Pelecanus occidentalis: Brown Pelican -The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on Wednesday,October 15, 1997 by Garry Fletcher

In late September to mid October of 1997, Brown Pelicans were sighted roosting on George Point, just North of the reserve on Bentinck Island, and at Race Rocks in the eastern entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This group was filmed one afternoon from the Pearson College dive boat. Note, they had a habit of stretching their necks up vertically. The group stayed in the Race Rocks area for several weeks that fall. This is a rare event to have these birds this far North but the records from the daily water samples taken at Race Rocks in October and November of 1997 indicate the highest water temperatures since records were first made in 1927 and the lowest salinities since the first records in 1936. Another pair of Pelicans was observed in early November of 2001 by the Race Rocks Guardians. Noting the Brown Pelican’s “graceful glide” and dextrous use of its bill – which functions both as a dip net and cooling mechanism, it has been described as one of the most interesting of the North American birds. In recent years,
the pelican numbers have increased with sightings reported sporadically at Race Rocks. Its habitat is coastal islands on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North, Central and South America.

This video was made from images taken by Pam Birley on remote camera 5 on Nov 10, 2006.. selected images are shown also below:

: Note the white head, typical of a mature adult. You can see the relative size to the cormorant in the above photo.

: This sighting takes place one week after the first hard rain of the winter, with warm temperatures brought in from the Pacific by the “pineapple express”

: Preening feathers can be complicated with a bill that long

: Another sighting of Pelicans at Race Rocks.

: Photos by Lucia, PC yr 33 September 7, 2006

: Pam Birley caught this image on Cam 5 from the SE corner on Nov.4, 2006 and we observed several on middle island on September 28 as well.

: Dec 19, 2006. this pelican was sighted again on the south side of RR. Photo by Pam Birley from Remote camera 5 at Race Rocks.

: On November 29, 2006 we had a large downfall of snow which lasted for several days with cold winds from the north-east.

: This adult pelican was photographed by Pam on the south west corner of the island from remote camera 5.

: “Brown Pelicans are becoming a common sight at Race Rocks.See the log of May 12, 2010: Ryan Murphy

“Other pictures and records of different dates in other years for Pelicans can be seen on Pam Birley’s Flickr site:https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=66339356@N00&q=pelican

Lonely Pelican in a sea of Larus, Photo by Ryan Murphy– November 24, 2009

CLASSIFICATION:
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebrata
Class Aves
Order Pelecanifornes
Family Pelecanidae
Genus Pelecanus
Species occidentalis
Common Name Brown Pelican

A visitor from warmer climes. See the post of Nov 9, 2012 https://www.racerocks.ca/2012/11/09/…

On Nov 19 2014,Rick Page took some great shots of Pelicans at Race Rocks.
Other Members of the Class Aves at Race Rocks.

Ecoguardian Alex Fletcher took this shot of a large group of pelicans for his post of
Dec 5 2012. Also Dec15 2012

An interesting pelican story resulted from this image taken while a Pelican was in flight which shows the band number R36

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File

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 control webcams. This taxonomy page was originally started as a biology class assignment in Dec. 2003 by Pearson College student Anil D’Souza PC year 27
G. Fletcher

Status of the Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus, in Canada

Posted on Tuesday,April 16, 1996 by Garry Fletcher

ROBIN W. BAIRD¹ and M. BRADLEY HANSON²

1) Marine Mammal Research Group, Box 6244, Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5L5 and Biology Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J I

2) National Marine Mammal Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Building 4, Seattle, Washington 98115

*Reviewed and approved by COSEWIC 16 April 1996-status assigned: Not at Risk (NAR).

This report reviews the general biology, status. and management of the Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus), with special reference to its status in Canadian waters While Northern Fur Seals do not breed within Canadian waters. They can be found in large numbers in the waters offshore of British Columbia year-round, and occasional stragglers are found inshore. Generally found only in small groups during the pelagic phase of their life, the largest numbers occur in British Columbia waters from January through June. The eastern North Pacific population has declined significantly over the last 30 years, but the cause is unknown.

Baird, Robin W., and M. Bradley Hanson. 1997. Status of the Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus. in Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist 111(2): 263-269.

Key Words: Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus, otariid, status, British Columbia

This review of the general biology, status, and management of the Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus (Linnaeus 1758), was prepared on behalf of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). A compilation and assessment of the available information on this species is used to evaluate its status in Canadian waters. For this species such a task is relatively easy in comparison to the many lesser known species of marine mammals in Canadian waters, because of the extensive investigations undertaken by U.S., Russian, and Canadian researchers.

The Northern Fur Seal, a member of the sea lion family (Otariidae), is the second smallest pinniped found on the west coast of Canada. Adult males reach a length of 1.9 m and a weight of about 200 kg, while females are much smaller, reaching a length of 1.3 m and a weight of 35 kg (Figure 1). The pelage of adults is generally a brownish-grey colour. The vibrissae colour varies with age, being black in juveniles and white in fully grown adults.

Distribution

Northern Fur Seals range throughout the northern Pacific from central Japan (latitude 36ºN) and the Sea of Japan north to the Bering Sea, and south along the west coast of North America to the area of the U.S.-Mexican border (latitude 32ºN) [Figure 21. Fur seals can be found throughout this range in almost all months of the year, but peak abundance varies seasonally and geographically. Off the Canadian west coast, females and subadult males are typically found during the winter off the continental shelf (Bigg, 1990). Occasional animals are seen in inshore waters in British Columbia, and stragglers occasionally come ashore, usually at sea lion haulouts (e.g., Race Rocks, off southern Vancouver Island).

Three breeding colonies occur in Russia; at Robben (Tyuleniy) Island and the central Kuril Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk, and Commander Island in the western Bering Sea. In the United States, colonies occur at the Pribilof Islands (St. George and St. Paul islands) in the eastern Bering Sea, at Bogoslof Island in the southeast Bering Sea, and at San Miguel Island and nearby Castle Rock off southern California. Reeves et al. (1992) noted that a few fur seals also haul out seasonally on Southeast Farallon Island and occasionally on San Nicolas Island, off California.

Protection

International

The Interim Convention on Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals lapsed in 1984, when the United States Senate failed to ratify a protocol for extension. This international agreement protected the fur seal from hunting at sea, but also allowed for the commercial harvest of fur seals in the Pribilof Islands. Attempts to establish a new treaty for the protection of the fur seal have failed; consequently the species is vulnerable to future hunting of animals at sea. Under the terms of this agreement Canada received 15 percent of the skins from harvests, and was also obliged to undertake research on this species.

The Northern Fur Seal is not listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), thus international trade is not monitored or regulated.

National

Canada: In Canada the Northern Fur Seal is protected under the 1993 Marine Mammal Regulations of the Fisheries Act of Canada. These regulations control the hunting of this species in Canadian waters by all except aboriginals, who are required to obtain a licence. Fees for such a licence are low ($5), and issuance is at the discretion of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. “Disturbance” is prohibited through these regulations, except when hunting under licence, as is the operation of aircraft within 600 m of any live seal on land.

United States: After the international convention lapsed in 1984, management of this species in U.S. waters became subject to the Fur Seal Act of 1966 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. The commercial harvest on the Pribilof Islands ended because the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined that such a harvest could not take place under domestic laws. Current levels and conditions for a subsistence harvest are regulated under these Acts. In 1988 the U.S. population was listed as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Under this Act, a conservation plan was prepared for this species (National Marine Fisheries Service 1993), outlining protective measures and research activities to be undertaken by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

Population Size(s) and Trends

Several stocks have been generally recognized for the Northern Fur Seal; however, tag returns suggest that some exchange occurs between breeding colonies. The Pribilof Islands population is the largest, comprising three quarters of the world’s total, with just less than one million individuals in the early 1990s (National Marine Mammal Laboratory, unpublished data). This population was thought to number between two to three million individuals in the mid-1800s (National Marine Fisheries Service 1993), and was estimated at approximately 2.1 million individuals in the 1940s (Kenyon et al. 1954; Lander and Kajimura 1982; Briggs and Fowler 1984). Based on pup counts, the population on St. Paul Island (representing about 80% of the Pribilof stock) has remained relatively stable since the early 1980s, while the St. George stock has undergone a significant decline since the late 1970s (York and Fowler 1992). The Pribilof Island population(s) appear to be well below the level of maximum net productivity (Ragen 1995). Northern Fur Seals first began breeding at Bogoslof Island in the southeast Bering Sea in 1980, and the population in 1988 comprised over 400 individuals, increasing at a rate of 57% per year (Loughlin and Miller 1989). Fur seals also began breeding at San Miguel Island (California) in 1968 and at nearby Castle Rock in 1972. The San Miguel colony numbered approximately 5000 individuals by 1993 and was increasing (DeLong et al. 1993).

Habitat

Terrestrial habitats for Northern Fur Seals are generally limited to their rookeries, which are scattered around the North Pacific rim in close proximity to the continental slope. Fur seals have strong fidelity to traditional sites that are typically composed of a rocky substrate (on San Miguel Island they use a sand beach). Although all rookeries in the U.S. are federally owned, the Pribilof Islands are inhabited and non-rookery lands are owned by local communities which are developing support facilities for fishing industries. Consequently, several types of habitat degradation are possible.

Ocean habitats appear to vary by the sex and age group(s) of fur seals present. In the summer breeding season, continental slope waters in the eastern Bering Sea are the principal destination for adult females on foraging trips. The use of continental shelf and slope waters of British Columbia and the states of Washington, Oregon, and California by adult females during winter is well documented from pelagic sealing data (Bigg 1990). Adult males from the Alaskan populations appear to remain in Alaskan waters year-round, some remaining in the Bering Sea and some moving south into the Gulf of Alaska in mid-winter. Subadults of both sexes use coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington as well as offshore areas of the North Pacific (Kajimura 1984; Bigg, 1990). The highest concentrations in the open ocean occur along the continental shelf break and in association with other major oceanographic frontal features, such as canyons, sea mounts and valleys (Kajimura 1984). Although water quality in these areas is unknown, it appears to be suitable with the exception of areas subjected to oil spills. Trends in the availability of prey in these areas are unknown.

General Biology

Reproduction

Female Northern Fur Seals may produce their first pup at four years of age, and the majority are pupping by six years of age (York and Hartley 1981). A single pup is born within two days of the arrival of a female at the breeding colony. Parturition appears to be stimulated by arrival at the breeding colony and the presence of conspecifics (Bigg 1984). For the first 8-10 days after birth, females remain ashore until they come into estrous and mate. After that time they regularly leave the colony for foraging trips of 4- 10 days. Insley (1992) demonstrated that calls used between mother-offspring pairs of Northern Fur Seats were highly variable between individuals, but varied little for a particular individual, allowing the mother and pup to reunite after separating. Pups remain on the breeding islands until they are weaned in late fall. Pup weight depends in part on that of the mother and on sex, male pups are larger at birth (Bottnev 1993). Adult males remain ashore and fast while defending breeding territories. Juvenile males also haul out during the breeding season and fast, typically losing about 20% of their body mass during this time (Baker et al, 1993).

