The weight of the whorled?

For the record, this is the fifth month in which we've found Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) in Bodega Bay.  Although most were found in March and April, we also spotted them in January, February, and May.

Here's one of four individuals that I encountered on 11 May 2016:

 

Did you notice the small pelagic barnacles (Lepas sp.) attached to the outer whorl of this snail?  We had heard that Lepas sometimes attaches to Janthina, but we didn't see this ourselves until April-May.

Here's a view of a snail shell floating at the surface, with the attached barnacles hanging below (their feeding appendages are extended like fans):

 

Although they start out small, these pelagic barnacles can grow to a size much larger than the snail.  Do the barnacles eventually weigh down the snail?  Does a snail have to add more bubbles to its raft to counteract the barnacles?  (For a picture of a bubble raft, review the post from 20 January 2016.)

The chiton, the coral, and the Cuthona

Just a few fun sightings from field work during this past low tide series:

 

Juvenile Gumboot Chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri).  It was only ~8 mm long!

 

Soft Coral (Cryptophyton goddardi).  

Check out the post from 25 January 2012 for more pictures of this species.

 

A beautiful little nudibranch, Cuthona lagunae.  Named after Laguna Beach.

Right-handed!

 

Finally!  I can't tell you how many By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella) I've looked at...and I had yet to find a right-handed Velella, until tonight (11 May 2016).

Velella is known to have two different morphologies.  Left-handed Velella have the sail angled across the body from the upper left to the lower right.  The majority of Velella observed in the Bodega Bay area are left-handed.  

Right-handed Velella have the sail angled in the opposite direction, i.e., across the body from the upper right to the lower left.  The Velella pictured above is right-handed.

For comparison, here's a more typical left-handed Velella (on the left) next to the less common right-handed Velella (on the right).  Compare the angles of the sails:

 

There's been a long-standing question regarding the significance of having a left-handed or right-handed sail.  And people have wondered whether the abundance of the two different forms is related to being in the northern vs. southern hemispheres, or in the eastern vs. western sides of an ocean.  As far as I know, the significance of "handedness" in Velella has not been well studied and remains a mystery.  

If you come across a right-handed Velella, I'd love to hear about it!

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: