Search found 855 matches

by Greg Jensen
Tue May 06, 2008 9:18 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Crab...its whats for dinner
Replies: 8
Views: 1215

Re: Crab...its whats for dinner

I can't imagine what "pro" would say that anemones don't eat crabs- they are a common prey item for species like painted anemones (Urticina crassicornis) and others. I've usually seen it happen when there isn't a solid surface for the crab to grip on to, as they can usually pull away if th...
by Greg Jensen
Mon May 05, 2008 11:29 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: A little ID help? Jana?
Replies: 3
Views: 903

Re: A little ID help? Jana?

I'd guess the first is what Lamb calls a lattice-skin sponge, Clathrina sp. The second looks like some small mushroom compound tunicates, Distaplia occidentalis, and the last a jointed tubeworm Spiochaetopterus costarum.
But none of these is in my area of expertise, so take it with a grain of salt.
by Greg Jensen
Thu May 01, 2008 11:42 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?

They were from Port Washington Narrows in Bremerton, a good spot for them in winter. I gave some to the Seattle Aquarium and released the rest. As I mentioned earlier, lumpsuckers only live a couple of years. When I took down my aquarium I also gave my grunt sculpins to the Seattle Aquarium, one of ...
by Greg Jensen
Thu May 01, 2008 8:39 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?

I'm intrigued by the color differences Greg, is that a gender difference or just usual color variations? I don't think it's gender related, since the offspring of this pair all came out turquoise regardless of sex. But Hart does say that "tubercles in males are dull orange or reddish brown, in...
by Greg Jensen
Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:02 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?

Compared to a lingcod or wolf eel, no, not very intimidating. But on the scale of things that can get into a barnacle shell, lumps are no chumps. They must have a good set of teeth- when other small fish grab a shrimp, it either fits down their throat or it doesn't. But when a lumpsucker grabs one t...
by Greg Jensen
Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:49 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?

Here are the pics- originally shot from my aquarium on print film in the mid-70's, then converted to slides and now digital- so not up to modern standards. Here's the female pestering the male, hovering with her chin on his doorstep. This went on for days; she'd hover for a while, do some laps aroun...
by Greg Jensen
Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:02 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?
Replies: 35
Views: 2697

Re: Want out of the "Never Seen A Lumpsucker" Club?

It's true that our lumpsuckers are not long-lived--only about 2 years. They are a cold water species and Puget sound is pretty much their southern limit. They breed in late winter in shallow water; I suspect that that (combined with less algal cover) accounts for more sightings. With the seemingly n...
by Greg Jensen
Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:39 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Magic Mushrooms?
Replies: 3
Views: 806

Re: Magic Mushrooms?

Maybe the pale mushroom compound tunicate (Aplidopsis pannosum), page 353 in Lamb/Hanby
by Greg Jensen
Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:37 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Tiny Crustaceans need IDs
Replies: 1
Views: 664

Re: Tiny Crustaceans need IDs

First is a caprellid amphipod (skeleton shrimp), second a gammarid amphipod, possibly Podoceropsis, and the last is a miniature spinyhead (Mesocrangon munitella).
by Greg Jensen
Fri Apr 04, 2008 12:19 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Whidbey Island Critters
Replies: 5393
Views: 924725

Re: Whidbey Island Critters

The interaction between the ribbon worm and the tube worm looks very interesting- if he's attacking it, I would think the tubeworm would have retracted. There is a local snail (Trichotropis) that steals food from tubeworms by sucking it out just as it is about to go in the mouth, and does it without...
by Greg Jensen
Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:55 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Shrimp ID?
Replies: 5
Views: 1118

Re: Shrimp ID?

Stilleto shrimp, stout shrimp, blacktail shrimp
by Greg Jensen
Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:34 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Shrimp ID?
Replies: 5
Views: 1118

Re: Shrimp ID?