Figure 1: Northern Fur Seals Photo by O. W. Otsen. The small animal at left is an adult female, the large animal is an adult male.

Diet

Knowledge of the diet of the Northern Fur Seals comes primarily from the examination of stomach contents of animals killed as part of a joint U.S.-Canadian research program from 1958 to 1974 (Kajimura 1984; Perez and Bigg 1986), and in part from scat analysis (Antonelis et al, 1990, 1993). Primary prey species vary seasonally (Perez and Bigg 1986). Differences in diet also occur throughout their range, both on a large (Perez and Bigg 1986) and small scale (Antonelis et al. 1993). Small schooling fishes are the primary food species in terms of energy content. In Biitish Columbia waters, Pacific Herring (Clupea harengus) and various species of squid comprise about 70% of the diet. Walleye pollock, sablefish, rockfishes, whiting, and salmonids form the remainder of the diet (Perez and Bigg 1986). Historical evidence suggests that the composition of the diet has fluctuated over time with changes in fish stocks; sardines were once extremely abundant in the eastern North Pacific but were over-fished in the 1940s until the stocks collapsed. There is some evidence that sardines were commonly eaten by Northern Fur Seals off Vancouver Island in the early 1930s (Clemens and Wilby 1933).

Movements

In general, Pribilof Island fur seals migrate south to winter along the west coast of Canada and the United States. However, patterns of movement of this species are extensive and complex, with timing and migratory routes depending on age, sex and reproductive condition (Bigg 1990). Bigg (1990) suggested that fur seal migration from the Bering Sea after the breeding season facilitated both the avoidance of low temperatures and access to sources of prey. He also suggested that the age-related differences in migratory timing and routes likely results from a combination of the learning of productive foraging areas and the need to return to the breeding areas when animals reach reproductive age. The origin of sex-related differences in migration may result in part from differences in the timing of arrival to and departure from the breeding colonies. Adult females both arrive at and leave colonies later than adult males. Males start to arrive at colonies in May to establish territories and females start arriving in mid-June. Males depart in late summer while females remain until late fall while they continue to nurse their young. The fall movements of pups away from the rookeries is not random; estimated minimum swimming speed of pups between St. Paul Island and the Aleutians was between 36 to 61 km/day (Ragen et al. 1993). Fowler et al. (1993) demonstrated that male Northern Fur Seats generally return to their natal rookery, although individuals sometimes emigrate to other rookeries or, rarely, form new colonies.

Short-distance movements around San Miguel Island by females nursing pups were examined by Antonelis et al, (1990), who found that females foraged primarily in oceanic waters over the continental slope. These females departed the colony in greatest numbers in mid-day, possibly a thermoregulatory behaviour in response to increasing temperatures and solar radiation.

Behaviour

Northern Fur Seals generally exhibit strong site fidelity to their rookeries. Despite disturbance associated with commercial harvesting by human inhabitants on the Pribilof Islands from the late 1700s until recently, seals continue to occupy nearly all the same rookeries. This species appears to be tolerant to short term disturbance associated with human activities (Gentry and Gilman 1990). The proximity of these islands to the continental slope likely contributes to their continued use of these rookeries.

Limiting Factors

Commercial harvesting has affected the population of Northern Fur Seals in the Pribilof Islands since shortly after it was first discovered in 1786 (National Marine Fisheries Service 1993). From 1786 to 1828 an average of a hundred thousand Northern Fur Seals per year, primarily pups, were killed. Commercial harvesting of this species was directly responsible for the large reductions in population size in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The commercial harvest during this early period included pregnant females; during the period of pelagic sealing, large numbers of animals were taken off British Columbia and in the Bering Sea (National Marine Fisheries Service 1993). Hunts were reduced in size in the early 1900s, and the population grew up to the 1940s. Approximately 300 000 females were killed between 1956 and 1968, in an effort to move the population towards the level where productivity would be maximized. The population did not respond as expected however, and pup production decreased (York and Hartley 1981). When the commercial harvest of females ceased in 1968, pup production increased and the population grew until 1976. While hunting continued during this period, it is considered unlikely to be the cause of a decline in the population size after 1976 (National Marine Fisheries Service 1993). Commercial harvests continued for this species up until the expiration of the Interim Convention on Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals in 1984. Since that time, between about 1200 and 3700 juvenile males have been killed each year as part of a subsistence harvest. Such levels are not thought to contribute to the lack of recovery of the population (National Marine Fisheries Service 1993).

A variety of other natural and anthropogenic sources of mortality for this species have been observed. Several authors have examined causes and levels of mortality in pups, both at breeding colonies and during the winter. Calambokidis and Gentry (1985) observed that pup survival from birth to weaning was positively correlated with birth weight, which in turn was correlated with the age of the mother. Pups which weighed less than average were more likely to die from trauma, parasitic infestation and infectious disease. as well as “emaciation syndrome”. Baker and Fowler (1992) examined pup weight and overwintering survival. and found that the overwintering survival of males increased with pup weight. Their small female sample size likely precluded a similar determination (Baker and Fowler 1992). They suggested that larger overwintering animals were better able to withstand cold temperatures. Larger animals are also able to dive longer (Kooyman 1989 in Baker and Fowler 1992), possibly increasing the ability to find prey. Predation by sharks, foxes, Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) has been recorded (Bychkov 1967: Gentry and Johnson 1980; Hanna 1922; Reeves et al. 1992; National Marine Fisheries Service 1993). Three to seven percent of fur seal neonates on St. George Island were killed by sea lions in 1974 and 1975 (Gentry and Johnson 1980); no data on mortality levels from Killer Whales or sharks are available.

Natural environmental fluctuations, such as the periodic occurrence of El Niño, has negatively affected the population breeding at San Miguel Island, although conditions for the Pribilof Island population may be enhanced by increased sea surface temperatures associated with these events (York 199 1 ). The 1983 El Niño occurred just prior to implantation of embryos at San Miguel Island, and resulted in an increase in pup mortality and a decrease in pup weights. DeLong et al. (1993) suggested that the later onset of the 1992 El Niño affected this population less intensely. Competition with fisheries has been suggested as a possible limiting factor for this species, both in waters surrounding breeding colonies, along migration routes, and during the non-breeding season in the North Pacific. The interactions between commercial harvesting of prey species and fur seal movements, reproductive rates or mortality is unclear, however (National Marine Fisheries Service 1993).

FIGURE 2. Distribution of the Northern Fur Seal off the west coast of North America.

Breeding islands are located in the circles. Reproduced from Loughlin and Miller (1989) by permission.

Calambokidis and Peard (1982) examined levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons from Northern Fur Seals in Alaska, but found concentrations well below levels thought to contribute to reproductive problems in other populations of pinnipeds. Anas (1974) reported levels of heavy metals in fur seals from Alaska and Washington State, but no information is available on potential impacts. An analysis of heavy metals by Noda et al. (1995) revealed higher cadmium concentrations in northern fur seals than in other otariids. Cadmium levels were higher, and mercury levels lower, than those reported by Anas (1974); however, heavy metal concentrations in Northern Fur Seals are variable with age, location, and probably season, making comparisons between studies difficult (Noda et al. 1995). Entanglement in fishing gear is probably a more significant problem. Northern Fur Seals were the third most commonly caught species of marine mammal recorded in an observer program of the Japanese driftnet fishery for squid in 1989 (Anonymous 1990). Two animals were killed in an experiment drift gillnet fishery for Neon Flying Squid (Ommastrephes bartrami) in Canadian waters in the mid-1980s (Jamieson and Heritage 1988). Entanglement in marine debris is also a source of mortality. Fowler (1987) suggested that mortality due to entanglement in marine debris has contributed significantly to the decline in the population on the Pribilof Islands. Recent declines have also occurred in the numbers of Steller Sea Lions (Loughlin et al. 1992) and Harbour Seals, Phoca vitulina (Pitcher 1990) in the central and eastern Gulf of Alaska. While many possible causes have been identified (reviewed above), the exact causes of these declines continues to remain unclear.

Special Significance of the Species

This species is the only fur seal found in the temperate waters of the north Pacific Ocean and is endemic to this region. Alaskan natives on the Pribilof Islands harvest approximately 2000 subadult males annually for food.

Evaluation

The present world population of Northern Fur Seals is substantially lower than historical levels,and causes of the decline are unclear. Although the market demand for furs is currently low, the lack of any international regulatory body or agreement on the management of the species means that killing of this species at sea could be undertaken at any time, and trade is not restricted or monitored through any international agency. Rapid development of fishing industry support services on the Pribilof Islands has the potential to adversely affect this population.

Acknowledgments

We thank the Canadian Wildlife Federation for financial assistance for the preparation of this report, Robert Campbell and COSEWIC for providing assistance and support, and several anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.

Literature and Documents Cited

Anas, R. E. 1974. Heavy metals in the northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus, and harbor seal. Phoca vitutina richardi. Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 72: 133-137.

Anonymous. 1990. Final report of squid and bycatch observations in the Japanese driftnet fishery for neon flying squid (Onimastrephes bartrami). Joint Report of Fisheries Agency of Japan. Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, United States National Marine Fisheries Service and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Antonelis, G. A., B. S. Stewart, and W. F. Perryman. 1990. Foraging characteristics of female northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) and California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 68:150-158.

Antonelis, G. A., E. H. Sinclair, R. R. Ream, and B. W. Robson. 1993. Inter-island variation in the diet of female northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) in the Bering Sea. Page 23 in Abstracts of the Tenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November 11-15, 1993. Galveston, Texas.

Baker, J. D., and C. W. Fowler. 1992. Pup weight and survival of northern fur seals Callorhinus ursinus. Journal of Zoology, London 227: 231-238.

Baker, J. D., C. W. Fowler, and G. A. Antenelis. 1993. Mass change in fasting immature male northern fur seals. Page 25 in Abstracts of the Tenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November I 1- 15, 1993. Galveston, Texas.

Bigg, M. A. 1984. Stimuli for parturition in northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus). Journal of Mammalogy 65: 333-336.

Bigg, M. A. 1990. Migration of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off western North America. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 1764.

Boltnev, A. 1. 1993. Pre-natal investment in reproduction and age composition of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) females on Bering Island, Russia. Page 29 in Abstracts of the Tenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November 11-15, 1993. Galveston, Texas.

Briggs, L., and C. W. Fowler. 1984. Tables and figures of the basic population data for northern fur seals of the Pribilof Islands. In Background papers submitted by the United States to the 27th annual meeting of the Standing Scientific Committee of the North Pacific Fur Seal Commission. March 29-April 9. 1994, Moscow. U.S.S.R. Available from National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Seattle.

