In this video you can see two different species of jellyfish, Solimissus marshalliand Mitrocoma cellularia.These invertebrates are part of the phylum Cnidaria which include hydroids, scyphozoan jellyfishes, sea anemones, sea pens and corals. They are constructed of 2 layers of cells-the outer covering and the inner covering of the digestive cavity. Between is a jellylike layer (mesoglea). Some cells are specialized for digesting or stinging. The jellyfish is the sexual ‘medusa stage’ of a hydroid. The hydroid medusa has a membrane (velum) that grows inward from the margin of the bell. Most of the 60 or so local jellyfishes are medusaes of hydrozoans; surprisingly very attractive, but usually very small and they often go unnoticed. These specimens were videoed by Jean-Olivier Dalphond and Damien Guihen on a sunny day of June 2001. Identification was byDr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss.Anita regularly samples the waters of Race Rocks as well as nearby Eemdyck passage, Beecher Bay , Pedder Bay and Sooke harbour where the upwelling water from the Strait of Juan de Fuca often brings numerous hydroid medusae.
This video shows the installation process for the tidal energy generator research project. This was carried out by Chris Blondeau and the Pearson College Divers in order to determine which surfaces discouraged growth in the waters at Race Rocks. As a result, Titanium was used in the construction of some parts of the generator as it was one of the metals most resistant to fouling.
We found these Caprellids at a depth of 20 metres attached to hydroids on a Balanus nubilus. They frequently dwell amongst hydroids. The size of this individual was 3mm. These individuals were photographed using a Motic Digital Microscope at 10X magnification. Note the response to stimulation by a dull probe.
In the picture below , the current meter float which was in the water for a year, came up covered with Caprellids. See this file on the Current meter:
Look closely to see these tiny skeleton shrimp clinging to bryozoans, hydroids or algae. Their body shape and color help the shrimp to blend into their background. Their bodies are long, cylindrical and range from pale brown and green to rose. Some species can quickly change color to blend into their backgrounds.
Skeleton shrimp look like, and sometimes are called, “praying mantises of the sea.” They have two pairs of legs attached to the front end of their bodies, with three pairs of legs at the back end. The front legs form powerful “claws” for defense, grooming and capturing food. The rear legs have strong claws that grasp and hold on to algae or other surfaces. They use their antennae for filter feeding and swimming.
Diet diatoms (microscopic plants), detritus, filtered food particles, amphipods Size to 1.5 inches (4 cm) long Range low intertidal zone and subtidal waters in bays,
Conservation Notes
Skeleton shrimp are abundant and live in many habitats, including the deep sea. They play an important role in the ecosystem by eating up detritus and other food particles.
Cool Facts
Shrimp, sea anemones and surf perch prey on skeleton shrimp. The females of some skeleton shrimp species kill the male after mating.
Skeleton shrimp use their front legs for locomotion. To move, they grasp first with those front legs and then with their back legs, in inchworm fashion. They swim by rapidly bending and straightening their bodies.
To grow, skeleton shrimp shed their old exoskeletons and form new, larger ones. They can mate only when the female is between new, hardened exoskeletons. After mating, the female deposits her eggs in a brood pouch formed from leaflike projections on the middle part of her body. Skeleton shrimp hatch directly into juvenile adults.
Source: Monterey Bay Aquarium: Online Field Guide http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species/default.asp?hOri=1&inhab=521
In order to predict the best location for the installation of the tidal power generator, an ADCP ( Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) supplied by ASL Environmental Sciences was deployed. This instrument will collect current regime information for a period of one month. Rita Santos did the video and Angie Karlsen helped Chris Blondeau lift and position the concrete weights used to secure the device on the sea floor..
We frequently see schools of these rockfish hanging about when we are diivng at Race Rocks. As you can see in the video, they remain at a distance as the diver swims into the group. They are a thin bass-shaped fish with few head spines. It is black, blue and black, spotted with grey or blue and grey, with black spots on the backs and dorsal fins.
