Category Archives: Species

Nereocystis luetkeana– Bull Kelp

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Video Saltwater

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protoctista
Phylum: Phaeophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Laminariales
Family: Lessoniaceae
Genus: Nereocystis
Species: luetkeana
Common Name:  Bull kelp
Nereocystis (greek= mermaid’s bladder) has only one species, N. luetkeana.

Plants consist of a long stipe (up to 36 m/118′) attached to the ocean floor by a holdfast composed of numerous haptera (finger-like projections) and terminated above, on the ocean surface, by a single float from which a cluster of tightly branched smooth blades arise. The blades are long (up to 4 m/13′) and narrow (usually less than 20 cm/8″ wide). Overall, this species reminds us of a very large gothic brown onion of extraterrestrial origin. This form, commonly referred to as bull kelp, is attached subtidally but forms surface canopies throughout its distribution from Alaska to central California.

At Race Rocks, all the islands are fringed by this species during the summer months. Several features make this species unique. It grows as an annual although some members persist into a second year. Most plants gets torn off by winter storms, landing on beaches to be decomposed, releasing the nutrients back into the ocean through a saprophytic food web. The following pictures illustrate the tangled masses which end up on beaches near the reserve.

This means that the plant achieves its significant length in one growing season (most growth occurs between March and September). To reach the maximum stipe lengthof 36 m (118′), the plant must grow an average of 17 cm per day over the approximate 210 day period. Nereocystis has a logistic problem in completing its life cycle. The spores are produced on the blades at the ocean surface, often several metres above the ocean floor, but a critical concentration of spores is required near where the parent plant is successfully established to assure re-occupation of this optimal space once the annual plant is lost. So the sorus (spore patch) drops from the blade and delivers its concentrated spores to the bottom before releasing the spores. This is the only kelp to release spore patches.Ronald E. Foreman in pursuit of his PhD discovered that the float, which may have a volume of up to 3 liters, has carbon monoxide, an infamous poison as one of his buoyancy gases. Foreman has studied the commercial cultivation of red seaweeds.Nereocystis on the Beach : Organisms are often involved in modifying the environment. The images in this file were taken in December 2006 after a strong north east wind pounded the lower end of Vancouver Island with the result that many Nereocystis ended up on local beaches near Race Rocks. Videos: The Color of Kelp and

 

 

 

Video: Saltwater: A video set to the music of Holly Arntzen: by Jean Olivier Dalphond (PC yr26)

See other posts on this website about Nereocystis sp.Other Phaeophytes or Brown 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. original filr by: PC Susanna B. (PC yr 28)

Hedophyllum sessile: sea cabbage–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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hsessile5

Hedophyllum sessile : All Photos by Ryan Murphy

Description: This plant is an ovate blade with a short stipe when young, but the stipitate region soon disappears and subsequently the profusely branched root-like holdfast arises from the base of the blade.  The blade becomes markedly furled and often deeply dissected (especially in surf-swept regions).  The plant is 30-150 cm. long and up to 80 cm. wide.  The surface of the blade is densely bullate, except near the base, where it is smooth (in surf-swept regions it may be completely smooth)


Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protochtista
Division: Phaeophyta
Class: Phaeophyacea
Order: Laminariales
Family: Laminariaceae
Genus: Hedophyllum
Species: sessile
Common Name: stipless kelp, sea cabbage
Habitat:  On rocks in the middle and lower intertidal and upper subtidal zones.
Hedophyllum is a brown algae. It has no stipe (that is the origin of its common name- stipe-less kelp). Its holdfast is usually very developed and the blades vary between bright and dark brown according to site of habitation.

It lives and grows in mid and lower intertidal zones of Race Rocks. Found in both wave exposed and sheltered sites. in the wave exposed areas, the blades are generally smooth and shreaded to thiner blades, while in the protected areas, the blades have wavy surface and they are generally longer. The length of the blades vary between 20 cm and 40 cm.
Pacific Coast Distribution:  Alaska to California.Robert Scagel, 1972
Other Phaeophytes or Brown 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. , 8/12/02 Oriya Barzel –2002

 

Hippasteria spinosa:The Spiny Sea star–The Race Rocks taxonomy

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Spiny Stars are rarely seen by divers at Race Rocks. Ryan demonstrates one to the Colwood Elementary a school class

Description:

The Hippasteria spinosa is an uncommon, 5 armed, aboral surfaced sea star. Its most marginal plates have 2 spines and it has some conspicuous bivalved pedicellariae.

