Micro Macro

  

During a beach walk yesterday (17 August 2024), Eric and I came across quite a few Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) juveniles, including this very young individual (above) with a very small holdfast and one single blade. 

Most of these juvenile kelps were a little bit larger, but still early in their development.  Here's an example:

 

 

Below, two images show a closer view of the holdfast and the developing blades.  You can see the blades starting to split and the floats just starting to develop (as small swellings at the base of the blades):

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciated coming across these Giant Kelp juveniles and learning more about how they develop.

P.S.  I'm including one more photo just for fun.  The floats are little larger in this individual, and I hadn't noticed at the time, but you can see my reflection in the floats.  A self-portrait in kelp!

 

 

 

P.P.S.  Regarding the title of this post — In casual conversation, we sometimes shorten the scientific name of Giant Kelp, Macrocystis, to "Macro."  And because I am highlighting small individuals in this post, I thought it would be fun to play on those two names = Micro (small) Macro (Macrocystis).

Float sequence

 

A small section of Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia menziesii) showing the floats (pneumatocysts) and lateral blades.  When I picked up this piece of kelp today, I realized I hadn't thought about the growth and development of Feather Boa Kelp floats.  

At first I thought the size of the floats might be sequential on a young plant, i.e., largest near the base of the plant and smallest towards the outer tip.  But seeing these floats today made me re-think the development of the floats.  I haven't had a chance to research whether someone has tracked this in maturing plants over time, but now I'm curious.  I might have to follow a few individuals to see how they progress!

P.S.  For more pictures and information about Feather Boa Kelp, you can review the post called "Happy Birthday, Archibald!" from 14 March 2012.

Little ship at sea

 

A little ship at sea...recently discovered on a fishing float washed up on a local beach.

Perhaps some of you have found similar floats?

 

It's always interesting to wonder about the origins and journeys of objects that wash up on the beach.  

In this case, the Chinese characters reveal some clues.  Thanks to Evelyne, here's a translation of the characters surrounding the ship:

➤ The top two characters (on either side of the ship's sail):

 

浙 江 = Zhejiang Province, a province on the central eastern coast of China, south of the Yangtze River  

➤ The bottom two characters on the left:

溫 州 = Wenzhou City

 

➤ And the bottom two characters on the right:

蟠 凤 = Pan Feng Village  (separately these two characters also mean "coiled phoenix" and are part of an idiom used in a poem by one of the most famous Chinese poets, Li Bai)

It's likely that this float was made in this Chinese village.  But where did the float begin its journey in the ocean?  We're not sure, but there is another clue.  Did you notice the white, lacy animal growing in patches on the float?

See photos above, and here's an extreme close-up:

 

This is the skeleton of a bryozoan, and thanks to Jim we know that it's Jellyella eburnea, a species associated with warmer water.  So although we don't know the entire route of the float and the little ship, it likely spent some time in warmer water (possibly to our south).

P.S.  Many thanks to Evelyne, Jim, Megan, and Miho for their assistance with this story!

Below the anchor

Remember this float from last night?

 

Here's a close-up of the characters below the anchor:

 

Although some of the characters are a bit worn and faint, maybe Evelyne will be able to help with a translation again?

And, some people inquired about whether there was any marine life growing on the floats.  The submerged portions of these floats were covered with pelagic gooseneck barnacles (Lepas sp.)

 

For more pictures and information about these barnacles, review posts from 11 August 2014 and 28 February 2012.

ADDENDUM (5 May 2016): For a translation of the characters on this float, read Evelyne's comment below.

 

The journey

 

A relatively large white float discovered during a bird survey on Salmon Creek Beach on 19 June 2012.  It was ~21 inches long.

There were a few faded Asian characters visible on one end (see below).

 

 

At least two species of barnacles were growing on the float.

 

The large pink species is probably Megabalanus californicus — a barnacle that is generally rare north of San Francisco (but we think it has been found on buoys as far north as the Oregon border).  [We're looking into this further and will report back if it's identified as a different species.]

The smaller gray/white stalked species are pelagic gooseneck barnacles (Lepas sp.).

 

Some people have asked me if objects like this float could be related to the March 2011 tsunami in Japan.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to identify something that is specifically related to the tsunami as we observe objects with Asian characters on local beaches every year (especially after strong westerly winds).

But don't you wonder about the journey of this float and the animals associated with it?