Bychkov, V. A. 1967. On killer whale attacks on fur seals off Tyuleniy Island. Zoological Zhurnal 46: 149-150.

Calambokidis, J., and R. L. Gentry. 1985. Mortality of northern fur seal pups in relation to growth and birth weights. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 21(3): 327-330.

Calambolkidis, J., and J. Peard. 1982. Chlorinated hydrocarbons in the tissues of northern fur seals from St Paul Island. Alaska. Final report to Nationai Marine Mammal Laboratory, Seattle.

Clemens, W. A., and G. V. Wilby. 1933. Food of the fur seal off the coast of British Columbia. Journal of Mammalogy 14: 43-46.

DeLong, R. L., S. R. Melin, and G. A. Antonelis. 1993. Comparison of 1983 and 1992 El Niño impacts on California sea lion and northern fur seal populations in California. Page 41 in Abstracts of the Tenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November 11 – 15, 1993. Galveston, Texas.

Fowler, C. W. 1987. Marine debris and northern fur seals: a case study. Marine Pollution Bulletin 18: 326-335.

Fowler, C. W., J. D. Baker, G. A. Antonelis, and A. E. York. 1993. Homing behavior in sub-adult male northem fur seals. Page 49 in Abstracts of the Tenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November I 1- 15, 1993. Galveston, Texas.

Gentry, R. L., and J. H. Johnson. 1980. Predation by sea lions on northern fur seal neonates. Mammalia 45: 423-430.

Gentry, R. L., and J. F. Gilman. 1990. Responses of northern fur seals to quarrying operations. Marine Mammal Science 6: 151-155.

Hanna, G. D. 1922. What becomes of the fur seals Science 60: 505-507.

Insley, S. J. 1992. Mother-offspring separation and acoustic stereotypy: a comparison of call morphology in two species of pinnipeds. Behaviour 120: 103-122.

Jamieson, G. S., and G. D. Heritage. 1988. Experimental flying squid fishery off British Columbia, 1987. Canadian Industry Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Number 186.

Kajimura, H. 1984. Opportunistic feeding of the northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus, in the eastern North Pacific Ocean and eastern Bering Sea. NOAA Technical Report NMFS SSRF-779.

Kenyon, K. W., V. B. Scheffer, and D. G. Chapman. 1954. A population study of the Alaska fur seal herd. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Special Scientific Report on Wildlife. 12. 77 pages.

Lander, R. H., and I-L Kajimura. 1982. Status of northern fur seals. In mammals in the seas. 4, FAO Fish Service 5, Volume 4: 319-345.

Loughlin, T. R., and R. V. Miller. 1989. Growth of the northern fur seal colony on Bogoslof Island, Alaska. Arctic 42: 368-372.

Loughlin, T. R., A. S. Perlov, and V. A. Vladimirov. 1992. Range-wide surveys and estimation of total number of Steller sea lions in 1989. Marine Mammal Science 8(3): 220-239.

National Marine Fisheries Service. 1993. Final Conservation Plan for the northern fur seat (Callorhinus ursinus). Prepared by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory/Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington, and the Office of Protected Resources/ National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Noda, K., H. Ichlbashi, T. R. Loughlin, N. Baba, M. Kiyota, and R. Tatsukawa. 1995. Distribution of heavy metals in muscle, liver and kidney of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) caught off Sanriku, Japan and from the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Environmental Pollution 90(l): 51-59.

Perez, M. A., and M. A. Bigg. 1986. Diet of northern fur seals. Callorhinus ursinus, off western North America. Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 84: 957-97 1.

Pitcher, K. W. 1990. Major decline in number of harbor seals, Phoca vilulina richardsi, on Tugiduk Island, Gulf of Alaska. Marine Mammal Science 6(2): 121-134.

Ragen, T. J. 1995. Maximum net productivity level estimation for the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) population of St. Paul Island, Alaska. Marine Mammal Science 11(3): 275-300.

Ragen, T. J., G. A. Antonelis, and M. Kiyota. 1993. Early phase of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) pup migration from St. Paul Island. Alaska. Page 88 in Abstracts of the Tenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November 11-15, 1993. Galveston, Texas.

Reeves, R. R., B. S. Stewart, and S. Leatherwood. 1992. The Sierra Club handbook of seals and sirenians. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco.

York, A. E. 1991. Sea surface temperatures and their relationship to the survival of juvenile male northern fur seals from the Pribilof Islands. Pages 94-106 in Pinnipeds and El Niño: responses to environmental stress. Edited by F. Trillmich and K. A. Ono. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

York, A. E., and J. R. Hartley. 1981. Pup production following harvest of female northern fur seals. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 38(l): 84-90.

York, A. E., and C. W. Fowler. 1992. Population assessment, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Pages 9-26 in Fur seal investigations, 1990. Edited by H. Kajimura, and E. Sinclair. U.S. Deptartment of Commerce NOAA Technical Memo. NMFS-AFSC-2.

Accepted 8 July 1996

Seasonality of hydroids from an intertidal pool at Race Rocks

Posted on Friday,October 20, 1995 by Garry Fletcher

SCI. MAR., 60 (1): 89-97

SCIENTIA MARINA 1996 ADVANCES IN HYDROZOAN BIOLOGY, S. PIRAINO, F. BOERO, J. BOUILLON, P.F.S. CORNELIUS and J.M. GILI (eds.)

Seasonality of hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) from an intertidal pool and adjacent subtidal habitats at Race Rocks, off Vancouver Island, Canada*

A. BRINCKMANN-VOSS

Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada.

(Mailing address: P. 0. Box 653, Sooke, British Columbia VOS 1NO, Canada)
( now deceased) .

*Received November 29, 1994, Accepted October 20, 1995

SUMMARY: An assemblage of 27 hydroid species was reported from a tide pool in the lower rocky intertidal zone, and compared with 42 hydroids of the adjacent subtidal region. Location of hydroids within the pool, seasonal occurrence, growth and sexual maturity were tabulated, and some systematic aspects discussed . Possible causes of hydroid species diversity were considered, including location of the tide pool in an area of tidal rapids, and shading by surfgrass and rock cliffs during low tide.

Key words: tide pools, hydroids, seasonality, Pacific coast.

INTRODUCTION

Invertebrate species diversity is high around Race Rocks (48′ 18′ N, 123′ 32′ E), an archipelago in the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Vancouver Island, Canada, and Washington state, USA. (Fig.1,2). Although publications of marine invertebrates are available for the areas to the east and west of Race Rocks (Henkel, 1906; Fraser, 1913; Kozloff, 1983), information about invertebrates from Race Rocks is mostly limited to personal observations or unpublished reports: P. Breen, Pacific Biological Station Nanaimo, Dpt.Fisheries and Oceans; P. Lambert, curator of invertebrates, Royal British Columbia Museum; Garry Fletcher and student essays from Lester Pearson College of the Pacific: in Race Rocks Ecological reserves #97 publications list 1988-1994). Because of its rich biota, the area is now protected as an ecological reserve. Research on hydroids there, started in 1984, continues today by permit.

Taxonomic investigations have been published previously to characterize some of the hydroid species mainly from a tide pool on the west side of Great” (great is ommitted trom here on) Race Rocks (Brinck-mann-Voss 1988; Brinckmann-Voss et al., 1993) . However, information about the cornpositon and distribution of hydroid species in the pool is lacking, as is a comparison of its hydroid fauna with that of the surrounding intertidal and adjacent subtidal shelf.

The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to provide information on the hydroids of a cold temperate tide pool with regard to seasonal occurrence, growth and regression, and reproductive periodicities. This research is intended as essentially a faunal study rather than a dedicated ecological work employing methods and analysis such as described for rocky shores by Paine (1994).

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FIG. 1. Map of southwestern British Columbia,with location of the Race Rocks archipelago,

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA

The study area may be classified as protected outer coast, the main island of Race Rocks being protected by surrounding rocks and reefs . The west and north sides of the island are swept by very swift tidal rapids with a maximum velocity of 3 m /s (Fig.2). The average maximum velocity for the first half of June 1995 , which included a neap and leap tide, was calculated at 2.7 m/s (Canadian Tide and Current Tables, 1995).

The tide pool studied here is located on the west side of the island in the low intertidal zone in the middle of the Pseudobalanus cariosus – Mytilus californianus – Pollicipes polymerus belt (Lewis, 1964; Ricketts and Calvin, 1968; Carefoot, 1977). It may be classified as “Ic” after the pool classification summarized by Thomas (1983). The pool surface emerges at 1.5 m above 0 tide level (0 represents the chart datum in Canadian Tide and Current Tables) (Figs.3,5).

FiG. 2. – Island of (Great) Race Rocks, with location of the tide pool

As: A .Opposing arrows: area of very strong tidal currents, changing

direction in ebb and flood tide.

FIG. 3. – December tidal curve of Race Rocks (Victoria) area…… emersion period of tide pool (modified from Canadian Tide and Current Tables 1992).

Emersion of the pool surface is most obvious at leap tides. Although the pool may be exposed even at neap tides, waves and swells keep it awash, especially in stormy winter weather. During the emersion periods at leap tides, the pool does not drain and its water level changes are minimal. It is situated between a high cliff on the island side and a lower cliff toward the open sea. These two cliffs join at the north and south sides of the pool, thus forming a deep trough . Once emersed the pool is about 8m by 1.5m, slightly less wide in its northern part, with a maximum depth of 0.8m (Fig.4). It narrows in the middle with an exposed rock creating a small island (Fig.5). During incoming tide this is the first area to be flooded.

The surface temperature of the sea around Race Rocks varies during the year between 7 degrees C and 12 degrees C. Contrary to conditions in a shallow pool (without hydroids) 2m higher in the same area, surface and bottom temperatures in the lower and deeper pool, abundant with hydroids, scarcely differ from the sea temperature. Only during summer low tides, when the sun reaches the pool during the second third of the emersion period, are surface temperatures higher (2’C, rarely 42C )than the bottom temperatures or in the surrounding sea. Water temperatures were checked only February to October, because of the pool’s relative inaccessability in winter.

Unlike in the higher pool, salinities in the pool correspond with that of the adjacent sea (29-30%o, measurements provided partly by Garry Fletcher) from February to October.

No measurements of salinity and temperature were taken from November to January. However, the state of the surfgrass (Phyllospadix scouleri) lining the upper rim of the pool indicated that heavy winter rains in combination with low temperatures (Tokioka, 1963) impact the intertidal environment, including the rock pool. Lewis (1964), Carefoot (1977), and Thomas (1983) report on similar destructive effects of winter rains. The study area also encompassed the rocky infralittoral and subtidal, extending from 0-18m depth, to a distance of about 50 m from the shore around Race Rocks.