Its colour is orange to vermillion, which intensifies at the short, stalky arms (R/r=1.7 to 2.6) and becomes whiter near the mouth. Usually in the subtidal region at depths of 100 to 500 metres, it can sometimes be found on the beach. It is characterized by having all its plates covered with granules, giving it a spiny, STELLATE look.The mouth has 4 or 5 marginal spines and a slightly wider than high mouth (elipsis shape).

Habitat and region

Can be found from Kodiak Island to Southern of California and the Sea of Okhotsk and is more common around the west coast of Vancouver Island and other exposed coastal parts. It prefers muddy, shallow environments and can also be found in shell and rock.

References:
Taxonomy: Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest; Kozloff, Eugene, University of Washington Press, 1996 Edition, USA

 

Phascolosoma agassizii: Peanut worms–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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This video was made when the diivers collected specimens underwater at Beecher Bay and then when the peanut worms were being used for a lab in the classroom.

Sipunculans, normally called peanut worms are sea animals which live under the rocks and in tight crevices between rocks, especially where is muddy or sand accumulated. They feed on detritus and microscopic organisms. They collect these with the tentacles placed encircling their mouth. They are particularly abundant in Beecher Bay, and also occur in the intertidal, under mussels on the shoreline.Peanut worms are bilaterally symmetrical and unsegmented. The body is divided into two not very distinguished regions. A mobile anterior body section called introvert which can be retracted into the body by a special set of muscles called retractor muscles and a posterior part. At the anterior tip of the body is the mouth surrounded by tentacles. These are usually bushy but sometimes inconspicuous and unbranched. The body cavity, called a coelom, is filled with fluid. Because of this the sipunculans have no respiratory or circulatory system. The coelomic fluid takes care of this functions by transporting both, nutrients and oxygen. In this fluid can also be found free floating cells , hemerytrocytes, and free floating clusters of cells known as ciliary urns. Because the digestive tracts of sipunculans are almost U shaped, the intestine forms a twisted loop, with the anus on the side of the body. Peanut worms are really firm due to to their strong, muscular body wall. Its firmness it’s also increased by the high hydrostatic pressure inside the coelom.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Sipuncula
Class Phascolosomatidae
Order Phascolosomatida
Family Phascollosomatidae
Genus Phascolosoma
Species agassizii (Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, 1827)
Common Name:Peanut worm

The length of a large Peanut worm, when stretched out, is about 6 or 7 cm. The posterior part of the body is basically paler or greenish paler while the introvert anterior section is basically paler but with a number of black lines and blotches.

There is some sipuncula fossil evidence proving their existence at least in the Paleozoic. A group of shells called hyoliths were found in rocks through much of the Paleozoic. These hyoliths are conical shells bearing a hinged operculum covering the opening. These shells seem to resemble molluscan shells. However, some trace of intestine has been found in a few hyoliths fossils. This intestine resembles a lot to living sipunculans as it’s looped and coiled. This is more evident as a few living sipunculans secrete calcified cuticular plate, the anal shield. So it is not impossible that past relatives of the sipunculans secreted more extensive shells.

References:

Seashore life of the Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Juan Archipelago-Eugene N. Kozloff (1996)

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/dees/ees/life/slides/phyla/sipuncula.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/sipuncula/sipuncula.html

Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda 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.

Dec. 2002-Ramiro Nandez (PC yr29)

Parasabella media: Parasol Feather worm

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rmapr09demonax-1

myxicola

The diver’s finger points to the feathery tentacles-

Parasabella media , a slime tube worm is one of the Polychaetes in the Phylum Annelida. It is fairly common among the vast array of other invertebrates living sub-tidally at Race Rocks.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Annelida
Class Polychaeta
Order Sabellida
Family Sabellide
Genus      Parasabella
Species     medi
Common Name: Parasol Feather duster
This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students, staff, faculty and volunteers of:
Lester B. Pearson College		 Dec. 2002 Garry Fletcher

Myxicola infundibulum: jelly tube worm– The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Ryan took this underater picture in April of 2009. It captures the transparency well.

