Urticina grebelnyi: Painted Anemone–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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tealia-1

Ryan Murphy photo of this species.

In this video, the soft pink coral Gersemia rubiformis is highlighted. It grows at 7-10 meters over a 3 square meter area off peg #3. Other organisms shown in association in the same area are: Anemone- (both Tealia and Epiactis), hydroids, sponges and colonial ascidians .
Urticina grebelnyi
Painted Anemone
Urticina grebelnyi has previously been called ” Tealia” anemone. They are one of the most abundant large anemone at Race Rocks in the subtidal area. They use their nematocysts expelled from their stout tentacles for the immobilization of small fish, crustaceans such as krill and anything organic that drifts their way. Pieces of dead fish have been seen clinging to the tentacles. They are believed to live a very long time, as long as they are in an area well supplied with food by the current.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Genus Utricina
Species grebelnyi 
Common Name  Painted Anemone

Return to the Race Rocks taxonomy Index 

This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students,
faculty, staff and volunteers  of Lester B. Pearson College 2006
Garry Fletcher

 

Geology of Race Rocks

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TOPOGRAPHY of SUBTIDAL RACE ROCKS

 Topography of Subtidal Race Rocks

Only by looking beneath the waves can we really get a full picture of the extent of the topography of the Race Rocks Archipelago. We were fortunate in 1999 to have a comprehensive study and mapping project done by the Canadian Hydrographic Service. They used multi- beam sonar to plot the bottom profile down to 150 metres.

 

With the results of this imaging process we are now able to appreciate the extensive powers of the glaciers as they moulded the terrain at the Southern tip of Vancouver Island. Now, the only surface features that attest to this force are the glacial scouring on the rocks and the erratics, (rocks of basalt or conglomerate) left by the last glacier to pass over Race Rocks and the adjacent shorelines of Vancouver Island.

 

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The Abiotic effect on Organisms of the Surface Topography of Race Rocks

 

Go to this Google Map of the Surface topography of Race Rocks to see how the abiotic factors of geology and topography affect the distribution of organisms at Race Rocks

AND THE GEOLOGY IS EVER-CHANGING

This large boulder at one end of the artificial tidepool moved 2 metres during the Hurricane of Dec 15, 2006. See this file for before and after pictures.

 

 

THE QUARTZ INTRUSIONS:
We have very little formal information on the Geology of Race Rocks, but no doubt it has an important role to play in the distribution of organisms. Most of the foundation rock at Race Rocks is a black coloured basalt. It was formed underneath a volcanic range which has since been scoured away by glaciers. One obvious example to which we often refer students on field labs is the interesting rock structure of the bottom of tidepool number 4 on the west intertidal shelf of Great Race Rock. On the this side of the island, many seams of white rock occur as intrusions into cracks of the previously hardened basaltic background rock.

 

On the bottom of this shallow pool is a seam of quartz with some obvious crystalline structure.. In the tidepool we find a pure white variant of the usually black coloured Littorine snail, Littorina sitkana( periwinkle) We speculate on the existence of this color variant being due to the quartz background which makes it well camouflaged in the pool and thus able to avoid the predation of shorebirds. In the picture several white and several black variants of this species are shown against the quartz background.

In 1998, a Pearson College student, Giovanni Rosso, conducted research on this color variation and produced a paper on shell colour variations at Race Rocks. In his abstract he summarizes:

“As with most intertidal gastropods, Littorina sitkana shows remarkable variations in shell color. This occurs both in microhabitats which are exposed or sheltered from wave action. There seemed to be a close link between the shell coloration of the periwinkle and the color of the background substrate. Field work was carried out on the Race Rocks Marine Protected Area in order to investigate patterns of color polymorphism. Evidence from previous studies was used to support interpretations and understand certain behaviors.
The results showed that in the study site there was a very strong relation between the shades of the shells and the colors of the rocks. Light colored shells stayed on light shaded rocks and vice versa. An interesting pattern was noticed with the white morphs. These were rare along the coast (only 2%), but were present in relatively high numbers in tidepools of white quartz. From previous experience (Ron J.Etter,1988), these morphs seem to have developed as evolutionary response a higher resistance to physiological stress from drastic temperature changes between tides. Some results showed that the white morph is present in an unexpectedly high percentage at the juvenile stage, but then their number decreases dramatically.”

APPEARANCE of CONGLOMERATE SUBTIDALLY.

An interesting discovery was made in 2005 on the preliminary dives to examine the substrate where the tidal current generator was going to be installed, The bottom at location 1, just North of the docks at Race Rocks, yielded a conglomerate type of rock surface at 15 meter depth in the channel . We were surprised at this as we had never come across this formation before, certainly it doesn’t appear to exist on the rocky islets, above water on the archipelago. Dr. Chris Yorath who has recently published a new version of “The Geology of Southern Vancouver Island” has supplied the following information which may explain this finding:


1. Race Rocks are part of the Metchosin Igneous Complex and is part of the Crescent Terrain (25 million years old).

2. Conglomerate rock overlays the igneous rocks although it has been eroded away in many places.

3. The source of the “boulders” within the conglomerate is often from within the Metchosin Complex but there may also be sources from other parts of Vancouver Island.

