Gigartinales
Family: Petrocelidaceae (formerly Gigartinaceae)
Mastocarpus cristata (Setchell) Setchell and Gardner, -or- Gigartina cristata

The photos below are by Ryan Murphy:

Description: This plant is erect, up to 15 cm. high, dark reddish brown in colour, in clusters, attached to the substrate by a small discoid holdfast.   The erect branches are flattened, with branching dichotomous.  The flat dichotomies are generally narrow and often twisted. The surface of the plant is at first smooth, later developing many small papillate outgrowths.  One tetrasporangiate life stage known as petrocelis is shown in pictures below.

Habitat: On rocks in the lower intertidal zone.

Pacific Coast Distribution:  British Columbia to Mexico.

Robert Scagel, 1972

See other members of the Phylum Rhodophyta, Red Algae.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Ryan Murphy

 

Codium setchellii: Green felt algae–The Race Rocks raxonomy

Posted on by

codiumsetchelliiHabitats of Codium setchellii:
This species of Green algae lives directly out from the docks at 3 -8 metres depth. Without a light it often appears almost black as wavelength deteriorates at that depth.

codiumixIt looks and feels like a lump of green felt. Here you can see it growing in association with brooding anemone.
Classification :
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protoctista
Division: Chlorophyta (Green Algae)
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Codiales
Family: Codiaceae
Genus: Codium
Species: setchellii N.L. Gardner
COMMON NAME:Green felt algae

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Nov 2005–G.Fletcher

 

Endocladia muricata : bristle algae–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by

Description: This plant is erect, 4-8 cm. tall, profusely and irregularly branched, usually growing in tufts, and dark red to blackish or greenish brown in colour. The branches are cylindrical, about 0.5 mm. in diameter and covered with minute conical spines about 0.5 mm. in length.
Habitat:  On rocks in the upper intertidal zone.
Pacific Coast Distribution: Alaska to Mexico.
Robert Scagel, 1972


Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Rhodophyceae
Order: Cryptonemiales
Family: Endocladiaceae
Endocladia muricata (Harvey) J. Agardh

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Dec 2001–Ryan Murphy  PC.

 

Coelopa vanduzeei : The Kelp Fly – The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by

Kelp Flies eating at a would on an elephant seal photo by Ryan Murphy

They are scavengers on decaying vegetation and as shown here a blood meal from a marine mammal.

kelp flies are the most irritating (to humans) of the organisms that inhabit the islands, but then again they are an essential part of the ecosystem. They do not look like a house fly but are rather thinner and a lighter color. In the upper intertidal zone they lay their eggs in decaying algae where the larvae, when they hatch, eat the bacteria that is decomposing the algae. This is a saprophagous mode of nutrition. In this video they move rather quickly, but you can see several copulating at various times. On a calm day kelp flies are very bothersome, but when a breeze is blowing they stay low to the ground. Often when our boat is docked, they will manage to find their way into the cabin so one has to open the windows and flush them out or they keep on pestering us all the way back to the college. Even in November, they are still around in the winch house and other unheated buildings on the island.

Probably the most irritating insect to work around when on the island is the kelp fly. On a calm day in May or June these flies are very difficult to tolerate. They also like getting into buildings and often end up dead on the windowsills. 

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Diptera
Family Coelopidae
Genus Coelopa
Species vanduzeei
Common Name:Kelp Fly

pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Dec 2005- Ryan Murphy

 

Notoacmea scutum : Checkered Limpet -The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on by
Physical Description:
The average size of this species is 4-6 cm in length (shell) and 3-4 cm wide, with a low profile and rounded apex found forward of its center. The shell of this species is relatively smooth, conical or oval in shape, sculptured with coarse, flat-topped ridges. The color of the surface varies, though externally brown or green with radiating with white spots or lines.Habitat:
The Notoacmea scutum are found “between the high and low-tide lines” on smooth surfaces, usually rocks, while showing a “tidal rhythm of activity” which occurs more often at night.
Reproduction:
Spawning occurs, most abundantly, from autumn to spring, but can happen throughout the entire year. Spawning results in the external fertilization via males releasing sperm into the females, who then release their fertilized eggs into the flowing water.

