CODAR installation for Race Rocks

Juan de Fuca _CODAR_backgrounder

Today Guy drove me out to Race Rocks with Kevin Bartlett, Marine Equipment, Specialist with Ocean Networks Canada. They had installed equipment earlier in the year but had ro change the frequency of broadcasting before it is operational. Kevin was making repairs, one being fixing the conduit at the base of the tower which had been disturbed by sealions. When this equipment is fully operational it will give acurate current vectors for the eastern entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

 

 

Sample from a similar station now  in operation:

 see animation here

 

 

 

It was has been noticeable this year that instead of hauling out on the neighbouring islets of the Race Rocks Archipelago, the sealions are hauled out entirely on the main island of Great Race Rock. They have heavily impacted the vegetated areas .

Artificial Tidepool #13 peg #5

The rockwork done to seal the southern entrance

This artificial pool was made under permit from BC Parks by Mike Slater and Garry Fletcher in June, 1999. It is part of a long range succession study.
See also below for “AFTER the HURRICANE”

AFTER THE HURRICANE OF DECEMBER 15, 2006  (newspaper item)

Tidepool Index:

These pools are located 0n the West side of Great Race Rocks. They are located at slightly different elevations resulting in different abiotic factors in the pools and different life forms in the pools as well. Our students brave the elements to get some measurements in this video

Pool 9.. file not completed

Tidepool 11: No File for this pool

Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss and Hydroid Research at Race Rocks

anitaDr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss  passed away in December of 2017.

From 1986, to 2005,  Dr. Brinckmann-Voss of Sooke, BC assisted the students and faculty of Lester Pearson College with her understanding of marine invertebrate ecology and her expertise in the taxonomy of hydroids.  These small colonial animals, the alternate stage of the life-cycle of jellyfish, occur in rich profusion underwater at the Race Rocks Marine Ecological Reserve.  When the original species list was done for the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Proposal, in 1979, only 2 hydroids had been included on our species list. Now over 60 species have been identified by Anita and she continued to assist students with research projects while she furthered her research on specimens from the island until 2004. Anita has established long term research plots in a tidepool at the reserve and documents the distribution of hydroids underwater with the assistance of students and faculty in the Diving program at Lester B. Pearson College. Below: Anita accompanied Garry, Chris and Joe on a dive to Secretary Island, West of Race Rocks up the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards Sooke. The purpose was to collect samples for hydroid specimens.  

anitaandsvobodaDr. Armin Svoboda and his son Hanno visited Race Rocks with Chris Blondeau and Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss in August of 2004. His pictures taken on a dive there are linked here.

 

 

 See this link for the hydroids identified by Anita. https://www.racerocks.ca/tag/hydroid/ 

See all the posts on this website tagged with Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss

bellatitle-1Gallery of photomicrographs of Hydroids- photos by Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss

tubulariaVideo on the habitat of a rare Tubularia

 

 

 

 

 

westshorePhotos of  Intertidal Hydroid Habitat on West side of Race Rocks .

 

 

 

 

PUBLICATIONS of Dr. Voss from her Research at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve :

 1. Brinckmann-Voss, A. , Lickey, D.M. , and Mills, C.E. 1993 Rhysia fletcheri (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Rhysiidae), a new species of Colonial Hydroid from Vancouver Island British Columbia, Canada) and the San Juan Archipelago (Washington, USA) . Canadian Journal of Zoology 71: 401-406

Abstract: 

  • A new species of colonial athecate hydroid, Rhysia fletcheri , is described from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and from Friday Harbour, Washington, U.S.A. It’s relationship to Rhysia autumnalis Brinckmann from the Mediterranean and Rhysia halecii (Hickson and Gravely) from the Antarctic and Japan is discussed. Rhysia fletcheri differs from Rhysia autumnalis and Rhysia halecii in the gastrozooid having distinctive cnidocyst clusters on its hypostome and few, thick tentacles.
  • hydrfemeMost of its female gonozooids have no tentacles. Colonies of R. fletcheri are without dactylozooids. The majority of R. fletcheri colonies are found growing on large barnacles or among the hydrorhiza of large thecate hydrozoans. 
  • Rhysia fletcheri occurs in relatively sheltered waters of the San Juan Islands and on the exposed coast of Southern Vancouver Island. Colored photos of Rhysia males. females and gastrozooids are included.

 2. Brinckmann-Voss, A. 1996. Seasonality of Hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) from an intertidal pool and adjacent subtidal habitats at Race Rocks, off Vancouver Island,Canada, Scientia Marina Advances in Hydrozoan Biology , Vol 60 (1):89-97

Abstract:

  • An assemblage of 27 hydroid species was reported from a tide pool in the lower rocky intertidal zone, and compared with 42 hydroids of the adjacent subtidal region. Location of hydroids within the pool, seasonal occurrence, growth and sexual maturity were tabulated, and some systematic aspects discussed. Possible causes of hydroid species diversity were considered, including location of the tide pool in an area of tidal rapids, and shading by surf-grass and rock cliffs during low tide.

