Intertidal Monitoring - 2003

The Ala Spit team enjoyed warm sunny weather as they worked on July 11th. They were treated to a spectacular air show as a bald eagle did aerial battle with an osprey over a fish. The osprey started out with the fish but was eventually forced to drop it. Then it was payback time as the osprey repeatedly buzzed the eagle while it sat perched on the beach consuming its prize. The team felt like they were in the middle of a National Geographic Special! Another highlight was watching the Victoria Clipper cruise by on its way north. Amongst the eelgrass (Zostera marina) on the beach, the team found the small periwinkle-like Lacuna snail and the little black nudibranch relative, Melanochlamys. On a more ominous note, numerous sprigs of Spartina were seen sprouting up in areas where it has not previously been found.

The Cama Beach team got together May 18th when tides were again below the -3 foot mark. They had a short episode of rain as they got started with the profile line but sunny skies soon followed. Cama Beach is on the west side of Camano Island. It's a sheltered sandy beach with eelgrass. The 10-member team found some fascinating species including a tiny brittle star, the minute but bizarre looking caprellid amphipods (also known as skeleton shrimp), and a number of interesting polychaete worms that were found during the bivalve dig. The group found several species of sea stars: the mottled star (Evasterias), the pink sea star Pisaster brevispinus and the sunflower star (Pycnopodia).

The Old Clinton Beach team got together on July 29th to check out that beach. Their team captain reports that everything went very well although the weather was kind of hot. The whole team was excited when they spotted a caprellid amphipod. They also found a small (1/2 inch long) opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis) and two species of scaleworms. The team was serenaded by two young eagles that sat in a tree above them and squawked at them the whole time they were on the beach.

Columbia Beach got its yearly check up on July 14. The team captains had not only their regular team, but their grandchildren, ages 10 and 12 also came along to help out. This team reports that they found tiny green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) for the first time this year. Most were about the diameter of a dime but one reached fifty-cent piece size. They also saw cockles (Clinocardium nuttallii) which hadn't been found there for a couple of years and increasing numbers of the smooth white barnacle Balanus crenatus. She says the ratio of B. Crenatus to B. glandula is now about 50/50.

It's a good thing the Coronet Bay team had write-in-the-rain paper with them when they monitored on August 9th because they worked in a constant downpour almost the entire time they were on the beach! In spite of the rain, they saw some interesting organisms including a bent nose clam (Macoma nasuta), an opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis) that had lost its cerata (fringe), and a brittle star with a central disk that was only half an inch in diameter but rays that were 8 inches long! Team members weren't sure why the nudibranch had lost its fringe so they sent a photo and question to Sea Slug Forum*, a website provided by the Australian Museum, asking if it might have been a response to the fresh water from the rain. The museum expert agreed that the rain might have indeed been the cause. It was truly a nude nudibranch!

The Coupeville Town Park Beach crew checked out their stretch of beach on Saturday, June 14th and the weather couldn't have been nicer. Two seals poked their heads out of the water to see what was going on as the profile line was being laid out. Highlights for the day included finding a ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis) with a mass of eggs, spotting a sand lance (one of the vitally important forage fish) on the beach, and opening up a gaper clam (Tresus capax) to find the pair of commensal crabs that live inside the shell. Team members were really amazed at the little commensal crabs. They're commonly called "pea crabs" and can be found in several species of bivalves and also in some sea cucumbers, tubeworms, and the burrows of ghost shrimp.

The Crescent Harbor team hit the beach May 31st. This beach is on the Seaplane Base and because of new security regulations, we had to obtain special permission from the Navy to monitor there. The team was made up almost entirely of new Beach Watchers from the class of 2003 and in spite of this being the first beach they had ever monitored, they did a terrific job. The team found Ligia pallasii, commonly called the sea slater or rock louse. This was an unusual find because this species tends to hide in crevices during the day and come out only at night to scavenge on seaweed. They also found green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis), and a huge polychaete worm that was 1 ½ feet long!

The Double Bluff Cirque Point team was out looking at their beach on July 28th. The team captain says that he really appreciated and enjoyed the excitement amongst team members as they spotted the different organisms. The team found the tubeworm Serpula vermicularis. This tubeworm is distinctive because it lives in a white calcareous tube. If you're lucky enough to find one in a tidepool with its plume extended, they're a gorgeous bright red. If you move however and let a shadow fall across the plume, it will instantly zip back into the tube. The team also saw the opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis) and found piddocks buried in clay with their siphons extended.

Double Bluff has a second monitoring site, that of Wahl Farm and it was monitored on July 29th. This is another wonderfully diverse beach and the team found a brittle star, the little white sea cucumber, Eupentacta, a collar-shaped moon snail egg case, and an opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis).

The Elger Bay team got together on June 13th. This is another great Camano beach. Looking across Saratoga Passage, Elger Bay is almost directly east of Greenbank. The beach is an interesting mix of rocky beach, eelgrass beds, and kelp beds. The team found more than 60 species including a large shaggy mouse nudibranch (Aeolidia papillosa), three species of sea stars (Evasterias -- the mottled sea star, Pisaster brevispinus -- the giant pink star, and Pycnopodia -- the sunflower star), and a large sculpin. As the team worked, they watched several eagles flying overhead and a deer wandered past. The day had started with several brief rain showers but the -3 foot tide certainly made putting up with the rain worthwhile. When the team returned to their vehicles at the end of the monitoring day, one fellow discovered a tire of his truck was almost completely covered by tent caterpillars. Kind-hearted team members brushed them off so they didn't get dizzy going around and around as he drove home!

English Boom Beach was monitored on Tuesday, June 3rd. This beach is at the northern tip of Camano Island and has a rocky substrate up high that soon evolves into very muddy sand. The team tried to overcome the problem of sinking in the mud by tying bucket lids to the bottoms of their feet that would act similar to snowshoes. Surprisingly, the "muck-o-lids" worked pretty well allowing team members to venture further out into the intertidal than they were able to go last year.

This is a very interesting beach with the most northern colony of purple martins in the state of Washington. The team was also able to see a harbor seal haul out with well over 100 seals visible sunning themselves. As for intertidal species, the team found Spartina, pickleweed (Salicornia sp.), and the unusual and tiny anemone, Haliplanella lineata commonly called the striped anemone. Beach Watchers have found Haliplanella at Rosario in the past but not at any other Island County beaches. It has an olive green column and orange or white stripes, and is thought to be an introduced species.

The Freeland Park West team was out monitoring on July 12th. The day started out quite overcast but the team captain assured them it would be sunny by 11 am and sure enough, it was! The team changed the arrangement of their quadrats this year because the previous arrangement had some of them located in mud with the consistency of quicksand and it was just about impossible to get a good look at them without sinking knee deep. Highlights for the team were finding ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis), the little ice cream cone worm (Pectinaria), and having two adult bald eagles perch in a tree just above where the team worked. The team saw another group out with quadrats further down the beach and wondered what they were doing. As it turns out, they were planting eelgrass around the Nichols Brothers boat launching area.

Footprint Rock was monitored July 31st. Their team captain says they didn't find anything unusual species-wise but the beach seemed much sandier than it had been last year. In fact, 5 of the 9 quadrats were 100% sand. Even the walk from the Hastie Lake beach access to the monitoring site was sandier so it was easier to walk on compared to the usual rock and cobble substrate.

A three-person team turned out for Harrington Lagoon on June 16. This beach is on the east side of Whidbey Island and is one of those beaches that looks like acres of mussels and barnacles. After rolling up their sleeves for a close look, the team found quite a number of interesting organisms, including Haliplanella lineata (the tiny anemone also seen at English Boom Beach), a pygmy rock crab (Cancer oregonensis), green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), and a barnacle eating nudibranch (Onchidoris bilamellata). The team watched as three parachutists bailed out of a Navy P-3 Orion flying overhead, and in addition, two deer strolled along the beach so it was quite a day!

The beach at Honeymoon Bay, which is about halfway up the west side of Holmes Harbor, got its yearly check up on June 13th. Al, the team leader describes the beach as being fairly steep, gravelly, and rocky for the first 150 feet then it flattens out at around the 0 foot tide line and becomes sandy. There is no eelgrass immediately along the profile line but they can see it out in deeper water. Al reports that the day of monitoring went fine. Last year the team found quite a lot of moon snails. This year they once again found moonsnails but not as many and there were also fewer clams.

The Iverson Beach team got together on July 1st for a look at that beach. Iverson Beach is located on northeastern Camano Island. After a short stretch of gravel to small boulder sized rocks, the substrate changes to sand. Weather for the day couldn't have been better. The team found tiny pink Macoma balthica clams, patches of Zostera japonica (the smaller of our eelgrass species-it only gets about 6 inches long), ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis), and the tiny fish that lives in the ghost shrimp tunnel, Clevelandia ios. One Beach Watcher spotted a purple ribbon worm (Paranemertes). When she picked it up, it began shooting out it proboscis. Team members were amazed that the proboscis was nearly half the length of the worm! After the monitoring was completed, the leader treated the team to a real feast. It was a great day!

The Langley Sea Wall team was out June 4th. This is a sandy beach where remnants of holes made by feeding gray whales can be still be seen. Of course, where gray whales feed, you would expect to find ghost shrimp and the team found quite a number of them. They also found the little nudibranch-like Melanochlamys diomedea. This is the little critter that lays the gel like egg cases that have been found on a number of other sandy beach habitats. One large Melanochlamys specimen the team found was over an inch long. Several smaller individuals of about ½ inch long were also seen. Another high point for the day was when a large number of flatworms were discovered on the bottom of a rock. The team had wonderful weather for their day of exploring.

