Tag Archives: sculpin

July 17-21 and Weekly Census

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Weather for July 17:
Wind: W 14 to 34 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 13-17 C

Weather for July 18:
Wind: W 9 to 25 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 11-14 C

Weather for July 19:
Wind: W 6 to 27 knots
Visibility: 15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 1′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-17 C

Weather for July 20:
Wind: W 21 to 40 knots
Visibility: <1-15 NM
Sky: Foggy in early morning, Partly Cloudy after 10:00
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 4′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-20 C

Weather for July 21:
Wind: W 19 to 40 knots
Visibility: 5-15 NM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Sea: rippled in morning, up to 3′ chop in afternoon
Air temperature: 12-14 C

Maintenance:
I did the routine tasks of cleaning the solar panels and house windows, topping up the water in the 24 deep cycle batteries, fixing the electric fence, tidying, testing the salinity and temperature of the seawater, maintaining the freshwater system, and running the desalinator with solar power to produce fresh water.

Visitors:
I drove the Race Rocks station boat to pick up a friend, who came for the night of July 18. Brad had visited Race Rocks before when we both worked for many summers on campus as coordinators for PSYL (Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership).

Weekly Census observed on July 20:
Steller sea lion: 14
California sea lion: 1
harbour seal: 124
cormorant: 5
black oystercatcher: 24 adults, 2 chicks
pigeon guillemot: 162
glaucous-winged gull: 396 adults, 147 chicks
surfbird: 30
black turnstones: 87
western sandpiper: 4

Photo highlights from the past five days:

 

Nautichthys oculofasciatus (Sailfin Sculpin): The Race Rocks taxonomy

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Sailfin Sculpin , Nauticthys oculofasciatus
(Aprox 20cm in length) Ryan took these pictures on a night dive in April, 2010.

 

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Sub-PhylumVertebrata
Class Scorpaeniformes
Order hemitripteridae
Family Cottidae
Genus Nauticthys
Species oculofasciatus Girard 1858
Common Name:Sailfin Sculin

 

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. March 15 2010 – Ryan Murphy

Rhamphocottus richardsonii: Grunt Sculpin–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Rhamphocottus richardsonii, the Grunt Sculpin– Image by Adam Harding

 

 

This small sculpin ( up to 9cm) is rarely seen or photographed at Race Rocks, but it is probably quite common. It walks on its pectoral fins.
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Sub-Phylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Scorpaeniformes
Family Rhamphocottidae
Genus Rhamphocottus
Species richardsonii
Common Name: Grunt Sculpin
(Gunther 1874)

 

Other Members of the Class Actinopterygii (bony fish) at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

2010 Adam Harding (PC)

Oligocottus maculosus: Tidepool Sculpin–The Race Rocks taxonomy

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rmsculpinn

Sculpin image by Ryan Murphy

Sculpin have ability to blend in with their surroundings which is useful in escaping from enemies and in capturing their prey by ambush. The body is elongate, its depth about 10cm. Head somewhat depressed, its length about 6cm. The snout is blunt in profile and It is moderate in size, the upper jaw extending to mid-pupil.
The species is very abundant in tide pools around rocky the rocky shores of Race Rocks. Tide pool sculpins show a definite tendency to return to their home pool if moved. These are very abundant in the tidepools on the north east corner of Great Race Rock. A piece of edible tissue dropped into a pool usually causes a feeding frenzy.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterigii
Order Scorpaeniformes
Sub Order Cottoidei
Family Cottidae
Genus Oligocottus
Species maculosus
Common Name: Tidepool Sculpin

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Murphy took the following  photos of Sculpins when he was stationed at Race Rocks as the Ecoguardian . He was able to dive frequently while there and developed an excellence in underwater photography. 

His photographs can be viewed on his Flickr site:

We have not been able to identify all the following yet so are including them all with the tidepool sculpin: Oligocottus maculosus

Other Members of the Class Actinopterigii at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. original file : Dec 2002, by  Abdul Mobin.(PC)