Myxicola infundibulum , a slime tube worm is one of the Polychaetes in the Phylum Annelida. It is fairly common among the vast array of other invertebrates living subtidally at Race Rocks.

 

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Annelida
Class Polychaeta
Order sabellida
Family sabellide
Genus Myxicola
Species infundibulum
Common Name: jelly tube worm

 

Other Members of the Phylum Annelida 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.

 December, 2002-  Ryan MurphyPC)

Balanus nubilus:Giant barnacle–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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The video  is of a juvenile barnacle feeding. It was taken by Sylvia Roach through a microscope camera in the marine lab at Pearson College. The size of the barnacle can be estimated by the small skeleton shrimp which is active in the background. That amphipod is less than 1 cm in length.
Research on the associations of hydroids that live on them has been done at Race Rocks by Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss. In her publication on the new species Rhysia fletcheri she has included a photograph of hydroids on the valves of this animal.

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class:Crustacea
Subclass: Cirripedia
Order: Thoracica
Suborder: Balanomorpha
Superfamily: Balanoidea
Family: Balanidae
Genus: Balanus
Species nubilus

Common Name: Giant Barnacle

Giant barnacles are commonly found on rocks, pier pilings, and hard-shelled animals in low tidal zones to 90 meters depth.

They are up to 110 mm in diameter and are not easily confused with any other species. A feature unique to the giant barnacle is the lack of longitudinal striation on the scuta. They also contain the largest individual muscle fibres known to science.

 There has also been an extended essay done on this association by a student from the college. They are often encrusted with the holdfasts of kelp. Occasionally a storm tearing at the kelp will uproot a mass of barnacles and they may end up on a beach in the masses of tangled kelp. One of the reasons we have a ban on anchoring in the reserve is that these barnacles are easily broken away from their locations on rock outcrops by a dragging anchor.

Barnacles are not usually parasites, but the weight of this one could eventually impact negatively on the mussel.

Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda 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.

 March October 2003- Aven Crawshay (PC)

Halosaccion glandiforme: Sea sac –The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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halosaculva

 

Distinguishing Characteristics :
Typical descriptions of Halosaccion glandiforme depict the plant as a thin-walled elongated sausage-shaped sac found in the mid-intertidal region of rock dominated shores. The plant is identifiable by its rounded head and short stipe anchored by a small circular holdfast. It ranges in colour from yellow/brown to red/purple. Also, because of the water it contains, applying pressure to the plant produces fine sprays of water emitted from the pores. In Common Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast (by J. Robert Waaland) it is stated that “Halosaccion glandiforme may reach lengths up to 25 cm and 3 to 4 cm in diameter; typical sizes are about 15 cm long by 2 to 3 cm in diameter.” 

The following pictures were taken by Ryan Murphy, 2005

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protoctista
Division: Rhodophyta
Class: Rhodophyceae
Subclass: Florideophycidae
Order: Palmriales
Family: Palmariaceae
Genus: Halosaccion
Species: glandiforme (Gmelin) Ruprecht 1851
Common Name: sea sac

Biotic Associations:

Being an intertidal species Halosaccion glandiforme shares its ecological niche with several other intertidal dwelling species. Acrochaetium vagum, a different red algae, is an epiphyte to Halosaccion. Also such species as mussels, barnacles, and species from other algal divisions including Poryphera lancelota, and Fucus gardneri grow in the same vacinity of the intertidal zone as Halosaccion. Predation on the Halosaccion is limited, the most common source of predation is from molluscan grazers like the sea snail Tegula funebralis.

In a study done on Halosaccion at Bamfield Marine Station in 1983, Garry Fletcher found an association of microscopic nematodes dwelling inside the sac of intact Halosaccion. Also noted were the special aggregation of cells that formed the “holes” on the walls of the algae.These are not random pin holes but very specialized regions of the matrix of the water reservoir wall.