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Flci. 4. – Diagram of central area of tide pool, with locations of hydroids. NumL)ers represent the hydroict species listed in Table 1. Affow pointing fmm open water to tide pool: first water or spray during flooding. The rock in the center forms a small islet during emersion. The ledge is an underwater shelf about 10 cm below surface during emersion.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Collections of hydroids from the tide pool were made from March to October, over a period from 1984 to 1994.

Hydroid specimens were returned live to the laboratory, where they were examined and some photographed. Many were cultured to establish their identity, especially when specimens were collected in the hydrorhiza stage only. Species, depth and location of the hydroids were mapped on a diagram on the site.

Samples from the sublittoral shelf were taken by divers. The samples that were collected included both hydroids and a variety of bottom material, such as kelp holdfasts, barnacles, and mussels. These substrates were examined for small hydroids in the laboratory.

RESULTS

Approximately 27 hydroid species were found in a tide pool in the intertidal zone, and 42 on the subtidal rocky shelf including the infralittoral fringe west and north of the island. Of these, 18 species are common in both their tide pool and subtidal area. The distribution of hydroids and seasonal occurrence in the tide pool are summarized in Fig.4 and tables 1-2. Hydroids from subtidal habitats including the infralittoral fringe are listed in Table 3.

FiG. 5. – Cross-section of tide pool at area of rock in center of pool.

A: High water of high spring tide. B: Emersion level of tide PWI.

C: Lower low water of spring tide. A to C represent the intertidalregion. S: Surface of tide pool at 1.5 m tide level and lower tides.

P: phyllospadix scouleir belt, located 1.5 m higher in the pool than on the open shore, where it can be found at the border between the intertidal and subtidal, marked as C

Except for one hydroid species (Rhizogeton nudus) among the stalks of Pollicipes polymerus, no hydroids were found in the intertidal outside the pool between pool and infralitioral fringe.

Species composition of the pool and of adjacent subtidal regions was similar, with a few notable exceptions: luxurious colonies of Sarsia eximia and Phialella sp. occurred on the rhizomes of Phyllospadix sculeri (Zosteraceae, Angiospermeae) lining the rim of the rock pool, but these species were less abundant in the Phyllospadix scouleri belt of the infralittoral of the open coast, (for location of Phyllospadix scouleri see Fig.5). Conversely, larger species of the Sertulariidae were more diverse and abundant subtidally than in the pool. Plumularia setacea was common in the pool but less so subtidally, whereas Plumulara lagenifera was not found in the pool, but was abundant subtidally.

Hydroids of the tide pool were referrable to three groups. Group A showed marked seasonal cycles of activity and regression, with hydroid colonies represented during a dormant phase by hydrorhizae only. Species of group B were present periodically as small colonies, typically in early spring, and then enlarged during late spring and summer. Group C included species in which the activity patterns and colony sizes remained relatively unchanged throughout the year.

Included in group A was Hybocodon prolifer, abundant and fertile in late winter and spring, but reduced only to stolons in summer and fall. Sarsia eximia and Phialelia sp. (described by Boero 1987, but not named), living among the rhizomes of Phyllospadix scouleri plants (Zosteraceae), were reduced to hydrorhiza or to small colonies with a few sterile hydranths in late winter and spring. Both species occurred as large and fertile colonies in summer spreading occasionally onto the outer dead leaf sheadi of Phyllospadix or onto the surrounding rocks.

Peak reproduction was in June and July for Sarsia eximia and in September for Phialella sp.

Species of group B (e.g. Orthopyxis integral Obelia dichotoma, Garveia annulata, and Clavactinia sp.) were present as small patches in early spring. By late summer their colonies had enlarged and stolonal species covered wide areas on the rock walls of the pool. In Clavactinia sp., reduction and expansion of the same colony was observed over a period of two years.

Species assigned to group C changed little in colony size during the year. These included representatives of the families Stylasteridae, Plumulariidae, and Sertulariidae. This may be related to their morphology, as their hydranths are more protected through the extensive perisarc of the colony, than species of group A and B.

DISCUSSION

Systematics: The taxonomy of hydroids from the northeastern Pacific, and especially of the Leptothecatae (terminology after Cornelius, 1992), is inadequately known. A large number of species has been reported from the area by Fraser (1913,1937), and before him by authors including Nutting (190015), Torrey (1902), and Clark (1876, 1877). However, many specimens collected from Race Rocks and adjacent areas do not correspond with descriptions of such species, a problem discussed by Brinckmann-Voss (1983) and Mills and Miller (1987). Detailed monographic revision is therefore needed from hydroids of the northeast Pacific. Comparisons are warranted with the hydroid fauna of the northwest Pacific (Yamada, 1959; Naumov, 1960; Antsulevich, 1992; Antsulevich and Vervoort, 1993), and with that of the circumpolar Arctic (Broch, 1909), as done by Kramp (1959, 1965, 1968) for the hydromedusae.

Accordingly, several species in this paper were identified only to the genus level (Tables 1-3). Work is currently underway on the Plumulariidae from Race Rocks and elsewhere on the British Columbia coast (Brinckmann-Voss and Calder, unpublish data). Changes of family and genus were made of two species of Anthoathecatac. Hataia parva Hirai and Yamada 1965, previously assigned to the Clavidae, is assigned here to the Acaulidae. Features described in the original (Hirai and Yamada, 1965) and in recent (Yamada and Kubota, 1989) work on the species as to its solitary nature, mode of asexual reproduction, and presence of stenoteles, justified placing Hataia near the genus Acaulis Stimpson, family Acaulidae. A species identified as Hydractinia milleri Torrey 1902 in Morris et al. (1980) is tentatively referred to the genus Clavactinia Thomely as Clavactinia sp. because its gastrozooids have several whorls of tentacles (Millard, 1975). The species listed in Morris, Abbott and Haderlie and found in the Race Rocks area is distinguished from H. milleri Torrey in

TABLE 1. Distribution of hydroids in the Race Rocks tide pool. Numbers refer to locations in the pool (as in Fig. 4).

Species

Anthoathecatae

Clavidae

Rhizogeton ezoense Yamada,1964

Eudendriidae

Eudendrium sp.

Bougainvilliidae

Bougainvillia ramosa (van Beneden , I 844)

Garveia annulata Nutting, 1901

Rhizorhagium roseum M.Sars, 1874

Rhysiidae

Rhysia fletcheri Brinckmann-Voss, Lickey, Mills, 1993

Hydractiniidae

Hydractinia armatata Fraser, 1940
Clavactinia sp.

Stylasteridae

Stylantheca petrograpta (Fisher, 1938)

Acaulidae

Hataia parva Hirai and Yamada, 1 965

Tubulariidae

Tubularia marina Toney, 1902

Hybocodon prolifer L.Agassiz, 1 862

Corynidae

Sarsia eximia (Allman,1859) (on rhizomes of Phyllospadix)

Leptothecatae

Calycellidae

Calycella syringa (Linnaeus, 1767)

Aequoreidae

Aequorea victoriae (Murbach and Shearer, 1902)

Phialellidae

Phialella sp. (on rhizomes of Phyllospadix)

Haleciidae

Hydrodendron sp .

Halecium pygmaeum Fraser, 1911

Campanularidae

Obelia dichotoma (Linnaeus, 1758)

Campanularia ritteri Nutting, 1901

Canpanularia volubilis (Linnaeus,1758)

Laomedea exiguae M.Sars,1857

Orthopyxis integra (Mugillivray,1942)

Clytia sp. (on Mytilus)

Sertulariidae

Symplectoscyphus turgidus (Trask,1857)

Abietinaria amphora Nutting, 1904

Plumulariidae

Plumularia setacea (Linnaeus, 1758)

having several purple eggs per gonophore, in lacking spines on the colony, and in having two types of gastrozooids. Torrey (1902) originally described H. milleri from Monterey Bay, California, and reported only one orange egg per gonophore. Mills and Miller (1978) also reported Hydractinia milleri with one egg. Clavactinia sp. is common on rock walls in the tide pool, and on rockwalls and overhangs in sheltered spots exposed during tides below the 0 level or chart datum (in Canadian tide and current tables 1984-1995). A description of this species is in preparation, together with a revision of the Hydractiniidae of the British Columbia coast (Brinckmann-Voss, unpublished data).

. Ecological remarks: Although tide pools have

been studied frequently in different parts Of the world, little research has been published about them. Most work on tide pools has involved studies of algae and their reaction to changing salinity, temperature, desiccation, sometimes in comparison to open waters (Doty, 1957; Lewis, 1964; Carefoot, 1977; Newell, 1979; Thomas, 1983). More detailed investigation on fauna and flora of tidepools was reported by Stephenson et al. (1934), Pyefinch (1943), and Emson (1986), but there is very little information on hydroids in such pools. This is probably because the hydroid fauna of the intertidat zones – except for the infralittoral fringe (Stephenson and Stephenson, 1972; Carefoot, 1977; Kozloff, 1983; Calder, 1991 a,b) – is rather limited, as papers on intertidal zonation show (e.g. Southward, 1958; Ricketts and Calvin, 1968). Cornelius (1988) listed the hydroid fauna of tide pools at Holme next the Sea (U.K.), but in that case the hydroids were swept in from offshore areas, and were not autochthonous to the pool.

Some of the references cited above may help explain the diversity and abundance of hydroids in the Race Rocks tide pool:

1. Doty (1957) mentioned the abundance of organisms at the rim of tide pools, probably related to the “edge effect” reported by other ecologists (Carefoot, 1977). It may be assumed that the luxurious colonies of Phialella sp. and Sarsia eximia in the root system of the surfgrass immediately below the water surface of the pool could be related tothis edge effect, although its cause may be difficult to pinpoint.

2. Wedler (1975), studying comparable sites, reported of a greater abundance of hydroids in shaded than in sunny areas , where algae tend to dominate. (The same was observed by the author on the shaded and sunny side of floating docks). The qualitative and quantitative abundance of hydroids and relatively few algae in the pool may be influenced by this “shade ” effect, because the pool is shaded during emersion by the leaves of the surfgrass which form a canopy on its surface.

3. Lewis (1964) reported the influence of different velocities of tidal rapids on the intertidal fauna. From that work it may be inferred that the tidal rapids sweeping the tide pool area of Race Rocks

TABLE 2. – Seasonality of hydroids in the Race Rocks tide pool, March to October. Smaller and less abundant hydroid species, difficult to detect without taking material out of the pool, are marked (?); species with living hydranths absent were marked (-); those with hydranths present (+); those with gonads < colonies augmenting in size, > diminishing in size. For authors see table I play an important role in the establishment of the hydroid fauna there.

Species M A M J J A S O

Anthoathecatae

Clavidae

Rhizogeton ezoe se – – + – ++ ++ + +

Eudendriidae

Eudendrium sp. + + + + + + + +

Bougainvilliidae

Bougainvillia ramosa + + + + + + + +

Garveia annulata + +< ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Rhizorhagium roseum + + ++ ++ + ? ? ?