Two beaches were monitored on August 12, the final day of the summer with tides below the -1.5 foot level. The veteran Ledgewood Beach team saw two lined chitons (Lineata Tonicella), a small shaggy mouse nudibranch (Aeolidia papillosa), and lots of sharpnose crabs (Scyra acutifrons). Sharpnose crabs are very nifty little critters. They're decorator crabs and usually attach seaweed or other "decoration" to their rostrum. The rostrum is a pointed projection off the anterior part of their carapace; they get their common name "sharpnose" from this feature. When not busy accessorizing its "nose", the sharpnose crab stays busy feeding on detritus and hiding from several species of fish that want to feed on it!

August 11 saw the Mabana Beach team checking out their beach. This team found a number of sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides), some of which appeared to be feeding on sand dollars. They also saw a giant pink sea star (Pisaster brevispinus) with a commensal scale worm, and they spotted a river otter as it humped along from the edge of the water up to the bluff. The team captain said that they hadn't seen river otters along the beach for quite some time and had been worried they had left the area so she was delighted to see it.

The Madrona Beach team headed for their beach on July 15. This is a rocky beach on the west side of Camano with a great diversity of species. One lucky BW found the most amazing critter of the day when she spotted Melibe leonina in a patch of eelgrass. Melibe leonina or the lion nudibranch, is a bizarre nudibranch that is almost transparent, has flat disc shaped cerata, and with a large hood at the head end. In other words, it's one of those things you have to see to believe. Unlike most nudibranchs, Melibe doesn't have a radula but instead uses its hood to catch amphipods with then swallows them whole. Unless someone spots the legendary sea monster Cadborosaurus, this will likely be the weirdest critter seen all summer! Three other species of nudibranchs were found; the shaggy mouse nudibranch (Aeolidia papillosa), the barnacle eating nudibranch (Onchidoris bilamellata), and the opalescent sea slug (Hermissenda crassicornis). They also saw green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), lots of flatworms, several scaleworms, and the invasive brown seaweed, Sargassum muticum.

The Maxwelton Beach team got together on June 14th. The team captain reports that the team was pleasantly surprised to find many more organisms this year. They noted increased numbers of acorn barnacles and mussels in the upper zones. They also saw more clam holes. Lower on the beach they noted lots of Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) including juveniles, molts, and some almost legal sized. The herons were feasting on plentiful small flatfish and the team spotted a geoduck siphon as it was extended then retracted back to safety.

The Maxwelton Tide Pool team had a great day of monitoring on July 16th. As they approached the monitoring site, they found a doe and fawn on the beach, practically at the start point for the profile line. Two teenage girls visiting the area from California accompanied the team. One was interested in marine biology so her grandmother had called to see if she and her friend could come along on a beach monitoring. The team found the red sea cucumber Cucumaria miniata on a boulder, moon snails (Polinices lewisii), and a ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis). It took the sharp eyes of the teenagers to spot the tiny red mite, Neomolgus. Everyone was so impressed by the size of one of the big moon snails that it became the guest of honor in the center of the team photo!

The North Hastie Lake team was rallied on Saturday May 17th for a great day of monitoring with the tide below the -3 foot level. This is a terrific rocky beach just north of Partridge Point on the west side of Whidbey Island. It was a chilly day with the skies looking like rain but luckily none fell. High points for the team included spotting tiny flatfish that were so perfectly camouflaged to look like the sand that they were virtually invisible when they stopped moving. The team also saw an unusual bright red six-legged sea star (Leptasterias sp.), four species of anemones (Anthopleura elegantissima, Anthopleura artemisia, Metridium senile, and Urticina coriacea), and three species of sponges (Halichondria, Haliclona, and Oplitaspongia). Several great blue herons made an appearance, as did a number of oystercatchers and a bald eagle.

The Onamac team took a look at their beach on June 17. (Onamac is Camano spelled backwards.) This is the only Island County beach where two profile lines are laid out and studied simultaneously so it requires enough monitors to split up into two teams. Both profile lines start at the same spot but diverge at about a 90-degree angle. One profile line is mostly cobble and gets a lot of wave action. The other goes out into mud and eelgrass. In addition to Beach Watchers, 4 people from the community helped out with the monitoring activities. The folks from the community seemed to have no idea how many organisms lived in the intertidal and appeared dumbfounded by the diversity they found. Among the organisms seen were a little eelgrass limpet (Lottia parallela) and numerous sand dollars (Dendraster exdentricus) . They also saw a pigeon guillemot.

