Minus Tide Rocks!

Lots of fascinating life out in the lower intertidal zone visible the last couple of days during the very low tides (-3.5 or more) over the last couple of days. I was able to go out with a group from my Naturalist course on Sunday at Constellation Park at Alki, and had so much fun I popped down to Golden Gardens this morning as well.

Constellation is clearly the best "bang for buck" tidal exploring due to a long rock jetty that protrudes well into the water even at very low tide, allowing for several different species to find hidden-holes and rocky areas on which to hold. I found several Lined Chitons early on, which then people were teasing me about, as I was always the one to spot them. We found the beautiful blue undershell of a deceased Mossy Chiton, something I've never seen. I also lucked into finding a Horned Nudibranch turning over a Moon Snail Egg Case - luckily Renee was right there to help me ID the nudie and share it around. I came home with a lot of questions about different types of seaweed and a strong wish to get more educated about the animals and algae that live in our intertidal zone.

I was intrigued that we found relatively few Orange Sea Cucumbers at Constellation, but lots of chiton. Whereas at Golden Gardens we found an absolute plethora of Cukes but very few chiton. Trying to consider what the differences might be. The Constellation beach faces south and there were several rocks all together in the breakwater. At GG the rocks are quite scattered and the beach faces north. I'd love to know what kinds of conditions favor each species.

Posted on July 3, 2023 07:53 PM by jenstr