Rhysiidae

Rhysia fletcheri + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Hydractiniidae

Hydractinia armata – + < ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Clavactinia sp. + + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Stylasteriidae

Stylantheca petrograpta + + + + + + + +

Acaulidae

Hataia parva ? ? ? + ? ? ? ?

Tubulariidae

Tubularia marina – – ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Hybocodon prolifer ++ ++ + – – – – –

Corynidae

Sarsia eximia + ++ ++ ++ >+ + + +

Leptothecatae

Calycellidae

Calycella syringe ? ? ++ ++ ++ ++ + +

Aequoreidae
Aequorea victoriae Phialellidae? ? ? ? + ? ? ?

Phiatella sp. < ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ >

Haleciidae

Halecium pymaeum + + + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Hydrodendron sp. + + + + + + + +

Campanulariidae

Obelia dichotoma + <++ <++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Campanularia ritteri + + ++ ++ ++ + + +

Campanularia volubilis + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Orthopyxis integra + <+ <++ <++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Laomedea exigua ? ? ? ? ? ++ ? ?

Clytia sp. ? ? ? + ++ ++ ++ ++

Sertulariidae

Symplectoscyphus turgidu s + + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Abietinaria amphora ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Plumulariidae

Plumularia setacea + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

TABLE 3. – Hydroids identified from the infralittoral fringe and subtidal areas of Race Rocks, to a depth of 18 m, mostly west and north of the tide pool. Asterisks indicate species which were also found in the tide pool.

Anthoathecatae

Clavidae

Rhizogeton nematophorum Antsulevich, 1986

Rhizogeton ezoense* Yamada, 1964

Rhizogeton nudus Broch, 1910

Eudendriidae

Eudendrium sp. (probably not same species as in tide pool) Bougainvilliidae

Bougainvillia sp. (not ramosa)

Garveia annulata* Nutting, 1901

Rhizorhagium roseum* M.Sars, 1864

Rhysiidae

Rhysia fletcheri* Brinckmann-Voss, Lickey and Mills, 1993 Hydractiniidae

Hydractinia armata* Fraser, 1940

Hydractinia laevispina Fraser, 1922

Clavactinia sp. *

Stylasteridae

Stylantheca petrograpta* (Fisher, 1938)

Stylaster venustus (Verrill, 1870)

Tubulariidae

Tubularia marina* Torrey, 1902

Tubularia sp. (less than 12 aboral tentacles)

Corynidae

Coryne crassa Fraser, 1914

Sarsia eximia* (Allman, 1859)

Sarsiaproducta (Wright, 1858)

Sarsia tubulosa (M.Sars, 1835)

Leptothecatae

Calycellidae

Calycella syringa* (Linnaeus, 1767)

Filellum sp. (?parasiticum Antsulevich 1987)

Haleciidae

Hydrodendron gracile (Fraser, 1914)

Halecium pygmaeum* Fraser, 191 1

Lafoeidae

Hebella sp.

Campanulariidae

Campanularia ritteri* Nutting, 1901

Campanularia volubilis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Campanularia sp.

Clytia sp.

Obelia dichotoma* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Orthopyxis Integra

Sertulariidae

Abietinaria abietina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Abietinaria amphora* Nutting, 1904

Abietinaria greenei (Murray, 1860)

Abietinaria anguina (Trask, 1857)

Hydrallmania distans Nutting, 1899

Symplectoscyphus turgidus* (Trask, 1857)

Symplectoscyphus sp. tricuspidatus? (Alder, 1856)

Thuiaria sp.

Aglaopheniidae

Aglaophenia inconspicua Torrey, 1904

Aglaophenia latirostris Nutting, 1900

Plumulariidae

Plumularia setacea*(Linnaeus, 1758)

Plumularia lagenifera Allman, 1885

Kirchenpaueriidae

Kirchenpaueria plumularoides (Clark, 1876)

Work on seasonality of hydroids has been done in different marine environments and climates (Riedl, 1959; Bouillon, 1975; Wedler, 1975; Boero and Fresi, 1986; Brinckmann-Voss, 1987; Calder, 1990; Garcia-Rubies, 1987,1992). Seasonal changes in the Race Rocks tide pool are most evident from late fall to spring – mainly on the species near the surface, when a marked regression occurs in numerous species. This regression is most likely caused by dilution of surface salinities during rain storms in the low winter tides (Carefoot, 1977; Thomas, 1983).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Research for this paper would not have been possible without the help of Garry Fletcher (senior biologist), Theo Dombrowsky and students of the Lester Pearson College of the Pacific (Metchosin, B.C., Canada). I thank them and the administration of the College for their help. Garry Fletcher introduced me to the tide pool on Race Rocks, instructed his students in searches for hydroids by diving, and made numerous collections by diving himself. Joan and Charles Redhead, former lighthouse keepers at Race Rocks, allowed me to stay at their lighthouse residence for several days during low tide periods, which allowed me to go back to the tide pool and check details during the same low tide period. I acknowledge their hospitality and help. Dale Calder (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada) helped with this paper from its early stages through numerous discussions, advice and reviews, for which I am very thankful. I thank Paul Cornelius ( Natural History Museum, London, U.K.) for all help, especially with search for ecological literature, and I thank Stephen Cairns (National Museum of Natural History, Washington, U.S.A.) for identifying the Stylasteridae.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS VERSION HAS BEEN SCANNED BY OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION. MOST HAS BEEN CORRECTED BUT IT MAY STILL HAVE A FEW ERRORS. -GF

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Race Rocks Ecological Reserves #97. Publications List. B.C Parks, Ecological Reserves Office, 800-2 Johnsen Street, Victoria, B.C. V8V I X4 Canada.

Ricketts, E.F. and J. Calvin. 1968. Between Pacific Tides, 4th. ed., revised by J.W. Hedgpeth. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford.

Riedl,R. – 1959. Die Hydroiden des Golfes von Neapel und ihr Anteil and der Fauna unterseeischer H6hlen. Ergebnisse der osterreichischen Tyrrhenia Expedition 1952 Teil 16. Pubbl. Stn. Zool. Napoli. 30 ( Suppl.) :589-755.

Southward, A.J. – 1958. The Zonation of Plants and Animals m Rocky Sea Shares. Biol-R”., Cambridge Phil. Soc. 33: 137-177.

Stephenson, T.A. and A. Stephenson. – 1972. Life between Tidemarks on Rocky Shores. W.H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco.

Stephenson,T.A., Zmnd, A. and J. Eym. – 1934.The liberation and ufilisation of oxygen by the population of rock pools. J. Exp. Biol. II: 162-172.

Thomas, M.L.H. – 1983. Marine and coastal systems of the Quoddy region, New Bmnswick, Canada. Can. Spe. Publ. Fish. Aqua. Sci. 64: 1-306.

Tokioka,T. – 1963. Supposed effects of the cold weather of the winter 1962-63 upon the intertidal fauna of the vicinity of Seto. Publ. Seto Mar. Lab. 9(2) :415-437.

Torrey, H.B. – 1902. The Hydroids of the Pacific Coast of North America with special reference to the species in the collection of the University of California. Univ. Calif. Public. Zool. 1: 1-104.

Wedler, E. – 1975. Okologische Untmuchungen an Hydroiden des Felslitorals von Santa Marta (Kolumbien). Heigolinder wiss. Meeresunters. 27: 324-363.

Yamada, M. – 1959. Hydroid fauna of Japan and its adjacent water. Publ. Akkeshi Mar. Biol. Star. 9: 1-101.

Rhysia fletcheri (a new species of colonial hydroid from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada)

Posted on Thursday,July 15, 1993 by Garry Fletcher

Permission for reproduction of this paper has been granted by the Canadian Journal of Zoology and the Author. Color images have been taken by A.B.V. and D.M.L. and were added to this html document by G.Fletcher.

p.401 , Vol 71, 1993 Rhysia fletcheri (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Rhysiidae), a new species of colonial hydroid from Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) and the San Juan Archipelago (Washington, U.S.A.)A. BRINCKMANN-VOSS
Department of lnvertebrate Zoology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ont., Canada M55 2C6And D. M. LICKEY AND C. E. MILLS, Friday Harbor laboratories, University of Washington, 620 University Road, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, U.S.A.Received February 28, 1992 Accepted September 17, 1992BRINCKMANN-VOSS, A., LICKEY, D. M., and MILLS, C. E. 1993. Rhysia fletcheri (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Rhysiidae), a new species of colonial hydroid from Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) and the San Juan Archipelago (Washington, U.S.A.).
Can. J. Zool. 71: 401-406.

A group of females

A new species of colonial athecate hydroid, Rhysia fletcheri, is described from Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada, and from Friday Harbor, Washington, U.S.A. Its relationship to Rhysia autumnalis Brinckmann from the Mediterranean and Rhysia halecii (Hickson and Gravely) from the Antarctic and Japan is discussed. Rhysia fletcheri differs from Rhysia autumnalis and Rhysia halecii in the gastrozooid having distinctive cnidocyst clusters on its hypostome and few, thick tentacles. Most of its female gonozooids have no tentacles. Colonies of R. fletcheriare without dactylozooids. The majority of R. fletcheri colonies are found growing on large barnacles or among the hydrorhiza of large thecate hydrozoans. Rhysia fletcheri occurs in relatively sheltered waters of the San Juan Islands and on the exposed rocky coast of southern Vancouver Island.

c. (a group of males.. relaxed)

b. -( group of males ..contracted.)

On trouvera ici la description d’un nouvelle espece d’hydroide colonial sans theque. Rhysia fletcheri, trouvee dans l’ile de Vancouver en Colombie-Britannique, Canada, et a Friday Harbor, Washington, Etats-Unis. Sa relation avec Rhysia autumnalis Brinckmann en Medlterrannee et Rhysia halecii (Hickson and Gravely), de l’Antarctique et du Japon, fait l’objet d’une discussion. Rhysia fletcheri differe des deux autres especes par la presence chez le gastrozooide de faisceaux tres particuliers de cnidocystes sur l’ hypostome et de tentacules epais et peu nombreux. La plupart des gonozooides femelles sont depourvus de tentacules. Les colonies de R. fletcheri ne comportent pas de dactylozooides. La majorite des colonies de R. Fletcheri crois sent sur les grosses balanes ou parmi les hydrorhizes des gros hydrozoaires a theque. Rhysia Fletcheri se trouve dans les eaux relativement protegees des iles San Juan et sur la cote rocheuse exposee du sud de l’ile de Vancouver. [Traduit par la redaction.]