Partridge Point is always a fascinating beach and the 9-person team that turned out to monitor there on June 29th found more than 80 species! Team members were impressed by sea lemons (Archidoris montereyensis), a blood star (Henricia leviuscula), a big purple sea star (Pisaster ochraceus), and a huge thatched barnacle (Semibalanus cariosus) more than 3 inches across. After finishing with the profile line and quadrats, the team took a look in the big tidepool on the other side of the boat ramp and where two veteran monitors pointed out rough piddocks (Zirfaea pilsbryi) with their siphons above the surface of the clay as they circulated water.

Five enthusiastic Beach Watchers enjoyed glorious weather as they examined the beach at Rolling Hills on July 29th. This beach is particularly interesting because it is located in Penn Cove less than a mile from where a small jet crashed into the cove one week prior to monitoring day. Reports were that there was a strong smell of jet fuel throughout the area after the crash. There did not appear to be a shortage of organisms however. Crabs, worms, sea stars, bivalves, and numerous other invertebrates were found. The team was surprised to find numerous moon snails (Polinices lewisii) and their egg collars. Moon snails had not been found at this site when monitored in past years. Finding a gaper clam with two small commensal crabs living within the mantle cavity was a new experience for most team members.

The South Lagoon Point team checked out their beach on Saturday, April 19. The team leader reports that the team had a good time with no glitches. She said they saw lots of pill bugs (Gnorimosphaeroma oregonense) and found gunnel eels under a couple of rocks. In spite of rather threatening looking skies, the only precipitation was a few sprinkles.

Eleven enthusiastic Beach Watchers turned up at Rosario Beach on July 2nd to check out the species on the bedrock. The monitors found a tiny red sea star that measured less than ¼ in. across, a much larger (over a foot across) peach colored Pisaster ochraceus, and a big gumboot chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri). Some members of the BW class of 2003 did double duty, helping with the quadrats and also educating park visitors about the species and beach etiquette. Rosario was a busy place that day. In addition to the beach being monitored, there was also a wedding held on the bluff above the beach!

The South Whidbey State Park team got together on May 19th. The team captain says they had nice weather and a wonderful time. The team saw large caprellid amphipods ("skeleton shrimp") and lots of tiny hermit crabs in topsnail (Calliostoma ligatum) shells.

Sunlight Beach, on the south side of Useless Bay, is sandy with eelgrass. It was also monitored July 12th and these monitors had quite a day! Some folks on the beach were digging for geoducks with a clam gun and the team joined the efforts. One monitor went headfirst into the hole to catch hold of one of the wily critters and eventually helped to land two of them. The team found large areas of Zostera japonica, the smaller of our two eelgrass species which been found there only in small patches previously. They also found sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus), which had not been seen for several years. There was a real variety of worms including flatworms, Nemerteans, and bamboo worms. This is the longest beach monitored. The profile line is in 50-foot sections and quadrats are not done.

The Sunny Shores team got together on July 15. This beach, located on the east side of Camano Island, is another beach with rocks higher up then a broad expanse of muddy sand. The team found a variety of polychaete worms, a ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis), and a rather unusual snail, Nassarius sp., commonly called a basket whelk. As the team finished up they spotted an adult bald eagle on the beach feeding on something. Although they could not get close enough to see what the bird was eating, it was obviously upsetting the crows, as there was a large number of them dive bombing the eagle as it ate.

The Trails End/Pratt's Bluff team was assembled on June 30th. The team found "tens of thousands" of Hemigrapsus shore crabs in a real variety of colors. Not only did they see the crabs, but the wrack along the high tide line was full of their molts. The team discovered purple encrusting sponge (Haliclona sp.) and green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) for the first time at this beach. They also spotted an eelgrass limpet (Lottia parallela). One new monitor was excited by everything she found on the beach and another team member was fascinated by the clam siphons. She noted that she's lived here all her life and had never dug clams before so the bivalve dig turned into a real adventure for her.

Camano Island also fielded a team for the last day of monitoring season (August 28th). That team worked at Utsalady Beach, at the north end of Camano. The team found several ice cream cone worms (Pectinaria), two species of barnacles-the acorn barnacle (Balanus glandula) and the smooth white barnacle (Balanus crenatus), and the tiny red velvet mite (Neomolgus littoralis).

West Sunset Beach was monitored on June 15. This west Whidbey beach has a large erratic about 100 feet from the bluff with sand and cobble around it. Lower down is almost pure sand and then peat. The team captain says that with the very low tide this year, they saw a lot more peat and it was loaded with piddocks (Zirfaea pilsbryi). The erratic has always had mussels on it but this year, they were several layers thick. They also found a bunch of tubeworms and Nucella snail eggs on the erratic.

- Mary Jo Adams