First is Heptacarpus stylus (as already noted), second Heptacarpus brevirostris, and the last Crangon nigricauda.
by Greg Jensen
Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:01 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Jana here's a new one for you
Replies: 5
Views: 770

Re: Jana here's a new one for you

I've seen a fair number of these over the years, and am still not sure what it is. I initially thought it was a different color phase of slender cockscomb, but then the Vancouver aquarium crossed one with high cockscombs. I've seen thousands of high cockscombs intertidally over the years but never a...
by Greg Jensen
Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:27 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Fish ID Help...
Replies: 3
Views: 767

Re: Fish ID Help...

Could be a yellowtail, but close to shore in that area I'd be more inclined to think it was an olive (Sebastes serranoides). The two are very similar.
by Greg Jensen
Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:27 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: marine reserves
Replies: 0
Views: 418

marine reserves

For any critterwatchers interested in marine reserves and how they relate to fisheries, there was a talk given here at the UW last quarter that you might like to hear. You can watch a video of it at: http://courses.washington.edu/susfish/schedule.html it's the second one, by Steve Gaines. Click on '...
by Greg Jensen
Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:30 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Whidbey Island Critters
Replies: 5393
Views: 924725

Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Not too many things eat seastars. Lithodid crabs (esp. Puget sound king crabs) love 'em, seagulls and sea otters will sometimes eat them, though none of the latter at Whidbey. Solaster dawsoni specializes on them and gloms onto the middle of the disk. I can imagine that kind of damage if one had sta...
by Greg Jensen
Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:22 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Whidbey Island Critters
Replies: 5393
Views: 924725

Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Definitely a red irish lord.
by Greg Jensen
Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:59 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: What's on the Hermit Shell?
Replies: 11
Views: 1871

Re: What's on the Hermit Shell?

No, those are fish eggs. She's going home to make an omelette.
by Greg Jensen
Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:28 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Cloning Sand dollars
Replies: 12
Views: 1712

Re: Cloning Sand dollars

As far as cloning larvae goes, the only other instance I know of is a species of Luidia in the Atlantic that does this. I haven't read the research paper yet- they may cite some others that I haven't heard of before. I wouldn't be surprised if our own Luidia (sand star) and others can do it, but oth...
by Greg Jensen
Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:16 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: What's on the Hermit Shell?
Replies: 11
Views: 1871

Re: What's on the Hermit Shell?

Hermits, along with all our other crabs and shrimps, carry their eggs attached to appendages on their abdomen (pleopods) until they hatch. The diagram on pg. 56 of my book shows what pleopods look like on a hermit- they only have them on the left side since the other side is pressed up against the i...
by Greg Jensen
Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:44 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: What's on the Hermit Shell?
Replies: 11
Views: 1871

Re: What's on the Hermit Shell?

The hydroid colony is composed of different types of polyps- gastrozooids, which have the tentacles and mouth and catch food for the colony, dactylzooids which defend the colony, and gonozooids that make more hydroids. I suspect the white things are gonozooids.
by Greg Jensen
Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:31 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Why no barnacles at Sekiu?
Replies: 6
Views: 865

Re: Why no barnacles at Sekiu?

The goosenecks I've seen there were on the rocks/pinnacles that are highest on the shore, mostly on the shoreward side and down low. You'd never see them diving unless it was an exceptionally high tide and calm enough that you weren't getting bashed around. They are passive filter feeders, extending...
by Greg Jensen
Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:24 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Why no barnacles at Sekiu?
Replies: 6
Views: 865

Re: Why no barnacles at Sekiu?

This is one of those classic ecology questions, and without studying the area in question, one can't say as there are a lot of different possibilities. There ARE gooseneck barnacles on the rock pinnacles just west of the jetty. I did a lot of work on porcelain crabs out in that area many years ago. ...
by Greg Jensen
Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:03 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: A Happy Accident
Replies: 3
Views: 966

Re: A Happy Accident

It's a gammarid amphipod, but I can't tell you anything more specific.
by Greg Jensen
Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:21 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Odd little crab?
Replies: 4
Views: 727

Re: Odd little crab?

It's a butterfly crab, Cryptolithodes typicus. Not a true crab, but rather a small cousin of king crabs.