Range (global):
Research has been shown that the Notoacmea scutum species can be found in the Aleutian Islands and Mexico and from Alaska to Baja, California.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Sub class Prosobranchia
Order Archaeogastropoda
Family Acmaeidae
Genus Notoacmea
Species scutum
Common Name: Checkered Limpet

Reference:

www.nmarinelife.com/htmlswimmers/n_scutum.html
www.nbl.noaa.gov/(zeajfizhdjfdsf45hn4n3k55)/itis.aspx?tsn=69716
http://academic.evergreen.edu/t/thuesene/animalia/mollusca/gastropoda/notoacmea/scutum.html
www.people.wwc.edu/staff/cowlda/keytospecies/mollusca/gastropoda/prosobranchia/order_patellogastropoda/family_lottiidae/tectura_scutum.html
¬ Intertidal Invertebrates of California
¬ Reproduction and Development of Marine Invertebrates of the Northern Pacific Coast Data and Methods for the Study of Eggs, Embryos, and Larvae

Other Members of the Phylum Mollusca at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

Original text for this file was done by Shaterra Redd PC student year 32 . 2005

 

ARCHIVE of Education in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve

Posted on by

In this file, photos are presented which link to a number of the field labs and other educational applications of Lester B. Pearson College that have taken place at Race Rocks in past years.

Biology Class 1999
Env Systems TIdepool lab 1999
Royal Roads Field Trip
 Env Systems 1999
Biology Class 1999
Env Systems 1998 Biology Field Lab 1998 Diving Activity: Schools Project. Group 4 projects 1998
Environmental Systems
Transect Lab on Peg 15 , 1998
Env Systems 1997 Diving Schools activity OUTPOST video Drogue lab : Currents
Environmental Systems Class
Tidepool Study , 1997
 Environmental Systems
Current Study 1996
Env Systems 1996
Env Systems 1995
 Diving : Schoools project Biology Field Lab 2004
Diving
education- research
Pearson College and Diving at Race Rocks

Lightning as an Abiotic Factor at Race Rocks

Posted on by
Lightning is a very rare occurrence on this part of the Pacific North West Coast, however we show below a method of recording lightning strikes which can be used to compare with other regions of North America. The unusual thing about lightning is that it can occur here in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in what is the winter months in North America. When lightning is never recorded in the interior…at least of Canada.
We are interested in noting Lightning as an abiotic factor because it contributes to the sum total of Atmospheric Nitrogen Fixation and is therefore an important feature for all organisms which are dependent on nutrients from the Nitrogen Cycle. Nitrogen fixation involves Nitrogen, which is a relatively inert gas, which is plentiful in air, being made to combine chemically with other elements to form more reactive nitrogen compounds such as ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites.
This space is reserved for the first person to record a lightning strike from the remote control cameras at Race Rocks!
OBJECTIVES: After doing this assignment, students will be able to:a) Find out where lightning strikes are presently occurring in North America.
b) Evaluate the importance of lightning in the Nitrogen Cycle.
c) Enumerate the other abiotic effects on organisms of lightning strikes.

Procedure:1. The enormous energy of lightning breaks nitrogen molecules and enables their atoms to combine with oxygen in the air forming nitrogen oxides. These dissolve in rain, forming nitrates, that are carried to the earth. Atmospheric nitrogen fixation probably contributes some 5– 8% of the total nitrogen fixed. See the table below for a comparison of sources of Nitrogen Fixation. The major conversion of N2 into ammonia, and thence into proteins, is achieved by microorganisms in the process called nitrogen fixation (or dinitrogen fixation). Give examples of how this process is essential for life. Include the connection between the muscle in your arm and the process of Nitrogen Fixation.

In this picture.. Alex Chan PC yr 32 is trying to get the nitrogen fixing Lathyrus or Beach Pea lined up with Tower at Race Rocks. Check the Beach Pea file to see how well he did.

2.See the file on Biogeochemical Cycles , and construct a Nitrogen cycle from the Race Rocks image clips.

3. The Weather Office of the Government of Canada presents updates of the lightning strikes in North America

Record the Frequency and Location of Lightning strikes on three separate days when you view this link.

