Author Archives: Garry Fletcher

Family Myctophidae: Lantern Fish–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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lanternfish

Lanternfish Photo by Anne Stewart

Anne found this specimen washed up in the intertidal In April, 2016.

Its not surprizing that we don’t have a name for it as can be noted in this quote from the website ” Sea and Sky presents The Sea”,

“There are over two hundred different species of lanternfishes in the deep sea. In fact, they are thought to be some the most common deep ocean creatures. Sampling by deep sea trawling indicates that lanternfish make up as much as 65% of the deep sea biomass. They are among the most most widely distributed and diverse of all vertebrate species and it is believed that they play an important role as prey for larger organisms.”

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass*: Osteichthyes
Class: Actinopterygii
Subclasses: Neopterygii
Order: Myctophiformes
Family: Myctophidae (T. N. Gill, 1893)
Genus: ?
Species: ?

Other Members of the Class Actinopterygii 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.

Anne Stewart, Ecoguardian, April 2016

 

Seawater Data: February, 2016

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Feb 23:  No YSI data taken at 16:05 due to battery failure.

Station Race Rocks   Lightstation
Month: February Year: 2016
Observer : Lester B. Pearson College   of the Pacific
Date Time Sea Jar Hydro-   meter   No. Observed Density YSI Salinity YSI Temp °C
Temp. Temp.
°C °C
1 7:30 32.0 8.6
2 8:00 32.0 8.6
3 8:00 31.9 8.5
4 8:30 31.9 8.6
5 9:15 31.7 8.6
6 10:00 22.0 8.5
7 10:50 31.9 8.5
8 11:50 31.9 8.7
9 13:00 31.9 8.9
10 14:00 32.1 8.8
11 15:05 32.4 8.8
12 16:20 32.2 8.9
13 17:30 32.4 8.7
14 6:05 32.5 8.8
15 6:50 8.9 9 10,802 230 31.5 8.7
16 7:35 31.9 8.7
17 8:30 31.7 8.7
18 9:00 31.7 9.6
19 10:05 30.2 8.7
20 11:25 31.9 8.8
21 12:05 32.0 8.6
22 12:50 31.9 8.8
23 14:30 8.9 8.7 232 31.8 9.0
24 14:30 32.0 9.0
25 15:10 32.1 9.0
26 15:55 32.0 8.9
27 17:30 32.1 9.0
28 18:10 32.0 8.8
29 6:05 31.9 8.6
Recorded by Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Guardian for Lester B. Pearson College

 

Marine Mammals Hauled out on Race Rocks Jan 2014-Feb 2016

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This graph represents the 6 marine mammal species which haul out on Great Race Rocks in the Race Rocks Ecological reserve.  providing the population numbers and the time of year  CLICK to enlarge. The data was obtained from the Posts on census done by the Ecoguardians at Race Rocks.mammalcraph

The graph below represents the Elephant seal population at Race Rocks Ecological reserve with data taken from the Ecoguardian logs for January 2014 to January 2016. Click to enlarge.

elephantseal2014-2015

Third elephant seal born on Middle Rocks

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Alex noted in his last log that he had heard another pup out on middle island and was able to see it from the tower. Today we have a clear shot at it from camera 1 . The pup seems quite lively. The unfortunate thing is that every year there has been a pup born out there, the next big storm washes it off, so as far as we know there has never in the past 8 years been a surviving pup from the middle island.  Here’s hoping for no storms for the next few weeks??? not likely..

third-pup-on-middle-island

 

 

 

Nucella lamellosa: Frilled Dogwinkle–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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We have somehow missed getting a photo of this Dogwinkle.. stay tuned!

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Order Neogastropoda
Family Thaididae

Genus Nucella
Species lamellosa (Gmelin,1791)
Common Name: Frilled Dogwinkle

Other Members of the Phylum Mollusca at Race Rocks.

Return 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.

 

River otter and e-seals

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I received this photo today  of a river otter who likes curling up and going to sleep just down the slope from the remote control camera 5 from Pam Birley. Odd behaviour considering that they are usually very secretive out there on the island.

PBrivotterJan2315 I am just doing up my final notes for my oral presentation to the NEB Kinder Morgan TMX hearings in Burnaby on Thursday, and have noted that river and sea otters have not been recognized by the consultants of the oil company as being significant marine  mammals  in the Strait of Juan de Fuca . Only the Humpback and Southern Resident Orcas and the Northern Sealion are considered as representative of the marine mammals in the path of tanker traffic.  So we are supposed to believe that the Northern Sealion is a proxy for all the other marine mammals in terms of impact.

We had pointed out in past submissions that the elephant seal birthing colony is rather unique also, but no separate recognition has been forthcoming for harbour and elephant seal birthing colonies.

Today I had a look at the E-seals on the lawn using  Camera 1 with the following pics.
G. Fletcher

 

Humpback and Orca Sightings from Race Rocks in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

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In preparing for the oral presentation that the Friends of Ecological Reserves  will give on January 28 in Burnaby, as an intervenor for the National Energy board Hearings, I have recently updated or graphs on Humpback and Orca sightings by the Ecoguardians at Race Rocks: The posts done by our Ecoguardians tagged for orcas or  humpback whales assisted in this tabulation.

image003 orcadays