Introduction:Colonies of a hydroid species belonging to the genus Rhysia Brinckmann, 1965 were collected off Friday Harbor in Washington State, U.S.A., from 1972 to 1992. They were found in tide pools at Race Rocks, British Columbia, Canada, and from adjacent coastal regions of Vancouver Island between 1986 and 1992. The species is referable to the hydrozoan family Rhysiidae, and to the genusRhysia, in having gonads within the body wall along one side of the gonozooid. However, it differs from previously described species of the genus in having cnidocysts arranged in clusters on the hypostome of the gastrozooid, and in having fewer and thicker tentacles on the gastrozooid, and no dactylozooids. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic and ecological account of Rhysia fletcheri sp.nov. The species is compared with Rhysia autumnalis Brinckmann, 1965, type species of the genus Rhysia, and with Stylactis halecii Hickson and Gravely, 1907. The latter species has lateral gonads, as doR. autumnalis and R. fletcheri sp.nov., and is assigned here to the genus Rhysia as well.ETYMOL0GY: Rhysia fletcheri is named for Garry Fletcher, senior biologist at Pearson College and voluntary warden of the Ecological Reserve of Race Rocks, British Columbia, Canada, who was instrumental in establishing Race Rocks as an Ecological Reserve in 1980.

Systematic account:
FAMILY Rhysiidae Brinckmann, 1965
GENUS Rhysia Brinckmann, 1965
Rhysia fletcheri sp.nov

Material examined:

Growing on the valves of the barnacle Balanus nubilus , female and male colony .(.click on picture) . Top left, two females, below left gastrozooids: below right – male.

Holotype: Friday Harbor, Washington, U.S.A., on Balanus nubilis attached to a tire on the side of floating docks at Friday Harbor Laboratories of the University of Washington, 0.5 m, 5 October 1984, female colony, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Cat. No. USNM 73984.

Paratypes: Race Rocks, British Columbia, Canada, on Semibalanus cariosus in tide pool, 0.5 m, 5 April 1990, male colony, Royal Ontario Museum Cat. No. ROMIZ B1164;

Friday Harbor, Washington, on hydrorhiza of a thecate hydroid colony, 10-15 m, October 1972, female colony,

Royal Ontario Museum Cat. No. ROMIZ B1165; Race Rocks, British Columbia, on Semibalanus cariosus in tide pool, 0.5 m, 15 June 1991, female and male colony, Royal British Columbia Museum Cat. No. RBCM 992-170-1.

Further material is deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, England.

Description:

Hydroid colony stolonal, arising from a creeping and anastomosing hydrorhiza. Hydrorhiza thick (averaging 0.05 mm), covered with a very thin and often virtually invisible perisarc (Fig. 2a), giving rise to gastrozooids and gonozooids. Zooids inserting with hydrorhiza via a broad base and without a neck or stem (Figs. Ia, 2a); perisarcal collar absent around bases of zooids. Gastrozooids widely scattered, occurring singly or in a loose group. Gastrozooids extremely contractile, 0.3÷1.0 mm long, appearing columnar to barrel-shaped or like a contracted sea anemone if exposed to strong light (compare Figs. Ia and 4a).

(Page 402)

Figure 1. Rhysia fletcheri, gastrozooid, relaxed, preserved. (a) Whole animal, (b) oral region. Scale bars =0.1 mm.

Gastrozocid tentacles 4 – 10, filiform, in a single whorl, 0.08 – 0.10 mm thick depending on the degree of contraction, each with more than 30 endodermal cells, cnidocysts arranged in a more or less distinct spiral (Fig. lb). Hypostome round, surrounded by a circle of 4 or 5 cnidocyst clusters that do not develop into tentacles (Figs. 2e, 2f, 4a). Gonozooids often separated from gastrozooids by several millimetres, occurring in dense clusters (Figs. 3, 4}. Gonads developing internally on one side of gonozooid, without a gonophore (Figs. 4b, 4c). Female gonozooids up to 1.1 mm high when mature (Figs. 3a÷3d); hypostome round, provided with a cap of cnidocysts, not divided into separate clusters as in gastrozooid; mouth lacking; tentacles typically lacking; in gastrozooid; mouth lacking; tentacles typically lacking; immature female gonozooids, at a stage not more than 115 the height of a mature gonozooid, being recognizable as such in showing an egg on one side. Male gonozooids develop 3 or 4 oral tentacles, which are shorter and thinner than those of gas- trozooids, each tentacle has up to 10 endodermal cells and bears cnidocysts at the tip only, some with thickened tips(Figs. 2c, 4b) because of the presence of larger numbers of cnidocysts (this varies among colonies); hypostome of males round, more conical than in females, provided with evenly distributed cnidocysts, unlike the cnidocyst clusters typical of gastrozooids; mouth lacking. Male gonozooids with mature gonads sometimes exceeding gastrozooids in length, reaching a maximum of 1.5 mm.

Dactylozooids absent.

Gastrozooids and gonozooids pink to orange, due to the colour of the endoderm; tentacles and hypostomes milky white; eggs and planulae peach coloured; male gonads milky white in early stages, iridescent in later stages.

Cnidocysts: large microbasic euryteles (average 10; 20.2/1 9.6 um) (height/diameter) when exploded; small microbasic euryteles (average 10; 9.6/4.8 um when exploded); desmonemes (not measured).

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Eschristius robusta : Gray Whale– Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on Thursday,November 15, 1990 by Garry Fletcher

n November 1990, students and faculty took on a project of preparing and mounting the skeleton of a Gray whale that had been found floating near shore, dead in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, West of Race Rocks.

: Early on a Saturday morning a group of determined people, Kalle Kronholm, Chris May, Brian Heard, Shawn Steil, Patrick Decowski, Jacob Breugem, Brian Poston, Luis Marcano ,and Rosy Mackintosh along with biology faculty member Garry Fletcher and his son Alex

: and two volunteer students from the Biology Department of the University of Victoria, proceeded to attempt to remove the flesh

: Kalle Kronholm flensing the whale. It was almost an impossible task. The knives we used became dull immediately, and the smell was incredible. The mature adult female had been dead for about a week. Very little of the outer skin had been disturbed.

: We anchored the carcass in a small bay closer to the college, and tried to weight it down with concrete buckets. 1000 kgs would not sink it so it was tethered and left there. Over Christmas it broke loose from it’s mooring in a storm and ended up further down the bay at Weir Point. It had however dropped it’s baleen intact where it had been tethered. These were later recovered by the divers and dried for the display here.

: From this final resting place on shore over the next two months, we removed bones as they became free by decomposition. We found that any piece touching the bottom would be cleaned rather quickly, and if it wasn’t removed soon after, it became blackened by the contact with the mud, probably from hydrogen sulfide build-up from anaerobic bacteria. You can still see a number of darkened areas that were produced in this way and would not clean. Some of the smaller vertebrae near the tail had dropped off with the baleen and had to be retrieved after some searching by the divers. Many pieces such as the tail vertebrae were taken back to the docks and tied together for the final decomposition on the bottom.

: Gary Stonely of Nanaimo,a vertebrate zoologist who had worked on other large skeletons, vertebrae mold was commissioned in the fall of 1991 to work with our students once a week in the final stages of skeletal preparation. He showed the students how to mould the missing pieces. Shown here are the rubber moulds and the plaster of paris mould-holders, and the clay replicas made for moulding the missing tail vertebrae.

: The display on the wall next to the whale skeleton at Lester Pearson College. The two sides of the baleen plates are shown mounted here.

: The hyoid bones of the lower neck region are not attached to the skeleton. They are displayed here in the case

Even after retrieving the bones to the docks, they had to sit for some time and many students helped in the slow and arduous task of removing the last bits of connective tissues that clung to the bones. While the decomposing remains were anchored to the shore, two large vertebrae were removed by some fishermen. They were traced and eventually recovered but they show up now as slightly yellowed and cleaner. (Probably from the bleach used to clean them.)

Finger mould

The Fiberglass finger bone on the left hand was made from the one on the right hand. This task took some time as the liquid rubber had to be painted on in many layers, each being allowed to dry. The final results are visible as slightly white looking fiberglass replacements on the skeleton. The largest bone that we lost was in the neck region. A concrete replacement was made for it from the clay replica moulded by Siegmar Zacharias . At this time Sylvia Roach became the faculty contact for the group of six students working on the whale as an activity. The work progressed slowly during the fall as the process of getting all the bones cleaned and then sealed was a demanding one. In the second term, two students, Jody Snowden and Becky Macoun persisted and contributed many hours of time to see it through the final stages of mounting. They also assisted Gary Stonely with the welding, cutting, polishing and painting of the metal parts.

Our former administrator, the late John Davis was instrumental in promoting the project. In addition to taking the photographs in the display case, he was responsible for securing a grant of $5000 from the Ministry of Advanced Education of the Province of British Columbia to enable us to complete the project.

Two species of Arthropod lived parasitically on the whale’s skin. The Gray Whale barnacle, Cryptolepas rachianecti . Also, The Gray Whale Lice Cyamus kessleri was located on the skin.

THE MOUNTED GRAY WHALE SKELETON AT PEARSON COLLEGE

Gray Whale Skeleton , Eschristius robusta at Lester B. Pearson College.. (with Alex Fletcher)

: Gray Whale Skeleton

: View from head

: backbone

: view from tale

INGI FINNSON (PC-Year 25) took this series of closeup photos for a project being done by a scientific artist:

: skull front

: skull right side

: neck and skull right side

: Nose- cartillage remains to hold pieces together

: skull left side

: skull left jaw

: underneath skull

: skull top rear

: skull top left side

: skull left middle

: right condyle

: skull foramen dorsal

: upper left side

: neck vertebrae

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Cetacea
Sub Order	Mysticeti
Family	Eschrichtiidae
Genus	Eschrichtius
Species	robustus
Common Name:	Gray whale

Title: Taxonomy of the gray whale

Description:
Gray whales have mottled gray skin which sometimes seems to look slate-blue or marbled white and its head arches between its blowhole and snout – grey whales have relatively small heads. They don’t have a dorsal fin; instead there is a low hump with between 6 and 12 knuckles between the hump and the tail. Their flippers are small and paddle-shaped. Their baleen plates are about 50cm in length. Gray whales have what look like yellow spots on their skin, these are, in fact, small parasitic crustaceans. Many cetaceans are infested with these although not always the same type – some parasites live on only one type of whale. The gray whale is more heavily infested with a greater variety than any other cetacean. They do not seem to harm the whale in any way although when they leave the whale’s skin in warmer waters it still shows the scar.
Yankee whalers named the gray whales “devilfish” because they were so protective of their young when approached, often charging or attacking whalers. Today, they are better known for being not only one of the most active of the large whales but also one of the most inquisitive and friendly.