4. Click on the prerecorded sample maps below which show the location and intensity of lightning strikes in the area of the Strait of Juan de Fuca over the period of an hour. In the legend to the left, the estimated frequency of Lightning is depicted as flashes per 1000 square km* per minute as follows:

  • Very Frequent (Red) = more than 6 per minute
  • Frequent (Orange) = 3.0-5.9 per minute
  • Occasional (Yellow) = 1.5-2.9 per minute
  • Isolated (Blue) = less than 1.4 per minute

Note*: 1000 square km represents a circle having a radius of 17.8 km

 In the image to the right, you can see the contrast in frequency and intensity of strikes on a July evening. “>
January 31, 2006 2300 hrs
July 3, 2006 1100hrs
The Data below is from various sources, and has been compiled by DF Bezdicek & AC Kennedy, in Microorganisms in Action (eds. JM Lynch & JE Hobbie). Blackwell Scientific Publications 1998. It appears in the website: The Microbial World: N2 fixed (1012 g per year, or 106 metric tons per year)
Type of Fixation
Non-Biological
Industrial about 50
Combustion
 about 20
Lightning————–Compare with these other sources ——————-> about 10
Total about 80
Biological
Agricultural land
 about 90
Forest and non-agricultural land
 about 50
Sea
 about 35
Total about 175
5. Extension..for further investigation: Find out why lightning is rare in the winter time in North America, but common in many areas in the summer. If you are from one of these areas that experience many lightning strikes, determine why they are abundant in some areas and not in others. Might you advance an hypothesis on how seasonal differences in Lightning Strikes could affect productivity of plants?( You might want to consider what grows in winter before you jump to conclusions here!)

Abiotic Factors Project

Posted on by

Student Guide
Orientation
Have you noticed reports in the media about climate change and loss of species diversity?Have you ever encountered a special location which has a unique set of organisms that one doesn’t see anywhere else?Have you ever wondered why within a very short distance, the types of animal and plant communities can change entirely, whereas in other areas, one can go for hundred of kilometers without a change of species composition?Have you ever tried to make a plant grow where you want it to grow but find out it keeps dieing?We are slowly becoming aware that in order to preserve a species , we have to be sure the ecosystem of which it is a part is preserved intact..This project will enable students to contribute to a project which may help to shed some light on the questions above. We hope it becomes something that anyone can do long after they get the introduction through this exercise.
OBJECTIVES:1. Present hypotheses on the effect of an abiotic factor on the distribution of an organism, and data which supports the hypothesis.

2. Present evidence for why species change is predicted to be the result of climate change.

3. Relate the occurrence of climate change to species extinction.

4. Analyze the historic records for sea water temperature to see if you can find evidence for climate change.

5.Use the remote control camera to record the effects of weather extremes and correlate these with real time weather data.

PROCEDURE:

1. Introduction: On the website racerocks.ca, we have made an effort to show the relationships between species distribution and abiotic factors. Separate files for nine atmospheric factors and 8 ocean related factors are available from this environmental data index page: Take some time to familiarize yourself with the wide range of abiotic factors which we are recording at Race Rocks and at the files which show how those abiotic effects effect the organisms of the environment. Your task in this assignment is to record a graph of a weather event and correlate it with an image of the environmental response captured from the remote control cameras.  See this file on Correlation Investigations

2. Wind Speed and Direction, are very significant factors in this kind of Coastal Ecosystem. Studies on correlations of barometric pressure and wind speed are also suggested in the Correlation File 

3, Barometric Pressure and the Effect on Organisms: There is some question as to whether organisms can sense changing barometric pressure. Click on this file about barometric pressure and evaluate the evidence that scientists use to show that some organisms do have the ability to detect changing barometric pressures. What is the adaptive advantage of this ability? You may, with careful observation of animal behavior, come up with some evidence either supporting or rejecting this ability. On the racerocks.com weather station, track the weather at Race Rocks for a week. Within that time note the behaviour of animals when the barometer graph is peaking and then dropping . Can you establish a correlation between activity and impending storms?
Hint: to quantify, select a number of times from the graph when the wind is at it’s peak, and the barometer is at a low. Is there always a time lag, if so how much?.
4. Lightning as an Abiotic Factor:
Some of the factors are much more important than others. For example: Lightning is of minor importance most of the time at Race Rocks, or for that matter, anywhere in the local Strait of Juan de Fuca area, compared to wind speed and direction.
Use the link on the lightning page to find out where lightning is presently occurring in North America. Calculate the frequency of lightning strikes and the area which is affected for any one viewing session. Find out from the reference about the abiotic effects of Lightning, about one of the important effects of Lightning related to Nutrient Cycles . There are obviously other abiotic effects of lightning. List two that you can come up with here.
If you can take a screen shot in the summer of this map showing lightning in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, enter it as an observation on the OceanQuest GIS sighting record.5. 5. Change Through Time:
The records of Salinity and Temperature have been collected by the lightkeepers at Race Rocks up to 1977 and by the Marine Protected Area Guardians from that time to the present. These records provide a valuable insight into how factors can remain stable or change over time. See the Archive of Seawater Temperature and Salinity 1921-present