Global distribution: It lives in the ocean from the area of Amchitka Island (Auletian Islands) southeast to S. Miguel island and S. Barbara (southern California). We can find it from central California to south eastern Alaska. Habitat: It usually lives in mid-water or surface, but it has been captured down to 1.200 feet. Feeding: Young fish eat plankton and larvae, old eat mainly fish and zooplankton.
Predators: Their predators are ling cods, sea lions and pigeon guillemots. Reproduction: Females are viviparous. From September to November they store the sperm before fertilizing the eggs. They let go young from January to May, peaking in February off California. One interesting fact: They live in groups of thousand of elements. They are good swimmers, in fact they can move hundred of miles.References: Probably more than you want to know about the fishes of the Pacific Coast, M. Love,
Really Big Press, II edition.
Andy Lamb and Phil Edgell: “Coastal fishes of the Pacific Northwest” J.L Hart: “Pacific fishes of Canada”
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
sub phylum vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Pereciformes
Family Scorpaenidae
Genus Sebastes
Species melanops
Common Name:Black Rockfish
Other Members of the Class Actinopterigii at Race Rocks.
The 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 controlwebcams. March 15 2005- Stefania Marchese PC, year 32 (Italy)
We found these Caprellids at a depth of 20 metres attached to hydroids on a Balanus nubilus. They frequently dwell amongst hydroids. The size of this individual was 3mm. These individuals were photographed using a Motic Digital Microscope at 10X magnification. Note the response to stimulation when disturbed by a dull probe.
Garry and a Pearson College diver, stabilize the Institute of Ocean Sciences float before hauling it into the boat, This was at the end of one year of monitoring the tidal currents. From this process the Current Tables for Race Passage were developed by IOS.
Look closely to see these tiny skeleton shrimp clinging to the bryozoans,The shape and color help the shrimp to blend into their background. Their bodies are long, cylindrical and range from pale brown to green Some species can quickly change color to blend into their backgrounds.
Skeleton shrimp look like, and sometimes are called, “praying mantises of the sea.” They have two pairs of legs attached to the front end of their bodies, with three pairs of legs at the back end. The front legs form powerful “claws” for defense, grooming and capturing food. The rear legs have strong claws that grasp and hold on to algae or other surfaces. They use their antennae for filter feeding and swimming.
Diet diatoms (microscopic plants), detritus, filtered food particles, amphipods Size to 1.5 inches (4 cm) long Range low intertidal zone and subtidal waters in bays,
Conservation Notes
Skeleton shrimp are abundant and live in many habitats, including the deep sea. They play an important role in the ecosystem by eating up detritus and other food particles.
Cool Facts
Shrimp, sea anemones and surf perch prey on skeleton shrimp. The females of some skeleton shrimp species kill the male after mating.
Skeleton shrimp use their front legs for locomotion. To move, they grasp first with those front legs and then with their back legs, in inchworm fashion. They swim by rapidly bending and straightening their bodies.
To grow, skeleton shrimp shed their old exoskeletons and form new, larger ones. They can mate only when the female is between new, hardened exoskeletons. After mating, the female deposits her eggs in a brood pouch formed from leaflike projections on the middle part of her body. Skeleton shrimp hatch directly into juvenile adults.
Source: Monterey Bay Aquarium:
Online Field Guide http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species/default.asp?hOri=1&inhab=521
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Malacostraca
SubclassEumalacostraca
SuperorderPeracarida
Order Amphipoda
SuborderCaprellidea
InfraorderCaprellida
Family
Genus Caprella Specieslaeviuscula Common Name: Smooth skeleton shrimp
The 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 controlwebcams. March 15 2005- Kevin Mwenda- Pearson College Year 31.
