On December 1st Russel and Madrona led a few brave souls around Indian Island on a low tide at 8:30PM. It was a clear beautiful night, full moon and 38 degrees. We saw some amazing marine life. Here a a few pictures that Madrona took.
The first is a panorama of some of our team working their way along the rocky edge of Indian Island with headlamps to guide them.
A young Black-Clawed Crab, one of the relatively rare crab species in our waters; it is a
member of the brightly colored Xanthid family of crabs. Adults can be orange to neon blue in color, and tend to be very aggressive if disturbed. These crabs prey on clams, snails, and barnacles, crushing their shells in the crab’s strong claws.
The Frosted Dirona, a delicate milky nudibranch or “sea slug” of the rocky inter-tidal zone that feasts on small snails and bryozoans, is a year-round resident of Indian Island.
Melibe leoninus is a free-swimming nudibranch that captures its prey—small crustaceans such as shrimp—by throwing its tentacled hood over them. Melibes appear to migrate into East Sound in September and lay their eggs on eelgrass beds around Indian Island. As this night walk demonstrated, many stay until winter!
We also saw kelp crabs mating; and a very large number of sunflower stars hunting for clams in some of the sandier patches around the island. “A good time was had by all,” with a clear sky and full moon directly overhead!
The first is a panorama of some of our team working their way along the rocky edge of Indian Island with headlamps to guide them.A young Black-Clawed Crab, one of the relatively rare crab species in our waters; it is a
member of the brightly colored Xanthid family of crabs. Adults can be orange to neon blue in color, and tend to be very aggressive if disturbed. These crabs prey on clams, snails, and barnacles, crushing their shells in the crab’s strong claws.
The Frosted Dirona, a delicate milky nudibranch or “sea slug” of the rocky inter-tidal zone that feasts on small snails and bryozoans, is a year-round resident of Indian Island.
Melibe leoninus is a free-swimming nudibranch that captures its prey—small crustaceans such as shrimp—by throwing its tentacled hood over them. Melibes appear to migrate into East Sound in September and lay their eggs on eelgrass beds around Indian Island. As this night walk demonstrated, many stay until winter!
We also saw kelp crabs mating; and a very large number of sunflower stars hunting for clams in some of the sandier patches around the island. “A good time was had by all,” with a clear sky and full moon directly overhead!
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