References and Sources of More Information:

Fletcher, Alex, INTERTIDAL ZONATION OF HALOSACCION GLANDIFORME: A FOCUS ON HEIGHT AND SLOPE AS FACTORS OF ZONATION, extended essay in Biology, 2002

Johnson, L.E. 1992. Potential and peril of field experimentation: the use
of copper to manipulate molluscan herbivores. Journal of Experimental Marine
Biology & Ecology, v160 n2, pp251-262.

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–Alex Fletcher  PC.

 

Arenaria melanocephala: Black Turnstone–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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black-turnstone

Ryan took this image in January 2009. At that time of year there were over a dozen turnstones foraging across the island.

 

The Black Turnstone breeds in Western and Southern Alaska on the coastal plain. It winters only on the Pacific coast, from southeast Alaska to central Mexico. It is the most abundant shorebird of rocky shorelines. Favourite habitats include reefs, rocky beaches, jetties, and gravel bars at the mouths of rivers or along lagoons. It may also forage on adjacent mudflats wet sandy beaches, floating kelp beds, and piles of washed-up seaweed. Black Turnstones have been recorded roosting on dry rocks, jetties, and floating log booms at which time they may gather into extremely dense flocks.
It is widely distributed along the inner and outer coast. Its distribution is largely restricted to rocky coastal shorelines, but it frequents many fiords and protected inlets. It is a vagrant in the interior. The Black Turnstone usually occurs in flocks of 10 to 30 birds at Race Rocks where it overwinters.


This slide show shows the Black Turnstone being part of the Food Web at Race Rocks providing  energy for the Peregrine falcon!

Reference used:http://rbcm1.rbcm.gov.bc.ca/nh_papers/gracebell/english/b_turnst.htm

Below are the records for population numbers of Black Turnstones observed in the Christmas Bird Counts.
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Aves
Order Charadriiformes
Family Scolopacidae
Genus Arenaria
Species melanocephala
Common Name: Black Turnstone

Other Members of the Class Aves 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.
Angela Chaisson, PC yr 28

 

Sea pen: Ptilosarcus gurneyi-The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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(Ed Note: The scientific name at the start of the video is not correct.) The sea pen, Ptilosarcus gurneyi, is a colonial cnidarian in the same class as the anemone, the anthozoa. One polyp has been modified to form the body,  while the fringes of the “feather” contain numerous small feeding polyps. Typically we find it living in a mud/sand substrate. It is rare around Race Rocks. The only population we have found is this one with a few individuals occurring at 15 metres on the North-West corner of Great Race Island. Note the small burrowing tubeworms in the mud around the organism. This specimen was videoed by Wynne Lawrence and Jean-Olivier Dalphond, both students at the Lester B. Pearson College.

General Description:

The sea pen, Ptilosarcus gurneyi, is a colonial cnidaria in the same class as the anemone, the anthozoa. One polyp has been modified to form the body while the fringes of the “feather” contain numerous small feeding polyps.

Habital:

Sea pens are marine organisms: typically they are found living in a mud/sand substrate at least 3 inches (7.6 cm) deep. It is rare around Race Rocks, with a few individuals occuring on the North-West corner of Great Race Island. Note the small burrowing tubeworms in the mud around the organism.

Feeding:

The polyps feed on detritus, zooplankton (baby artemia), and possibly (according to The Reef Aquarium Vol. Two) phytoplankton.You should offer your Sea Pen Artemia nauplii, Daphnia, pulverized flake food, and detritus stirred up from the bottom of the tank.

Predator:

Predators of the sea pen are two nudibranchs, one the very large 3 inches(7cm) nudibranch, Armina californica and the other Mediaster aequalis, Rose Star Crossaster papposus and the Leather Star Dermasterras imbriacata.

Reproduction:

We don’t know the reproduction of sea pens whether by sexual or asexual means.

References:
http://www.fishroom.com/library/seapen.html
http://www.lanecc.edu/science/zonation/seapen.htm

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Octocorallia
Order: Pennatulacea Verrill, 1865
Suborder :Subsessiliflorae
Family :Pennatulidae Ehrenberg, 1834
Genus:Ptilosarcus
species:gurneyi
(Ptilosarcus gurneyi)
Common name: orange sea pen

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image Gallery

Other Members of the Class Anthozoa 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: Dec 2002, Joshua Columbus ( Burma) year PC yr 29).  

additions by G.Fletcher 2018