• The scientific order Cetacea includes all whales. This large order is further divided into three suborders: the toothed whales or Odontoceti (killer whales, dolphins, porpoises, beluga whales, and sperm whales), the baleen whales or Mysticeti (blue whales, humpback whales, gray whales and right whales), and the Archaeoceti (which are all now extinct).
• The word “cetacean” is derived from the Greek word cetus, which means whale.
Suborder–Mysticeti.
• The term “baleen whale” is another name for the scientific suborder Mysticeti.
• The word Mysticeti is derived from the Greek word for moustache, mystax. It may refer to the hairy appearance of the baleen plates, which baleen whales have instead of teeth. Baleen whales have two external blowholes and are larger in size than most toothed whales.
• Baleen whales are sometimes referred to as the “great whales.”
Family– Eschrichtiidae
• This family has one living member, the gray whale. The gray whale has a few throat grooves, short baleen plates, and a small dorsal hump followed by a series of bumps.
Trophic level:
Because of their relative size, gray whales are usually at the top of the food chain:
Main danger to whales:
Ed note : since this was written , there is a greater recognition now of the danger to whales by ship strikes and ship casued noise in the seascape which interferes with the whales echolocation
• Whalers, who kill whales to sell their meat.• Human activities such as pollution. Currently( 2006, both Japan and Norway still pursue whales ( Minke and others) under the guise of scientific whaling. Japan harvests several hundreds from the waters of the Antarctic, and Norway gets theirs from the North Sea.

(Chinyere Amadi PC Yr 31 2005)

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File

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 control webcams.

Clupea pallasii: Pacific Herring–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Posted on Thursday,September 15, 1988 by Garry Fletcher

An interesting side note: (Don’t try this at home) we didn’t have an underwater housing at the time so the lens of the camcorder was put in a ziplock bag and aimed downward from the surface. The camera survived (just).
This video image taken off the docks in September 1998, shows Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) feeding on krill It was a calm clear day when we were visiting the islands in orientation week. As we returned to the boat we had the impression that it was raining on the North side of Great Race Rocks. The whole passage in front of the docks was alive with herring jumping as they chased Krill. The Bonaparte and Mew Gulls were feeding in the area as well. Near the docks a swarm of krill made a pinkish cloud in the water. Krill are the semi-transparent pink shrimp-like crustaceans rarely in focus as they dart through the video. An interesting side note: (Don’t try this at home) we didn’t have an underwater housing at the time so the lens of the camcorder was put in a ziplock bag and aimed downward from the surface. The camera survived (just).
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeiformes
Family: Clupeidae
Subfamily: Clupeinae
Genus: Clupea
Species: C. pallasii
Other Other fish at Race Rocks.

–Garry Fletcher

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File

Race Rocks Long-Term Monitoring Program

Posted on Monday,February 16, 1981 by Garry Fletcher

By- Jane WatsonEd note: Our thanks to Jane Watson for taking the time to provide this possible protocol for ecological monitoring. This procedure was tried by the students but was found to be difficult to use at Race Rocks because of current, slope and exposure. It can however be adapted in part . Over 15 pegs have been established and we maintain several samples of data that are archived in the lab at Pearson College.

What is the purpose of long-term monitoring projects?
Long-term monitoring projects are often used to follow changes in community composition or structure that occur over time. In this case you will be looking at natural changes in marine algae and invertebrate populations with respect to both long and short-term changes in water temperature.

How will this project be carried out?
You will be helping to establish the study sites which ultimately Pearson college will monitor two to three times a year. At least four of these sites will be at Race Rocks, others will be established at other sites that Pearson College divers visit regularly.

What will this involve?
Over the next three months we will be putting the permanently marked transects in. Once we have established all of the transects we will start to sample them. On each permanently marked transect Coast-watch divers will use randomly placed quadrats to estimate the abundance of selected invertebrates and algae.
In the lab the data will be entered and analyzed. These data should show how the abundance of many of many marine plants and animals change over time.
We will also be installing an underwater thermograph. This small instrument will record water temperature at predetermined intervals. Several times a year Pearson college divers will retrieve the instrument and down-load the data onto a computer. Changes in the composition of the marine community can then be examined with respect to mean temperatures, extreme temperatures and so on.
In addition to counting the abundance of marine invertebrates and algae, we will be tagging abalone, in an attempt to follow growth and mortality of individual abalone. We will also be measuring urchins which will allow us to follow changes in the population structure over time.

What will you need to know to sample these sites?
There are a number of plant and invertebrate species that you will need to be able to identify before we can sample the sites. You will also need to know how to sample using a quadrat, tag abalone and use vernier callipers… not exactly difficult stuff.
You will also need to know how to enter and analyze the data you collect. We will set things up so that this is straightforward. At the end of the school term you will be able to plot the mean abundance of the organisms we sample at all of our permanent transects. In subsequent years other Pearson College divers will continue to sample these sites.

Some species you will need to know
Invertebrates
Phylum Echinodermata

Red urchin – Strongylocentrotus franciscanus
This is the most abundant of the urchins, it is unmistakable, being big and red. We will count the number of red urchins in each quadrat, as well as measuring the test diameter of the urchins. This will be done with vernier callipers. By measuring the size of the urchin tests we will be able to trace the settlement of new “recruits” and follow their growth.

Green urchin – S. droebachiensis
This is the smaller green urchin that is quite common in sheltered areas. We will count green urchins, but not measure them, unless they are very abundant at any of our sites.

Purple urchin – S. purpuratus
A small purple urchin that is generally found in the very shallow subtidal, and sometimes in the intertidal. If it occurs on any of our sites we will count them only.

Green urchins – S. droebachiensis
A small green urchin that is generally found in more sheltered waters, we will probably not encounter too many green urchins.

Giant sea cucumber – Parastichopus californicus
A large browny red sea cucumber, These are generally found in sheltered areas, or in water depths of greater than 10m. They are found on both hard and soft-bottoms.

Orange sea cucumber – Cucumaria miniata
This cucumber has a browny red body and bright orange tentacles. It is found in crevices wifli its tentacles extending beyond the crevice.

Sunflower star – Pycnopodia helianthoides
The largest of the sea stars, it can be up to lm in diameter, it comes in a variety of colours, usually orangy brown. It has up to 24 legs.

Leather star – Dermasterias imbricata
The leather star has a red back with greeny makings. It derives its name from its ieather-like texture. If you smell it (no not underwater) it has a gunpowder/garlic smell.

Beach star – Pisaster ochraceus
Yellow or purple, generally intertidal, but also found subtidally at some locations .

Painted star – Orthasterias khoeleri
Orange pink and purple, a very attractive sea star that occurs subtidally on rocky bottoms.

Blood star – Henticia spp.
This bright red, star is very common on both rocky and soft-bottomed areas.

Basket star – Gorganocephalus eucnemis
This species usually occurs in deep water, but Race Rocks is unique in having this species in shallow subtidal water.

Phylum Mollusca
Abalone – Haliotois kamtschatkana
The pinto abalone occurs from the lower intertidal to depths of about 10m. We will count, measure and tag all of the abalone we encounter. When tagged abalone are re-encountered they will be re-measured to follow growth in abalone.

Red turban snail – Astraea gibbersoa
A medium-sized snail that is very common on coralline algae. It has a hard operculum, and a shell that becomes covered with coralline algae.

Gumboot chiton – Cryptochiton stelleri
‘Ite largest chiton on our coast. You cannot see the 8 shell or plates that make up the gumboot chiton’s shell, they are hidden beneath the pinky brown tissue on the dorsal surface.

Cnidaria
Plumose anenome – Metridum senile
A very abundant bright white anenome, that does particularly well in high current areas. We will count anemones as we encounter them.

There will be other invertebrates added to this list once we determine which species are representative of the areas we are sampling.
Brown Algae
Kelps – Laminariales
Bull kelp – Nereocystis luetkeana

Bull kelp is an annual species, it grows rapidly in areas that are highly disturbed. Bull kelp forms a floating canopy, it is very common at Race Rocks.

Tree kelp – Ptrerygophora californica
Tree kelp looks very much like a tree. It is a perennial species that lives in excess of 17 years. Pterygophora can be aged by cutting it down and counting the rings in its stalk or stipe. We will be tagging tree kelp on one of the transects at Race Rocks this will allow us to look at the persistence of tree kelp

Eisenia arborea
Eisenia looks very much Pterygophora, except that it has blades which are serrated at the edges, and the blades grow in two “bunches” at the top of the plant.
Laminafia setcheIlii
Laminaria groenlandica
These two species do not have a common name. Laminaria setchellii found in similar areas to Pterygophora, except that Laminaria setchellii is generally found in slightly more exposed areas.
Laminaria groenlandica is found in more sheltered areas. It looks quite different than Laminaria setchellii, since the two species are found in different areas you should have no trouble sorting them out.

Costaria costata
Costaria is really distinctive, it has three ribs on one side and two ribs on the other. It is generally an annual species but frequently manages to overwinter.

Acid weed – Desmarestia spp.
Acid weed is an annual species, which has a very “weedy” life history, it grows in highly disturbed areas, and is one of the first species to grow in areas that have been disturbed. It is very hard to count, because it forms a blanket over the sea floor, to count it you have to go down to the holdfast.

Pleurophycus gardneri
This species is generally found in very shallow areas in wave-washed areas. It is very distinctive.

There will be other species of algae that we add to our list.

SAMPLING
To sample the invertebrates at each of the permanently marked sites we will be using quadrats. Most of you will have done quadrat sampling before.
We will be using a random – sampling method, in which quadrats are placed randomly along / or near the transect line, and the selected invertebrates and algae in each quadrat will be counted. From these data we will calculate the mean (average) abundance as well as the variation in abundance that occurs at each site. These data will plotted in graphs which compare the abundance of each species over time, and with respect to changes in temperature.
We will go over the sampling methods prior to starting the project. All data will be recorded on data sheets pre-printed on underwater paper. An example of the type of data sheet we will be using is attached.

RACE ROCKS SAMPLING PROGRAMMELong-term sampling, a review

Long-term sampling programmes are often used to follow changes in the abundance of plants and animals over time. We will be looking at changes in the abundance of algae and invertebrates at Race Rocks. These changes will be examined with respect to changes in water temperature. The sampling method we will be using is called a stratified-random sample.

What is stratified random sampling?

In a stratified random sample we will sample the sea floor in a random manner, that is there will be no predetermined pattern to the sampling programme. The samples will be stratified because we will make sure that three depths are represented equally in our random samples.

What will we need?
Each dive pair will need
– a 30m tape measure
– a 0.7m X 0.7m quadrat (0.5m squared)
– a clip board and data sheet (with pencil)
– a slate (with pencil)
– a pair of vernier calipers
– pre-mixed epoxy, and petersen discs
– a set of 20 random number

How will we sample?
We have established 6 permanent transects around Race Rocks. Each transect is 30 metres long and runs from the shallow subtidal to about 10m depth. Once a dive pair has located the transect they will be working on, a tape measure will be tied to the shallowest pin (the 0 metre pin) and laid out down to the last pin (30 metre pin).

