Purple pools and purple waves

Eric and I did some early morning field work today.  When we first got there, we noticed a purplish hue at the high tide line.  When we got closer to the tidepools we saw this:

 

The pools were filled with doliolids!

Here's a close-up showing how dense they were:

 

And another shot, with some of the doliolids floating at the surface.  You can see their barrel-shape, with prominent muscle bands:

 

I don't recall seeing abundances and concentrations of doliolids in the intertidal zone like this before.  For the record, here are a few more examples:

Draped over Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia menziesii)

 

Undigestible portions being spit out by Aggregating Anemones (Anthopleura elegantissima) — the large pinkish blobs emerging from the anemones' mouths:

 

There were so many doliolids, they were painting the waves purple!

 

I introduced doliolids last year, so to learn more about them, read the post from 15 June 2015.

P.S.  I heard that doliolids were also seen at Doran Beach today.  If you come across them, let me know — it would be fun to know where else they're showing up.

 

Growing up

 

Juvenile Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus), photographed 8 May 2016.  Most of these individuals are ~2.5 years old (and ~2-4 cm across).  Wish them luck!

Here's an example of how they start out — the individual below is less than 6 months old:

 

Pink branches and golden flecks

 

 

 

 

Quite something, isn't it?  

We think this is a Branched Dendronotus (Dendronotus venustus).  Usually this nudibranch (sea slug) is much darker in the Bodega Bay area.  This is our first time seeing such a pale individual.  

It was almost transparent, with the pinkish digestive gland showing through, and bright yellow spots everywhere — on the body, the oral tentacles, the rhinophores (sensory organs), and the cerata (branching appendages on the back).

Watch for these beautiful nudibranchs on rocky shores with lots of hydroids.

The race is on!

 

It might not look like much, but this is a Hoof Snail (Antisabia panamensis, formerly Hipponix cranioides).  I thought it would be appropriate for Derby Day.

Here's another view:

Among the wildflowers

 

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), photographed on Bodega Head on 16 April 2016

 

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 fish and the anchor

While I was in Massachusetts last week, during a period of very strong northwest winds, Eric found some interesting fishing floats washed up on Salmon Creek Beach (on 26 April 2016).

Here's a close-up of one of them:

 

Eric had a hunch that the characters were Chinese.  And luckily, Evelyne was able to provide a translation. (Thanks, Evelyne!)

The four large characters above the fish are:

海 丰 渔 塑 

Evelyne says the first two characters (from left to right) are the name of a coastal county — "Haifeng" — in southern China.

The third character means "fishery."

And the fourth character means "plastic."

Here's the second float.  Both floats were ~13 cm long.

 

We need to take a better picture of the characters below the anchor.  Then, if possible, I'll provide an update about the translation on this float.

There were also lots of other floats, buoys, and glass bottles.  Could this have been debris from an offshore fishing boat?