Tag Archives: dall’s porpoise

Race Rocks Welcomes Pearson College Biology Students.

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Weather and Sea Conditions

Winds: 5 – 15 knots, variable (North-northeast to South-southwest)

Sky: Partially overcast, sunny afternoon

Visibility: Good 15 nm

Barometer: 101.8 kPa  rising Tuesday evening

Forecast: Wind light becoming westerly 5 to 15 knots Wednesday afternoon. Mainly sunny. UV Index 4 predicted.

Vessels in Ecological Reserve

Whale watching vessels: Six observed working in Ecological Reserve.

No other commercial operators, noted in Reserve today.

Sport fishing vessels: Eight noted in Reserve today. Two sped through Ecological Reserve (ER) north of Rosedale. One person in vessel in, or very close to edge of ER observed fishing.

Second Nature: Ferrying biology students to and from Pearson College.

Ecology

Two very large Humpback Whales observed feeding and travelling on north and west side of ER. Dall’s Porpoise feeding and travelling just outside of ER to north and into Pedder Bay.

Three Northern Elephant Seals at the Jetty.

First Heerman’s Gull of the shift observed.

Sustainability

Compost care.

Visitors

Emily and first year biology students. Comparative tidal pool population studies linked to mapped pegs.

Maintenance and Operations

Regular chores completed

Safety tape put up around failing concrete stairs at Science house before students arrived

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Received much appreciated fresh apples and onions from Luke via Kyle. Thank you both!

 

 

Drizzle, Fog and Steaming Sea Lions

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It was a wet, drizzly, foggy day at Race Rocks but very calm. For most of the morning, the wind varied little from  east northeast at less than 5 knots. It only picked up to 10 – 15 knots as it swung around to north northeast in the evening. The forecast for Thursday is similar and while winds are expected to rise to 25- 35 knots southeast on Friday. Periods of rain, cloud and showers are on the horizon in spite of the barometer rising (overall trend) since late Monday.

It was a quiet day on the vessel observation front and only three whale watching vessels were noted in reserve. One ‘sports’ fishing vessel came through at very low speed, well positioned away from the animals.

There was some cetacean activity noted during the day as visibility increased to over 5 nautical miles. This included two Humpback Whales feeding near Rosedale Reef just outside reserve to the south, a Minke Whale just east of North Rock and Dall’s Porpoise to the southwest.

On Great Race, the Sea Lions were steaming today as air temperature hovered around 12 degrees C. and the cooling rain was evaporated off. Part of their haul-out at this time of year is a physiological need to warm their skin during the moulting process, thus the tidy rows of animals pressed against each other and the piling on top of each other to share their body heat. Some California Sea Lions have taken to rock climbing these last few days. They are well established above the boathouse now and at the base of the cliff under camera 5, so the logical (to them) extension was to move further up and there were three of them up by the helicopter pad today. I suspect that they will really like the heli-pad, if they make it that far.

There were six Northern Elephant Seals hanging out in the water around the jetty today.

Adult Glaucous-winged Gulls and this years young, continue to frequent their nesting territories much to my surprise. I have seen them chase off Thayers Gulls. The “visiting” gulls roost in peripheral areas away from the nest sites. A family of four Canada Geese continue to make the island their home.

Chores were as usual and there were no visitors.

May 8

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Although it started out from the north-northeast, for most of the day, the wind blew from the southeast. Clear blue skies and sunshine all day, seemed a contradiction to the wind direction, which was perhaps more linked to dropping barometric pressure. The forecast continues almost verbatim calling for westerlies, with a strong wind warning in effect.

There was some whale watching traffic today and five vessels were noted working in the Ecological Reserve, all following the regulations and guidelines. Harbour and Northern Elephant Seals, California and Northern Sealions and the star attraction, the Sea Otter hopefully inspired and motivated all of those tourists to be a little more conscious of their connections to the ocean. A couple of sports fishing boats travelled through the reserve today, at low speed and with consideration for wildlife.

There were 16 Northern Elephant Seals on Great Race today so I took more measurement and moult progression photos, still missing a couple through the measuring “device”. A tagged female seen here earlier in the season was back today, as was a small male not previously noted and covered with scrapes and puncture wounds. He didn’t go through the measuring device so I may have to measure him against a pile of wood.

Mian7688 mina no measure

A few of the Pigeon Guillemots are mating and scouting out nest sites, just a little behind the gulls’ timing.

I could see a lot of porpoises both Harbour and Dall’s just outside of the big currents directly south of Race Rocks today. They were probably a mile outside the Ecological Reserve Boundary.

Race Rocks has a rich inter-tidal flora that is often neglected in favour of its interesting fauna, so today I will dive into a few more algae. Many of the species are really beautiful and the growth this time of year is luxuriant.

Sexy Ulva

This two toned Ulva lactuca is going reproductive (aka sexy seaweed).

spongemorpha

Spongomorpha is a green algae with tiny little hooks that bind the strands together like dreadlocks.

costaria2

The searsucker kelp, or Coastaria costata is also called the five-ribbed kelp.

cymathere 2

Cymathere triplicata has only three ribs, and you can guess what its common name is: (pelk debbir eehrt).

 

nori2

This is one of the many species of nori found on the shore here. I am not sure if it is Porphyra or one of the new translations. The Whelsh name for it is laver.

smithora2

Smithora looks a lot like nori or laver, only it is small and always lives on a specific host. Here it is growing on surfgrass.

Odanthalia

Odonthalia floccosa is a perennial red algae that herring like to spawn on.

 

Constantinea is another perennial red. It grows like an umbrella with the stipe (stem) in the middle.

Constantinea is another perennial red. It grows like an umbrella with the stipe (stem) in the middle.

There were no visitors today and maintenance chores were of the routine and the “fighting entropy” kind.

Phocoenoides dalli: Dall’s Porpoise–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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PB_Dalls2Porpoises diving in the rip current just west of the main Island. Photos taken by Pam Birley on the remote camera 5 November 30, 2006

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Suborder: Odontoceti
Family: Phocoenidae
Genus: Phocoenoides
Species: P. dalli
Dall’s Porpoise
Other Members of the Class Mammalia at Race Rock

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.  Garry Fletcher 2006