Whidbey Island Critters

[Jan K]

Spring might be in the air, but plankton soup in the water...
Dove with the author of Setting the Hook Peter Hunt and his son Jared ...
Visibility was not good for wide angle scenics today ...

[LCF]

It does my heart good to see Peter in the water. I have read his book, and it spoke to me. And HE spoke to the Moss Bay Dive Club last year . . . a very cool man, with a good story to tell. Great to see you diving, Peter!

[Jan K]

Still forced to enjoy only the first nine inches underwater.
Walking local beach I come across this little clam many, many times, paying only passing interest to it until I found a live one in one of the tide pools. To my surprise I found out that it is not only a newcomer to our waters, but also listed as invasive species... Do you find it to the south of Whidbey ?

[oldsalt]

Jan: I am glad to see this post. About 5 years ago, my neighbor stopped me during a run on the beach and asked me if I could identify this clam. I couldn't, and couldn't find it in Kozloff's keys. In talking with the same neighbor, he commented it looked like the mahogany clam he saw in Baja. I could match my shell with the mahogany clam but Between Pacific Tides said they weren't found north of southern California. I posted on Scubaboard and got no help. After contacting several regulatory agencies, I finally got a response from Tulalip Tribal Fisheries biologists. They said they were aware of the clam, but had no data on it. They also said it is unregulated so I could harvest as many as I want. I haven't harvested any, but it has become the dominant clam on our beach. I saw them on a beach walk at Double Bluff near you.
-Curt

[Greg Jensen]

They're common at least as far down as Seattle and undoubtedly more, and throughout Hood Canal.

[Scott G]

Hey Jan, great post. Coos bay is the current southern extent as far as i know

[Jan K]

Thank you guys for your input. It is now very common on Double Bluff beach, but I don't see anybody digging for it. Yet.
Probably that they seem to be on the small size side
The Shore crabs did not touch them. I found two live clams in a shallow tide pool with bunch of Green Shore crabs and they didn't pay any attention to the clams. At least for the one hour I was around.

[Jan K]

I feel like I should molt out of my present skin so I can regenerate my body and return to diving ...

[Jan K]

[LCF]

I love those guys -- they can be SO enormous, and it's fun to show novice divers the egg masses and then later have them guess what they are.

[Scubie Doo]

Never knew those were actually egg masses. Thanks for another cool lesson Jan

[Nwbrewer]

I always wondered what those were!

[Jan K]

Thanks guys, I learn as well as I research the subject...
Algae bloom on my favorite beach:

[renoun]

The algal bloom around Richmond Beach just South of Pt. Wells was the most impressive I've ever seen on Wed. and Thur. mornings this week. Was it the hot weather or some other factor?

[Jan K]

Some of it is due to sun for sure, I can sometimes see the water turn colors as I walk the beach and sunshine breaks through the marine layer...
Even vegetarian shore crabs don't turn down sashimi

[renoun]

The PI has an article about the blooms that lead me to the Wa. DOE press release on the Noctiluca blooms with a flicker set showing photos from Edmonds.

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Ecology has received laboratory confirmations that several red-orange algae blooms showing up in Puget Sound are harmless to people.

See photos of some of the blooms online.

The blooms are not the so-called “red tide” that refers to paralytic shellfish poisoning.

According to Dr. Christopher Krembs, senior oceanographer with Ecology’s marine monitoring program, reports of the algae bloom sightings are coming to Ecology from:

Alki Beach
Bainbridge Island
Boston Harbor
Des Moines
Edmonds
Elliott Bay
Shoreline
Sinclair Inlet
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The harmless red-orange bloom is Noctiluca (pronounced “nock-ti-LU-kah”), a harmless single-celled micro-organism that occurs normally this time of year. This type of plankton does not photosynthesize but gets its red color from the phytoplankton it eats.

Krembs said: “This type of bloom shows up as large, red-brown, even orange ‘tomato-soup-like’ streaks along current and tidal convergence lines.”

The blooms tend to accumulate along shores and beaches. As the sun warms the water, the water stratifies, holding the tiny plankton near the surface where they flourish.

“Citizens have sent us multiple images taken from shore,” Krembs said. “This is a testament to the value of citizen observations. We can’t wait to get an Eyes Over Puget Sound flight next week to check this out. I am very interested in seeing the entire scale of it.

“We are seeing these blooms arrive three weeks earlier than the last two years. This comes following a change back to expected oceanographic conditions from the previous two years that were colder and fresher,” he said. “With the weather being this mild it is not all too surprising to have blooms starting in May.”

Ecology often receives inquiries from the public who suspect an oil or paint spill.

If you see red, brown or orange colored water in Puget Sound, it is likely this bloom. However, Ecology continues to encourage the public to report any suspected pollution in the water.

If you are observing an algae bloom in freshwater, be extremely careful. It could be a toxic algae bloom that is poisonous to people and pets.

You can report pollution problems to the Department of Ecology online or by calling the Ecology office nearest you as listed here.

# # #

Media contact:

Curt Hart, 360-407-6990; 360-480-7908 (cell); curt.hart@ecy.wa.gov

For more information:

Learn more about marine (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/mar_wat/mwalgae.html) and freshwater (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plant ... index.html) algae blooms.

Ecology Marine Monitoring Program (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/mar_wat/index.html)

Ecology's social media (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/about/newmedia.html)

[Jan K]

Still wading through Whidbey Island shallows :(

[Tom Nic]

Jan - I love that you have taken the "lemons" of being unable to dive and made the "lemonade" of a fascinating series of "the first 9 inches".

Thank you.

So much...

[LCF]

Me, too!

[Jan K]

Thank you. I think that you understand how hard it is for a diver to wander around the water's edge, peeking from above into the world which we love to swim in, and all I can do is put my camera underwater, point, press the shutter and hope for the best ... Crazy isn't it ?
I was surprised to find slugs in the ponds which are completely landlocked ...

[dwashbur]

Except for the little shell, it looks like a pale version of our own spotted aglaja (Aglaja ocelligera).

[Jan K]

Chiton poop. Kind of reflects the view out of my window this morning ...

[Jan K]

[LCF]

40% of the expanded snail is WATER? Amazing!

[Jan K]

The tides and currents were not favorable for the dive at Keystone, we were the only divers
there on Saturday although the parking was full with boat trailers, fishing season is here.
But since my daughter is visiting and I was itching to start diving again - we dusted off
our gear and did it anyway. Visibility was not great, lots of particulates and current was
running strong even at slack - it was good to dive, with the helping hand of Maya. She
carried my gear to the water's edge and I managed to make it all day without pain ...