Before the dive, each dive pair will determine a set of 20 random numbers from a random number table (attached to these pages). There will be two numbers, both between 0 and 9. The first number will refer to the distance along the tape measure, let us say 6.9 metres (it will be the first two numbers, where-ever you start on the table, ie:69). The second number, let us say 7, will refer to the number of flipper kicks right or left of the line. The dive pair will swim along the tape locate the 6.9 mark, then left 7 kicks to the right or left of the 6.9 metre mark. After 7 kicks the diver drops the quadrat and starts to count all the invertebrates and seaweed in the quadrat.

While one diver does the counting and recording, the second diver will measure all of the sea urchins in the quadrat, recording the test diameter of each sea urchin to the nearest cm. Likewise the length of any abalone in the quadrat should also be measured, the abalone should also be tagged, using epoxy and a Petersen disc tag. The tag number should be recorded along with the length of the ablaone. Any abalone you see outside of the quadrat can also be measured and tagged.

Once the quadrat count and the measuring is completed, the dive pair returns to the tape measure, and repeats the process, using the next set of random numbers. In total divers will sample 20 quadrats between 0-10m (10 quadrats on the right side of the line, 10 quadrats on the left side), 20 quadrats between 10-20m and 20 quadrats between the 20-30m, for a total of 60 quadrats per transect. The transects will be sampled twice a year.

Once the dive pair has sampled 20 quadrats from between the 0-10 pins, they move down to the 10-20 metre pins and repeat the process, as time and air supply allow. If it is easier, three dive pairs can work on each transect line, one dive pair working in the 0-10m area, the next pair in the 10-20m area and the third pair in the 20-30m area. Dividing the transect into three areas is the stratified part of the sampling design, using the random number table is the random part of the sampling design.

Back at the College

Wash all the sampling gear you used with fresh water, and return to its appropriate place. Back in the lab you will need to wash the salt off your data sheet, and copy the sea urchin measurements and abalone tag/measurements onto the back of the data sheet for the section of the transect line you and your partner sampled. You will also need to make sure that all of your numbers are readable, and that you have filled in all of the blanks on the data sheet.

During later lab periods you will be entering this data, and calculating the average (mean) density of the animals and seaweed you counted along each transect line. Subsequent years of Pearson College students will continue this sampling programme to generate a long-term view of how invertebrate and algae abundance changes over time.

Following is a page of random numbers, you should make sure that you are comfortable using this table. Likewise there is a data sheet, please make sure that you are familiar with the species listed on the data sheet, and that you will be able to identify them underwater.

Random number table — 10,000 random numbers

27791 82504 33523

33147 46058 92388

67243 10545 40269

78176 70368 95523

70199 70547 94331

The first ten numbers in the last line are interpreted as: 7.0 m 1 kick, 9.9 m 7 kicks, 0.5 m 4 kicks, 7.9 m 4 kicks

TABLE B.39 (cont.) TEN THOUSAND RANDOM DIGITS

RACE ROCKS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE SUBTIDAL RECORD

Sample of one of the underwater recording projects. The numbers on the island represent pegs that are permanently imbedded in the rock. Transect lines go out from the pegs on designated bearings and belt transects are located at intervals indicated in meters. The records for these surveys are kept at Pearson College.

T = 1994-1995 permanent transects

There will be other species of algae that we add to our list.

Sampling

To sample the invertebrates at each of the permanently marked sites we will be using quadrats. Most of you will have done quadrat sampling before.

We will be using a random – sampling method, in which quadrats are placed randomly along / or near the transect line, and the selected invertebrates and algae in each quadrat will be counted. From these data we will calculate the mean (average) abundance as well as the variation in abundance that occurs at each site. These data will plotted in graphs which compare the abundance of each species over time, and with respect to changes in temperature.

We will go over the sampling methods prior to starting the project. Data will be recorded on data sheets pre-printed on underwater paper.

RACE ROCKS SAMPLING PROGRAMMELong-term sampling, a review

What is stratified random sampling?

What will we need?

Each dive pair will need

– a 30m tape measure

– a 0.7m X 0.7m quadrat (0.5m squared)

– a clip board and data sheet (with pencil)

– a slate (with pencil)

– a pair of vernier calipers

– pre-mixed epoxy, and petersen discs

– a set of 20 random number

How will we sample?

We have established 6 permanent transects around Race Rocks. Each transect is 30 metres long and runs from the shallow subtidal to about 10m depth. Once a dive pair has located the transect they will be working on, a tape measure will be tied to the shallowest pin (the 0 metre pin) and laid out down to the last pin (30 metre pin).

Back at the College

Insert Random number table and data sheet.

click to enlarge

Random number table — 10,000 random numbers

27791 82504 33523

33147 46058 92388

67243 10545 40269

78176 70368 95523

70199 70547 94331

The first ten numbers in the last line are interpreted as: 7.0 m 1 kick, 9.9 m 7 kicks, 0.5 m 4 kicks, 7.9 m 4 kicks

TABLE B.39 (cont.) TEN THOUSAND RANDOM DIGITS

RACE ROCKS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE SUBTIDAL RECORDSample of one of the underwater recording projects. The numbers on the island represent pegs that are permanently imbedded in the rock. Transect lines go out from the pegs on designated bearings and belt transects are located at intervals indicated in meters. The records for these surveys are kept at Pearson College.

T = 1994-1995 permanent transects

There will be other species of algae that we add to our list.

Sampling

To sample the invertebrates at each of the permanently marked sites we will be using quadrats. Most of you will have done quadrat sampling before.

We will go over the sampling methods prior to starting the project. Data will be recorded on data sheets pre-printed on underwater paper. An example of the type of data sheet we will be using is attached.

Jane Watson

Faculty of Science &Technology

900 fifth Street, Nanaimo,

British Columbia, Canada V9R 5S5

Tel (250) 741-2300 – Fox (250) 755-8749 http:llwww.mala.bc.cal

Gordon Odlum and Jean, Lightkeepers -1952 to 1961

Posted on Thursday,July 27, 1961 by Garry Fletcher

Gordon Odlum and his wife Jean were resident at Race Rocks from Oct 1,
1952 – July 31, 1961, So far we have very little information on them
except one special entry in a research paper : The British Columbia Nest Records Scheme Author(s): M. T. Myres, I. McT. Cowan, M. D. F. Udvardy Source: The Condor, Vol. 59, No. 5 (Sep. – Oct.,1957), pp. 308-310 Published by: University of California Press on behalf
of the Cooper Ornithological Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1364966
I have quoted the part referring to Gordon below: “The purpose of the scheme is to collect information on birds’ nests that ornithologists and bird-watchers find, but which would otherwise go unrecorded or are recorded but left idle in personal field notebooks or diaries. The main items of avian biology that can be analyzed by this scheme are as follows:
1. The timing of the breeding season, the succession of clutches in species which lay more than one, and the variations in laying time from place to place and from year to year.

2. The size of the clutch and how this varies with latitude, altitude and climate.

3. The degree of success that birds have in hatching and rearing their young.

4. The essentials of habitat preference and variation in habitat throughout the range of a
species; these data are provide

In 1956, 1003 cards were returned and these covered 1606 nests or broods.
Particular mention should be made of the 120 nests of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) which Mr. Gordon C. Odlum watched on Race Rocks, off the southern
end of Vancouver Island. He was able to study them from the pre-egg stage through to hatching, and his observations are an example of the most valuable types of nest-record returns. It is seldom that sufficient nests are watched right through from the start until they either fail or their young fledge successfully .

SUMMARY A
A Cooperative scheme for the assembling of data on the breeding biology of birds was organized in British Columbia in 1955. The aims of this scheme are outlined, and it is suggested that observers over the whole Pacific coastal region might eventually cooperate in the scheme. Already 1600 cards covering 2700 nests or broods of 139 species have been collected and are available for consultation Department of Zoology, University of
British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, February 8, 1957.

From http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1436

Gordon Odlum grew up in Vancouver and during an outing one day he hiked to Point Atkinson Lighthouse, where Keeper Thomas Grafton kindly gave him a tour. Odlum was captivated by the life of a lighthouse keeper, and after frequent visits out to Capilano Lighthouse, he decided to become a keeper himself. After brief assignments at numerous lighthouses, Odlum was transferred to Triple Islands Lighthouse in November 1942. He seemed to made for the work, as a year later, he wrote home, “I think I can truthfully say that I haven’t felt at all lonesome, partly I guess because I’m built this way…”
He must have felt at least a bit lonesome as he decided to bake a tiny loaf of bread and send it to an attractive girl that worked at the Glass Bakery in downtown Vancouver. Not having her home address, he sent the package to the bakery and then eagerly waited a reply. A response arrived in December 1943, a true Christmas gift, and Odlum wasted no time in writing back. “It was sweet of you to remember little old shabby lightkeeping me. It seems such a long time since I had the pleasure of going into Glass Bakery and saying ‘Hello. Two whites please’ to your sunny smile. Fifteen months it has been since I have been ashore. I wonder if you might be married and have four children by now?”
A seven-month-long courtship by mail followed, and the couple married on September 20, 1944 in Vancouver. After a short honeymoon, the Odlums headed north to Triple Islands. While Gordon was gradually introduced to the remote lifestyle of a lightkeeper, eighteen-year-old Jean was plucked from Vancouver and planted on the most remote and confining station in British Columbia. Many a sailor bet the pretty, young girl wouldn’t last a year on “the Rock,” but she did, and it wasn’t until eight years later, in 1952, that the couple was transferred to a station a bit closer to humanity – Race Rocks. After nearly a decade there, Keeper Odlum lucked out and got Point Atkinson, where he was first introduced to lighthouse keeping, and stayed there from 1961-1974.

See the Lightkeepers of Race Rocks Index

King Tides and Debris Sunday,November 24, 2024
BIRD LIST – Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Thursday,November 21, 2024
Storm Season Sunday,November 17, 2024
Mixed Weather Wednesday,November 13, 2024
Animal Census Nov 11 Monday,November 11, 2024
After storm Thursday,November 7, 2024
Back to the Rock! Wednesday,November 6, 2024
October 2024 Temperature and Salinity Report Saturday,November 2, 2024
Last Day! Wednesday,October 30, 2024
Sea Lion Disentanglement Story Tuesday,October 29, 2024

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve-

marine ecology educational resource, remote-control webcams,elephant seal colony,Sea lion haulout,sustainable energy, solar energy

Category Archives: Species

Pelecanus occidentalis: Brown Pelican -The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Status of the Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus, in Canada

Seasonality of hydroids from an intertidal pool at Race Rocks

Rhysia fletcheri (a new species of colonial hydroid from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada)

Eschristius robusta : Gray Whale– Race Rocks Taxonomy

Clupea pallasii: Pacific Herring–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

Race Rocks Long-Term Monitoring Program

Gordon Odlum and Jean, Lightkeepers -1952 to 1961