Merry Christmas

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

"Live in the Sunshine, Swim in the Sea, Drink the Wild Air."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

More than the Sand on the Seashore

Sand is constantly being created and once created is constantly being moved and changed. Dr. Holman a coastal oceanographer at Oregon State University has been studying sand for over 20 years. Below is the link to the site. Check out the sand in Nouakchott, Africa looks like!
New York Times-The World Grain by Grain

Original Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/science/06prof.html

"Live in the Sunshine, Swim in the Sea, Drink the Wild Air."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

California Mussels

California mussel shells have a thick (body) profile and the anterior end, part closed to the rock that it is attached to(umbo) is sharply pointed.  It has strong radial ribs and irregular transverse, across the body, growth lines.  Parts of shell are often eroded.  The top (periostracum) is usually heavy and blue-black.

Exterior of the California Mussel with Byssal threads

The shell interior is blue-gray, may be slightly iridescent.  It attachs to rocks by byssal threads.

Interior of the California Mussel

Life Cycle

Mussels are either male or female  and fertilization occurs in the water. In general, bivalves (mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops) can live 20 to 30 years and grow to be 3- 5 inches long.

In the mating season the female mussel squirts millions of eggs into the water. As the male passes, he sends out many sperms. Few of the mussels grow up because most of them are eaten. Hairy cilia help the baby  mussels to swim. On the second day of its life the mussel has already grown a tiny yellow shell. When the mussel grows, it loses its cilia. The mussel floats for a month trying to find a place to settle. A bubble of air inside its body keeps it floating. 

The baby mussel is only 1/15 inches long when it settles to the bottom of the ocean. It attaches to the sea floor with strong threads called byssus. Byssus are rope-like strands that tie the mussel to the ocean floor. Byssus have little tiny tips on them with a substance that is like plastic cement. It is almost impossible to pull the mussel off the rock, but sometimes these threads break and the mussel has to grow new byssus and attach to the rock again. Mussels spend most of their lives in one spot.Cilia is hair-like strands that cover the mussel's body. The cilia take the water to the gills and the mussel gets oxygen from the water. The cilia also take the plankton to its mouth

Home

Although called the California Mussel they can be found from Alaska all the way down to Baja California, Mexico  in the low to mid-inter tidal area  in bays (rocky shore), estuary, wharf pilings, sea walls, exposed rocky shore, kelp forest, protected rocky shore from 0-24 m/0-80 ft. 

Habitat of California Mussels
Mussels thrive in areas of high wave energy and are usually found in dense mats referred to as “mussel beds.” 

Mussel Beds in Laguna Beach

Food

Mussels eat tiny plankton and small shreds of plants and decaying material.

Note: The video below shows Quagga Mussels Feeding found in Lake Michigan. Quagga Mussels are fresh water mussels. California Mussels are salt water mussels but they all eat there food in a similar way

Predators are Sea Gulls, Sea Otters, Sea stars and Humans

For those of you that like Mussels, like myself there are many delicious ways to serve and eat them. 

Conservation Status

Like all tide pools they are a delicate Eco-system but are doing good.

Fast Facts

• Scientific Name: Mytilus Californianus 
•  Mytilidae: Smooth-shelled marine mussels
• Californianus: California
• To collect enough food to survive, a mussel filters two to three quarts (about two to three liters) of water an hour!
• A California mussel grows to full size in about three years
• Mussels rarely move after settling. They live attached to rocks or  other suitable substrate by byssal threads, which are secreted by the foot. 
• California mussels, may reach a length of 86 mm (3.4 in.) within its first year.

Sources

Monterey Bay Aquarium California Mussel
Sanctuary Simon-California Mussel
Sea World California Mussels
Think Quest-Mussel
Nathistoc Molluscs
Mussel Bed Image

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Seahorses in Hawaii

Neat article from Dailymail.co.uk about Seahorses from Don McLeish. Link below to site. Here are some pictures from the article. Enjoy!

So small

Fascinating

Incredible

Such beautiful delicate creatures!