It is almost always found in association with the red encrusting sponge Ophlitaspongia
Physical Description: The red sea slug is oval and commonly recognized by its bright color either red, orangish, or scarlet. But it is not uncommon to find some lighter colored species. It matches the texture and color of the sponge that it feeds on. Its body usually measures from 10 to 30 millimeters long. The back of some of the specimens can be covered with sprinkling black specks that stand out more in lighter colors. Their dorsum is covered with caryophilletic tubercules, which gives it a velvety texture. Their unique feature is their rhinophores (organs of the smell) that have vertical perfoliations. Global Distribution: The red sea slug is dispersed all throughout the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska south to Argentina and Chile. Concentrated especially in Vancouver Island (British Columbia) and Puertecitos (Baja California) Habitat: They are usually found on the colored red siliceous sponges they feed on, that are encrusted under rocky edges.
Feeding: Rostanga pulchra feeds on red sponges. Ophlitaspongia pennata, Esperiopsis originalis, Plocamia karykina, and also on Acarnus erithacus and Isociona lithophoenix. It can locate the food from distance by scent. It first removes the top part of the sponge to leave a shallow groove.
Predators: The predaceous cephalaspidean Navanax intermis can be reppelled by the Rostanga by non-acid secretions.
Reproduction: The red sea slug is oviparous. The color of the eggs is similar to the color of the slug as well as the one of the sponge. It breads year round. The cylindrical eggs strands (2,000 to 13,000 egg capsules) are laid in a spiral pattern on the sponge they feed upon. The egg development is influenced by temperature: the warmer the shorter the development is. The eggs then develop into a larvae called veliger and drifts as plankton in the sea. The larvae will then settle and metamorphose in a suitable environment. One interesting Fact: Like all nutribranchs, the Rostanga pulchra is hermaphrodite, which means that it has both female and male sex organs, thus their chances of meeting a potential mating partner increase. But self fertilization remains very rare.
<em><strong>Other<a href=”https://www.racerocks.ca/category/species/class-mollusca/”> Members of thePhylum Mollusca</a> at Race Rocks.</strong></em>
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<td><a href=”https://www.racerocks.ca/race-rocks-animals-plants/taxonomy-image-gallery/”><img class=” wp-image-17530 alignleft” src=”https://www.racerocks.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/taxonomyicon-300×91.jpg” alt=”taxonomyicon” width=”201″ height=”68″></a><a href=”https://www.racerocks.ca/race-rocks-animals-plants/taxonomy-image-gallery/”><strong>Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
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<td><a href=”http://pearsoncollege.ca/” target=”_blank”><img class=”alignleft wp-image-5251″ src=”https://www.racerocks.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/pearsonlogo2_f2.jpg” alt=”pearsonlogo2_f2″ width=”121″ height=”73″></a><strong>The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of <a href=”http://pearsoncollege.ca/” target=”_blank”>Lester Pearson College UWC</a>. </strong><strong>It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and<a href=”https://www.racerocks.ca/category/ecoguardians-log/visitor-observations/”> Observers </a>on the<a href=”https://www.racerocks.ca/video-cameras/” target=”_blank”> remote control</a> <a href=”https://www.racerocks.ca/video-cameras/”>webcams. </a></strong>
<strong><a href=”https://www.racerocks.ca/video-cameras/”>This file was originally started by
On February 25, 2005, Pearson College hosts the announcement of the Pearson College, ENCANA, Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks.
This video by Alexander Mirzoyan ( yr 31) (Russia) presents the complete proceedings and speeches. Pearson College Director Stewart Walker leads off with introductions to the speakers
Thanks to Karin Fletcher on iNaturalist for identifying this for us. She indicated that D. subramosus lack lateral papillae on their rhinophore sheaths and can have brown lines along from their rhinophores along their dorsolateral processes
The 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 controlwebcams.
On June 8, 2004, we were fortunate to have David Grierson doing the CBC morning show
“On The Island ” broadcast live from Race Rocks.
We were saddened to hear of his death from a heart attack in November of 2004.