This large glacial erratic boulder made of conglomerate rests on the shoreline 50 metres east of Fossil Point. in nearby Pedder Bay.

4. The conglomerate is called Sooke Conglomerate and can be found in East Sooke Park (between Aldridge Point and Creke Point).

 

 

 

 

 

 

EARTHQUAKES

The 1872 Earthquake as recorded at Race Rocks by Mr .Argyle the Lightkeeper from:
The 1872 North Cascades Earthquake British Columbia Reporting Localities.

The 1872 North Cascades Earthquake British Columbia Reporting Localities.
The Metchosin volcanics are particularly unusual in that they are not only an emergent sequence with ocean-floor affinity (Muller.). but as we will demonstrate, they are also an example of low-titanium normal mid-oceanic ridge basaIts (low-Ti MORB-N).
METCHOSIN VOLCANIC: A LOW-TITANIUM EMERGENT SEAMOUNT
AT THE BASE OF THE CRESCENT TERRANE” (92~)
By Andree de Rosen-Spence and A.J. Sinclair
The University of British Columbia
Accretion-related metamorphism of the Metchosin Igneous Complex, southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia Sean Timpa, Kathryn M. Gillis, and Dante Canil

 

Drilling for the piling for the Tidal Energy Project

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On July 24, 2006 the drilling took place throughout the day, with ever-increasing wind speed. The following pictures were captured from the remote Camera 5 on Race Rocks.

 

Lessons from Marine Protected Areas and Integrated Ocean Management Initiatives in Canada

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From:
http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/courses/bio416/MPAs_Canada.pdf

Coastal Management, 35:51–78, 2007
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0892-0753 print / 1521-0421 online
DOI: 10.1080/10.1080/08920750600970578

SYLVIE GUENETTE ´
JACKIE ALDER
Fisheries Centre
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada
and
Centre for Coastal Studies and Continuing Studies in Science
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby BC V5A 1S6

Abstract: There is a wave of interest in Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and Integrated Management (IM) as tools for addressing declines in marine environments through ecosystem-based management.

Lessons learned from seven MPA and two IM initiatives in Canada show
how engaging stakeholders results in: building and maintaining momentum through
social capital; using the collective knowledge of stakeholders; consensus through
formal and informal rules; and developing leadership capacity. However, as the number
of issues or the number of stakeholders increases—especially where fisheries are
involved—time, resources, and challenges in gaining support and participation increase.
Political and administrative obstacles and resistance to change still constitute much of
the challenge. Finally, funding and political commitment must be allocated from the
start; otherwise momentum stops and it is hard to regain even when funding becomes
available.

The following excerpt is a case study of Race Rocks:

Racerockspart1 Racerockspart2

Dredging the Overburden for the Tidal Energy Installation

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On July 17, 2006 dredging of the overburden on the selected site was started for installation of the piling.This operation was the most environmentally invasive of the project, but it was estimated that only about 20 square metres of the bottom were disturbed. Given that this is such a high current area, within a year there were no visible changes to the are around the piling.   The following pictures were captured from the
remote Camera 5. by G. Fletcher.

 

Installation of the Anchors for the Tidal Current Turbine Project

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On July 16, 2006 the barge was moved on site for the installation of the piling. The first stage was the deployment of anchors for the positioning of the drilling barge. I captured the following pictures  from the remote Camera 5.

On July 18, 2006 Chris Blondeau and Mike Cameron dived on the west centre anchor blocks and took video of the blocks and chains and some of the effects on surrounding organisms. They also navigated on the same dive to the dredged site as well and we see the excavation and the pile of dredged materials in this video.

The Johan Ashuvud Memorial

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It is unlikely that the creation of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve in 1980 would have happened except for the efforts of an 18 year old Pearson College student from Sweden.

johan Johan Ashuvud, a student from 1978-1980, was in the Marine Science class and the Diving Service as part of IB his program at the college.
He devoted a great amount of energy in helping to direct a group of students in an extensive diving and research program in order to demonstrate the need for a Reserve at Race Rocks.

dv1Johan Ashuvud SCUBA diving at Race Rocks 1979

 

 

 

ellisIn the fall of 1979 he helped organize a workshop to investigate the creation of a reserve at Race Rocks involving provincial and university officials. Johan was instrumental in drawing up the draft proposal with staff of the Ecological reserves branch of the Parks Department in the provincial government and even helped in guiding the Deputy Minister of Parks on an underwater tour of the reserve.

sw4mJens Jensen from Denmark,and Johan Asuvud attach a transect line onto the top of the rarely exposed Rosedale Reef, South of Race Rocks at an extreme low tide.  At that point they were standing on the most southerly point in Western Canada!