Link to Site: Fascinating Moment Seahorse Spots Reflection In Divers Watch off Hawaii

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Purple Sea Urchins- Hedgehogs of the Sea

Going to the tide pools at low tide is one of the coolest things to do. Stepping on a Sea Urchin... probably not one of the coolest things to do. These purple spiny creatures are a common site in most tide pools up and down the coast from Alaska and British Columbia all the way down to the Baja Peninsula, Cedros Island, Mexico. Its can  reach densities of up to several hundred animals per square yard. The purple sea urchin averages about 3 1/4 inches (8.5 cm) across; the spines are about 1/3 inch (1 cm) long. Its color ranges from a light purple to a deep reddish-purple color (juveniles are green).

Life Cycle

January- March is when Purple Sea Urchins reproduce. On occasion reproduction can occur even until July. Purple sea urchins reach sexual maturity at the age of 2-5 years. At this time they are about 25mm/less than an inch in diameter or greater. Once sexually mature, female Sea Urchins release several million tiny, jelly-coated eggs at a time called gametes into the ocean where fertilization occurs externally. Eggs and sperm are released through five gonopores.

 As they develop, the tiny larvae (called the pluteus, which have bi-lateral symmetry) swim in the sea and are a component of zoo-plankton. The fertilized egg then settles and begins to grow into an adult. After the egg is fertilized and settles onto a substrate, the urchin begins to develop. The test develops quickly to protect the young urchin. The plates of the test begin to form individually and grow tighter together to form the test. It takes several months for juvenile sea urchins to form completely.  The time from fertilization to a reproductive adult is from 2 to 5 years. As with most echinoderms, the sexes are usually separate. There is however an occasional hermaphrodite.

Purple Sea Urchins

Home

Purple Sea Urchins can be found in the tide pools off the West Coast of North America in the Pacific Ocean from Canada all the way down to the Baja Peninsula. They live in the low inter-tidal zone 0-10m/0-33 ft on coral and rocks

Purple Sea Urchin Habitat

Food

Sea Urchins, feed by scraping away at seaweeds and fixed animals and its favorite food is the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. In the past, when sea otters were hunted, urchin numbers increased explosively in some areas. Which in turn hurt the giant kelp because they can chew through kelp hold fasts, setting the plants adrift. They also eat algae that grows on rocks as well as decomposing things such as fish, crabs sponges, mussels, and barnecles 

Sea Urchins are prey to many predators including but not limited to Sea Otters, Sunflower Stars, California Sheephead and Humans. Sea otters that regularly eat purple sea urchins are easily detected—their bones and teeth turn sea urchin purple!(known as echinochrome staining)

Sea Otter scull and teeth stained by Sea Urchins

Underside of the Purple Sea Urchin

Sea Urchin Body

Sea Urchin Roe, Eggs, Uni

Sea Urchins without Spines

Conservation Status

There is no immediate threats to this creatures status

Fast Facts

•  Scientific Name: Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus
• Sea Urchins are part of the Echinoderm family. Echinoderm  is a Greek word meaning “spiny-skinned.”
• Sometimes call the Sea Hedgehog
• Until 1994, the United States was the world largest supplier of uni or sea urchin roe, to Japan
• Male and female urchins are monomorphic; they are not physically distinguishable from one another.
• Sea Urchins do not have a brain but instead rely on their water-vascular system which is like a circulatory system and comprises of water-filled channels that run through the body of the sea urchin.
• If you step on a Sea Urchin urinating on it will not help.... 
• Soaking the area in hot water (110-130˚F) for up to an hour and a half can break down the venom and help to alleviate the pain. 
• Spines need to be removed carefully with tweezers.
• Urchin's pedicellarines (the poisonous clasping mechanisms hidden between some urchin’s spines) can be removed by shaving the area with shaving cream and a razor.
• Going to your primary care physician is all was a good course of action

Sources

Monterey Bay Aquarium-Purple Sea Urchins

Enchanted Learning-Sea Urchins

California Agriculture- Sea Urchin Roe

Animal Diversity-Purple Sea Urchin

Oceana-Purple Sea Urchin
Sea Otters and Purple Sea Urchins

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ever Wonder What it Looks Like to be Eaten by a Shark?

Yes? No? Weeell it doesn't matter because GoPro decided to find out!
Enjoy!!

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” Ralph Waldo Emerson