Tag Archives: Sea Anemone

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Roxanne Holmes wrote, “This Sea Star is alive and seems to be doing okay despite missing a couple of ‘legs,’ or whatever they’re called. I check on it every low tide, and it changes position but continues to do well. Do Sea Stars thrive without all their limbs? What destroys or severs their limbs? Will the limbs grow back?”

Bob Van Syoc to the rescue. He looked at Roxanne’s photo and wrote, “Yes!  Sea Stars can regenerate new arms as long as the center disc is intact.  Some can lose all but one arm and survive to regrow the other four arms.  In this state they are called ‘comets’ because of the smaller arms forming the star and the larger arm the ‘tail’ of the comet.  Arms may be lost by injury (crushed by a rock) or by predators attacking them, though our Stars have few predators.”

Here's a photo Roxanne took of a happier sight - two Ochre Stars (yes, they come in different colors!), a Bat Star, Sea Anemone, and several Purple Urchins and more. A kaleidoscope of colors!

Thanks to Roxanne for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Cool, breezy with dark clouds now and then. More weather headed our way in a couple of days.

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Dash gets around and he loves noticing Nature. At the recent minus tides, Dash pointed out this Abalone which had been left high and kind-of-dry during the low tide event.

The Abalone looked healthy. It was waiting for the tide to return and perhaps bring some kelp for it to eat. I see another Abalone in this photo, under the reddish kelp in the upper right corner.

In the next photo, there is a lot going on! Chris photographed an Abalone with a Crab possibly trying to attack it. A big Ocher Star, Mussels, Purple Urchins, Turban Snails, and a Sea Anemone. Looks like a party, an intertidal party!

And here's a bonus photo of Dash, enjoying the Douglas Iris blooming at Gualala Point Regional Park. This time he was with his dad, John Wall.

Thanks to Chris and John for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We had rain yesterday late afternoon. 0.15 inches in our rain gauge, 49.70 inches season to date. 50 inches is our average so this is good news for those of us on wells.  Today is sunny but there is a very strong breeze. There is no reason to brush your hair if you are outside today on the windy Mendonoma Coast!

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Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich headed out to a tide pool with a UV flashlight at sunset during a recent low tide. They found a group of Sea Anemones shining with light. Karen wrote, “Things got weird on the edge of the Pacific last night! Scientists have found that the protein that helps Anemones light up also acts as a natural sunscreen. This protein allows Sea Anemones to protect their symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae, living in their tissues from harmful UV rays. The fluorescence we see may be a by-product of their natural sunscreen.”

I wondered if Karen and Mike had photographed bioluminescence but Bob Van Syoc wrote, “I’d call this fluorescence, which is a form of luminescence. The Anthopleura Anemones in Karen’s and Mike’s photos have absorbed light from their flashlight and are emitting a longer, lower energy wavelength of light that makes them ‘glow.’”

Aren't they beautiful? Thanks to Karen and Mike for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

The fog rolled in, as it is wont to do, and cooled things off quite a bit.

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Michelle Rossich was celebrating her birthday by taking a walk on the Lands. This beautiful Great Blue Heron took flight quite close to her, a real gift.

Michelle found more gifts in the tide pools. First a beautiful Sea Anemone.

And a healthy Ochre Sea Star.

Birthday gifts courtesy of Mother Nature!

Thanks to Michelle for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Sunny, breezy, so-not-winter, here today. Perhaps some rain by the weekend...we hope!

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Grace O'Malley went out during a recent low tide. She found a Giant Green Sea Anemone and Turban Snails.

Sea Anemones are named for the flower anemone.  Sea Anemones are relatives of Coral and Jellyfish. They wait for a fish to come close enough to it tentacles, which contain venom.

Turban Snails are found in the intertidal zone. Their empty shells are often used by Hermit Crabs.

Thanks to Grace for allowing me to share her photo with you here.