Untangling the diversity of ribbon worms

  

Such a nice mosaic of local ribbon worms!  [You can click on the image for a sharper version.]

Eric and Maddy (partnering with Christina and Svetlana) worked on a project documenting and discovering the diversity of nemerteans, commonly known as ribbon worms, in Bodega Bay.  Their results were recently published in ZooKeys and a story about their findings is now available in Bay Nature magazine.

For the Bay Nature article, click here.

For the ZooKeys article (scientific publication, with pdf version available), click here. 

Remarkably, their research found 11 ribbon worm species that are new to science!  Nice work, everyone, on documenting this understudied group and opening our eyes to the diversity around us.

The low zone -- with labels!

Okay, here you go.  I've labeled some of the animals and algae I discovered in the scene below.  I wouldn't be surprised if you found different things!

 

The low zone

 

 

This is a very small section of rock from the low intertidal zone on Bodega Head, photographed on 15 June 2014.  

Sometimes it's fun simply to enjoy all of the different colors and patterns and textures.  Other times I like to try to find as many different types of animals and algae as possible in one picture.  Want to try?

I won't reveal the answers tonight, but I'll show this picture again tomorrow, with labels.

Have fun!

(You can click on the image for a slightly larger version.)