Decorator Crab
Photo credit: Amelia Kalagher, MRC staff
How do decorator crabs fasten material to decorate themselves?
The decorator crab's carapace, or shell, is covered with tiny bristles called "setae" which function just like the hooks on a piece of velcro! The crab collects small items, even including other organisms, from its environment and fastens them to these setae to camouflage itself.
Abalone
Photo credit: Josh Bouma, Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Pinto Abalone are broadcast spawners. What is the downside of this trait?
Broadcast spawning means that they release sperm and eggs into the water column where fertilization occurs. When the density of adult spawners is too low, their ability to fertilize and successfully reproduce is hindered by relatively short egg and sperm viability.
Toxins
Photo credit: Brian Bill, NOAA
What is the connection between these cuties and beaches closed for shellfish harvesting?
The Alexandrium phytoplankton on the coaster produce a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). When water samples exhibit a certain level of this toxin, the shellfish in that area will have toxic levels in their flesh and the state Dept of Health will close nearby beaches to the harvesting of shellfish because eating the shellfish, which eat the phytoplankton, can make people sick. The toxin cannot be eliminated by heat or freezing or cooking the shellfish.
Alexandrium are only one type of phytoplankton, though, and there are many others. Some other harmful phytoplankton cause “Red Tide” which can be a precursor to PSP conditions.
While some phytoplankton are toxic, they are also very important in the production of oxygen and absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When they die their tiny bodies stay sequestered in the depths of the ocean. This makes them “carbon sinks” and important for the global climate change crisis.
Beaches and Dogs
Photo credit: John Gussman
Feces from dogs can contain disease causing organisms and viruses that can make people and pets sick. Children are especially at risk because they play in the sand. Fecal material can also be accidentally swallowed while swimming in the water or eating shellfish that has been contaminated by dog waste left on the beach. The MRC is also concerned about dog waste – and human waste – contaminating the water at this popular beach. Our volunteers monitor beach use and support dog waste bags and a Sanikan at the beach.
What animal lays its tiny eggs in beach sand?
Fish! Herring and sand lance, for example, lay eggs in the sand during high tide. These species are known as “Forage Fish” because they are important prey for larger fish, including salmon.
Dungeness Bay
Photo credit: John Gussman
How might ongoing sea level rise negatively impact marine habitat?
Bluffs as well as shallow shorelines are more susceptible to erosion from sea level rise as well as climate change-induced storm surge.
Water quality can be disrupted by algae and plankton blooms – but also by bacteria from human activities on land.
Rising marine waters influence the underground water table as well, which is increasingly at risk of contamination from septic systems.
Olympia Oyster
Photo by Rebecca Mahan
How can you tell the difference between native Olympia oysters and introduced Pacific oysters?
Olympia oysters grow only to about 3 inches (5 cm) but Pacific oysters grow up to 10 inches. Gold Rush miners could eat two dozen at a time because they are so small.
Olympia oysters are filter feeders, with individuals capable of filtering eight to 12 gallons of water per day.
Overharvesting, pollution, and habitat degradation brought Olympia Oysters to near extinction many decades ago but the Clallam MRC is helping restore them now.
Our Olympia Oyster Restoration webpage is here
To learn more see these websites:
https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/ostrea-lurida#conservation
https://www.nwstraits.org/our-work/olympia-oyster-restoration/
https://wsg.washington.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Reestablishing-Olympia-Oyster.pdf
Kelp
Bull kelp photo by Jack Drafahl (Pixabay)
Kelp (sometimes called “seaweed”) use photosynthesis to make oxygen and store carbon underwater like trees do on land! Bull Kelp forests grow tall each spring and die off each winter, playing a key role in the ecosystem supporting many other marine species.
>> How do sea otters help protect Kelp forests?
By preying on sea urchins, which are voracious kelp grazers. Sea otters are a "keystone" species in keeping coastal kelp forests healthy.
Kelp isn’t a plant but is actually a type of brown algae or seaweed.
Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) can grow to be over 100 feet tall, sometimes reaching 165 feet from the sea floor. Kelp forests provide shelter to juvenile rockfish (some of which are rare) and sometimes herring spawn there. Both rockfish and herring are "keystone" species for the marine food web.
Clallam MRC’s Bull Kelp Monitoring webpage is here
To learn more see
“Exploring Puget Sound’s Kelp Forests” story map by the Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Seattle Aquarium’s video “The Kelp Highway”
Clallam MRC’s “All Things Kelp” webinar
Dungeness Crab
Photo by Kenny Clarkson
Amazingly enough, Dungeness Crab can be found at depths up to 750 feet! They are very resilient and can even re-generate lost appendages – but recent invasions of European Green Crabs pose a threat!
>> How do you prevent a lost crab pot from “fishing” and killing crabs?
Use a biodegradable “rot cord” to lock the crab pot door. It will dissolve if you lose your pot.
(Also use a weighted line to sink below the surface and avoid being cut by passing boats.)
Crab can regenerate lost appendages, but it takes about 4 years for a male Dungeness Crab to reach harvest size (the shell or “carapace” must be 6 ¼ inches wide).
Some Clallam MRC partner organizations are involved in monitoring the invasive European Green Crab and in removing “derelict fishing gear”. In 2019 alone, 397 lost crab pots were extracted from the bottom of Dungeness Bay!
Check out the “Catch More Crab” webpage – for which Clallam MRC is a partner
Also see the state WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife website: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/basics/crab
Pigeon Guillemot
Photo Credit: Ken & Mary Campbell
Pigeon Guillemots dive to depths greater than 148 feet (45 meters) and use their wings to "fly" underwater! Their populations are monitored because they are an indicator species for broader ecosystem health.
>> What color are Pigeon Guillemot's feet?
Red!
Check out Clallam MRC's Pigeon Guillemot project page.
To learn more about Pigeon Guillemot research in the Salish Sea, check out the Salish Sea Guillemot Network.
Sea Otter
Photo Credit: Ken & Mary Campbell
Sea Otters have the densest fur of any mammal: approximately 1 million hairs per square inch! In comparison, an entire human head only has approximately 100,000 hairs.
>> How can you tell a Sea Otter from a River Otter?
Sea Otters float on their backs while River Otters do not. Sea Otters have short and flattened tails while River Otter’s tails are long and pointy.
Find out about Sea Otter and Kelp forest research in the Straits of Juan de Fuca.
See Clallam MRC's Kelp bed monitoring project here.
Orca
Photo Credit: Ken & Mary Campbell
Orcas are found in all oceans of the world. However, most of those seen in the U.S. Salish Sea are "southern residents" which live in three pods: the J, K & L pods.
>> Orcas aren’t actually whales. Do you know what they are?
Orcas are actually dolphins!
Learn more about Orcas in the Salish Sea here.
Orcas and other wildlife get caught in derelict (lost) fishing gear. Learn how Clallam MRC is assisting in its removal.