Jballanac27-1ohan’s underwater photography was the first done by students of the college and was to become very valuable in helping to promote conservation of the beautiful life forms there
A gallery of some of his work is available here.

celeb80When the Ecological Reserve at Race Rocks was declared in 1980 by the provincial government, the group of students who had worked on the proposal made a celebratory trip to Race Rocks to tell the lightkeepers Trev and Flo Anderson of the great news. (Johan is on crutches after returning from a holiday in Mexico where he had had a collision with a bus!)

sw7A few weeks later, Trev and Flo invited the core group back to present the “Order of Race Rocks” for the great work done. Johan (center of photo) and other divers with whom he had worked, were given the special presentation by Trev and Flo Anderson to express their thanks for the work done.
When Johan graduated from Pearson College, he went on to the School of Economics in Stockholm, Sweden, where he obtained his Master’s degree in Environmental Economics. His first job was in Costa Rica with the International Union for the Conservancy of Nature (IUCN). There he continued his interest in getting special places preserved, as he worked to convince officials in Parks Departments of Central American governments to preserve their Natural Heritage.

Almost 10 years after he left Pearson College, on a trip back to Sweden in April of 1988, Johan died in a car accident. Our college community was deeply saddened by this tragic event. Johan left his wife and a soon to be born daughter.
Johan would be the first to urge young people from all countries to never give up with environmental concerns. He proved to us that youth can make a significant impact in the world by getting actively involved in working to preserve such special places as Race Rocks.

In 2000, The family of Johan contributed the Johan Ashuvud Memorial Fund to be administered in Trust by Lester B. Pearson College . The purpose of the fund is to support with the annual proceeds environmental activities, research and projects undertaken by present and former students of Pearson related to the Race Rocks Marine Reserve.

  • In June 2000, Several students with faculty member Garry Fletcher did a week-long series of webcasts from the Ecological reserve for the Johan Ashuvud Week
  • In June 2001, students Damien Guihen and Jean Olivier Dalphond spent several weeks at Race Rocks, doing webcasts, and producing QuickTime Virtual Reality and QuickTime Videos for the archives of racerocks.com.
  • In June 2002 four students are doing an educational webcasting program from Race Rocks.
  • Almost every year since 2002, a few students from the college stay behind after others leave at the end of the term in May to go to Race Rocks for a project week which we still call “The Johan Ashuvud Week”

One of the last papers published by Johan on his work for the IUCN in Central America :

Ashuvud, Johan, “Environmental Conservation for Development in Central America” C. Folke and T. Kåberger ed. Linking the Natural Environment and the Economy: Essays from the Eco-Eco Group, (Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991): 253-270.

ASACODE, Asociación San Migueleña para la Conservación y el Desarrollo, tiene un Albergue para la recepción de turismo en una finca dedicada al manejo integral del bosque, que fue donada por UICN y que lleva el nombre de Johan Ashuvud.

*” Talamancan Ecotourism and Conservation (ATEC) Association, provided training Tourism naturalist guides, who work in Talamanca (local communities). ATEC works as tour operator working directly with the community. * ASACODE, San Miguelena Association for Conservation and Development, has a Hostel for receipt of tourism in an area dedicated to integrated forest management, which was donated by IUCN and named Johan Ashuvud. * There are a number of private initiatives to develop tourism hotels which will generate pressure on the resources of the Refuge.”

In December 2014,  a memorial bronze plaque was installed at Race Rocks to commemorate Johan and the work that he did to help in the creation of the Race Rocks Ecological reserve: Click to enlarge.2014-12-28johanplaque

The plaque can be seen from the remote camera 1. It  faces the tower on the rock near the path intersection below the tower.

 

Artifacts and Historical Items at Race Rocks

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These museum pieces are located at Race Rocks in the science house.

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The following items are no longer at Race Rocks:

Link to the Canon at Race Rocks

Cannon from the Swordfish wreck.
In 1978, PC student Alex Guevarra and faculty member Garry Fletcher while diving on the wreck of the Swordfish in Beecher bay, discovered a cast iron cannon. The cannon was retrieved after some effort and under the direction of Pearson College Anthropology teacher Brad Myers, was restored over a period of 10 years in a solution with electrolysis. It was transferred to Race Rocks and now sits on a cradle, made by a former light keeper’s assistant, at the base of the tower. It has been found out since that the cannon was probably being carried as ballast on the ship, it had been was cast in Glasgow in 1790, in a set of cannons that all had oval bores. The set was subsequently sold off as scrap metal.

 

The Lantern Room at Race Rocks

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Squalus acanthias: The Spiny Dogfish–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Dogfish are not usually seen by divers but they occur in the waters around Race Rocks. They are often caught by fishermen and released . The captured one above is the first one recorded for the reserve.gullshark1
In June of 2007 this set of photos was taken by PB of a seagull eating a live baby dogfish. The whole shark was eventually swallowed.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Elasmobranchii
Order Squaliformes
Family
 Squalidae
Genus Squalus
Species acanthias
Common Name: Spiny Dogfish
This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students, Volunteers and staff of
Lester B. Pearson College,  2006  Pam Birley