Pyramimonas sp. The Race Rocks Taxonomy

pyrampool

On the east side of the island is the largest pool with Pyramimonas.

Pyramimonas is a green micro-algae, that is a type of phytoplankton.

Phytoplankton refers to the autotrophic component of the plankton that drifts in the water column.

pyram2

Samples taken from the green water in the upper tidepools

greenalgae

Here it is photographed at 400X under the microscope.

Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye. However, when present in high numbers, their presence may appear as discoloration of the water (the color of which may vary with the phytoplankton present). This is certainly the case in the high intertidal tide pools at Race Rocks

In the high intertidal areas of Race Rocks, there are tidepools with wide fluctuations of abiotic factors. The organisms inhabiting these pools are well adapted to these extremes. Garry talks to a biology class about some of the variables influencing these high tide pools, and the flagellated green algae living within them.

The intense green color of the pools, swirly coloration of the water and a frothy covering early in the day indicate high photosynthetic capability. These plankton have an interesting response to changing salinity referred to in the video above.

Phytoplankton, like other plants, obtain energy through photosynthesis, and so must live in the well-lit surface layer (termed the euphotic zone) of an ocean, sea, or lake. Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton (and terrestrial plants) are responsible for much of the oxygen present in the Earth’s atmosphere.

pyramdiagPhytoplankton is consumed by microscopic animals called zooplankton (these are the second level in the food chain).
Zooplankton is consumed by Crustaceans (the third level in the food chain).
Fish that eat crustaceans could constitute the fourth trophic level, while seals consuming the fishes are the fifth.
A major reference work on this species may be found at :http://megasun.bch.umontreal.ca/protists/pyram/appearance.html

Domain:  Eukarya
Kingdom:  Protoctista
Division:  Chlorophyta
Class:  Prasinophyceae
Order:  Pyramimonadales
Family:  Pyramimomonadacea

Genus Pyramidomonas or Pyramimonas
Species unspecified

Photos below by Garry FLetcher of Laura Verhegge’s class.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Oct.2005Astrid Raquel Argueta PC yr 31

 

Tidepool # 6 “Anita’s Pool”

On the West side of Great Race Rocks is a tidepool that we have been observing for many years. Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss has done research on the seasonality of hydroids in this pool and it is published as:

 Brinckmann-Voss, A. 1996. Seasonality of Hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) from an intertidal pool and adjacent subtidal habitats at Race Rocks, off Vancouver Island,Canada,
Scientia Marina Advances in Hydrozoan
Biology , Vol 60 (1):89-97

anitapool

Dr. Anita Brinckmann-Voss doing research on seasonality of Hydroids in Tidepool #6

Abstract:

An assemblage of 27 hydroid species was reported from a tide pool in the lower rocky intertidal zone, and compared with 42 hydroids of the adjacent subtidal region. Location of hydroids within the pool, seasonal occurence, growth and sexual maturity were tabulated, and some systematic aspects discussed. Possible causes of hydroid species diversity were considered, including location of the tide pool in an area of tidal rapids, and shading by surfgrass and rock cliffs during low tide

tpgf

 

 

The unique feature about this pool is that it is deep enough – ( 1 meter) and it gets swells that refresh it even when the tide level is low. Garry is standing on the lip of the pool as the water from a swell spills out and cascades down to the lower level of the ocean.

 

 

Tidepool 6 at low tide

Tidepool 6 at low tide

Tidepool 6 at high tide

Tidepool 6 at high tide

TIDEPOOL6See this video on Tdepool 6 at High Tide:

see this link for other hydroids:  https://www.racerocks.ca/tag/hydroid/

Tidepool # 12 at Race Rocks

This pool is above the highest tidal level. It only gets replenished with sea water during a storm event with a high west wind and a relatively high tide.

Images Garry Fletcher

Some ideas to consider:
 Go to the Environmental Data page and using the data from the weather pages there, predict when such events may occur.

Variables Affecting Tidepools at Race Rocks

n the high intertidal areas of Race Rocks, there are tidepools with wide fluctuations of abiotic factors. The organisms inhabiting these pools are well adapted to these extremes. Garry talks to a biology class about some of the variables influencing these high tide pools, and the flagellated green algae living within them.

Tidepool # 7 at Race Rocks

In May 2004, the biology class measures the abiotic factors in Pool 7.

Jen with the salinity probe.

 

The most striking feature about this tidepool is that since it is at such a high level on the intertidal, in the heat of summer, there is evaporation which concentrates the salinity into a saturated solution even beyond the range of measurement on the salinometer. Even in that high concentration as can be seen in the following picture, a green algae lives among the salt crystals

 

Salt Crystals with algal growth form in Pool7 in the summer

 

Some ideas to consider:

Tidepools 7and 8 are situated very close together, differing only in a few centimeters in elevation. The salinity and temperatures of the pools may vary however. It might be worthwhile to document these variations and propose some explanations for the variation.