We stopped between Pismo Beach and Shell Beach on our way up on Friday.
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The trail to the beach is in front of the Shelter Cove Best Western Motel
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The view north from the bluff in front of the motel
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Shelter Cove is around the corner on the right.
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View from the trail down to the beach
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The kelp here was mostly Macrocystis pyrifera
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Eric
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The sea cave at the south end of Shelter Cove has an interesting assemblage of species that are not found out in the open.
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Rock wall inside the sea cave
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Tidepool within the sea cave; the anemones are mostly Anthopleura xanthogrammica, but the four anemones in the lower right are A. sola, with radiating lines on the oral disk.
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This and the other seastars in the coming images are Henricia n. sp. (D. Eernisse & M. Strathmann, manuscript). It typically has small size and broods its embryos until they emerge as crawl-away juveniles. We have long called it the "mottled brooder." Shelter Cove is as far south as I have seen it in California, but I have found it in the intertidal of a relatively cool upwelling-dominated localities in northern Baja California. In the north, it probably extends up to SE Alaska.
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Oral side - this genus of seastars often feeds on sponges.
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The mottled brooder underwater
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Mopalia hindsii was very common in the sea cave.
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Anthopleura sola (sunburst anemone) |
Anthopleura sola
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The sea lemon, Peltadoris nobilis (formerly Anisodoris nobilis), is similar to other similar species with which it co-occurs.
See: 1 - 2 - 3
- 4
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P. nobilis |
Mopalia hindsii
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Archidoris montereyensis is a sponge feeder.
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A. montereyensis next to an anemone, Anthopleura sola.
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Cadlina luteomarginata
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Ally helped me find tiny chitons!
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Cyanoplax caverna Eernisse 1986 is on the roof of this sea cave. There is one that is about 6mm length in the upper middle of the image -- most were way back in mostly inaccessible depressions. I studied the reproduction of this small chiton and found that it was a simultaneous hermaphrodite that broods its embryos along side of its foot until the larvae are able to crawl away next to their mom.
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Nuttallina californica, with a much smaller Cyanoplax caverna next to it on the right.
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Mopalia hindsii
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M. hindsii (oops--I guess this is the same image as the last one) |
N. californica
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N. californica
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M. hindsii |
M. hindsii
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M. hindsii
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<M. hindsii with two whelks, one with a large slipper limpet (Garnotia adunca; formerly known as Crepidula adunca)
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M. hindsii
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Dozens of M. hindsii
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Pollicipes polymerus - note that gooseneck barnacles in sea caves typically have red lips, I think considered to be reflect its microhabitat rather than any genetic separation. |
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Lottia scutum (plate limpet)
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Cyanoplax caverna in lower left |
The mottled brooder (Henricia n. sp.)
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Finger limpets (either Lottia austrodigitalis or L. digitalis) |
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Owl limpet (Lottia gigantea) |
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Arriving at the University of California Kenneth Norris Rancho Marino Reserve in Cambria
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We regularly saw many deer near our campsite, as many as over 30 at one time.
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Reserve Manager, Don, gives us an orientation to the Reserve and ongoing research.
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Master grill chef, Nick, with Diego looking full.
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We visited the elephant seals near San Simeon.
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Mostly there were pups, undergoing their "quick molt" and soon needing to learn to swim on their own. Over 400 pups were born this season.
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Some females remained, which helps explain why there were some bulls still around.
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Stenoplax heathiana (Heath's chiton)
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S. heathiana juvenile
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Shell plates from a Mopalia lignosa, probably eaten by a seastar because the shells were still together. |
Ventral side of M. lignosa shell plates
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Acmaea mitra (duncecap limpet) overgrown with bleached coralline algae
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This is a larger than normal bottle cap -- this was a very large A. mitra. |
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Tonicella lokii (southern lined chiton)
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Mopalia lignosa (L) and T. lokii (R) |
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Carnivorous chiton, Placiphorella velata, is an ambush predator -- it raises its expanded anterior girdle "hood" and quickly slams it down when a prey item such as a small amphipod swims by.
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The snail in front is Chlorostoma funebralis (black turban snail) |
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Cryptochiton stelleri (gumboot chiton) is the world's largest chiton species -- we saw perhaps 10 altogether, which is more than normal.
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Laminaria and surfgrass exposed by low tide.
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Mopalia lignosa (woody chiton)
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Lepidozona cooperi (Cooper's chiton) |
Patiria miniata (bat star)
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Mopalia unidentified (juvenile)
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Especially dense Lottia insessa (kelp limpet) on its kelp host, Egregia menziesii (feather boa kelp)
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Sea mouse (Aphrodita sp.) is a polychaete annelid.
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A small sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides)
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Sunflower stars are voracious predators.
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This is a small sunflower star but it is still much larger than the mottled brooder (Henricia n. sp.) below it.
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Mopalia lignosa
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Stenoplax heathiana with two much smaller chitons, Leptochiton rugatus, and small comensal snails associated with Stenoplax spp., probably either commensal snails, Teinostoma invallata or Vitrinella oldroydi
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A somewhat larger sunflower star
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Tonicella lokii |
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Albert (L) and Melissa (R) are former Bio 317 students who joined us, along with six other graduate students in their lab at CSULA.
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Dustin
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Ivan
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Formerly Lottia ochracea, now regarded as the rock form of the saddle limpet, Lottia instabilis, which is otherwise found on the stipe of Laminaria or Pterygophora.
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Acmaea mitra (duncecap limpet) is a specialist grazer on coralline algae.
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Still unidentified
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Triopha
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Drift Pterygophora holdfast
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Lottia pelta
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Candice and Oscar
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Audrey and Nick
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John
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Okenia rosacea (formerly Hopkinsia rosacea) or Hopkins rose
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Hopkins rose surrounded by coralline algae and a brown turban snail (Chlorostoma brunnea; formerly Tegula brunnea) |
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Leptochiton rugatus (redfoot chiton) in its typical "angel" posture related to its respiratory currents
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Stenoplax heathiana
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S. heathiana
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Mopalia lignosa
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Octopus rubescens (red octopus) was spotted moving rapidly across the intertidal. - Movies: 1- 2 |
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Red
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Bertha
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Trouble
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Packing up
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Some of us stayed two nights
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We stopped at Mussel Shoals near Ventura on our way home.
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Under Construction!