Whidbey Island Critters

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

It was a very interesting week at Penn Cove, Whidbey Island.
It is still a mystery what caused the one week long massive stress event which affected many of the critters inhabiting the muck there. Many of the affected species don't come up into the world above sand and show only parts of they bodies if they do. It all started on Thursday September 18th when I finished my weekly survey of the Sea Star Wasting Syndrome which almost wiped out the zillions of Mottled stars which used to live under the wharf. With lots of air left, I decided to explore new territory.
At one spot I found some Burrowing Brittle stars which normally show only their arms, waving them above the sand. Here there were out in open. And as I continued swimming, more and more of them appeared. Also found Red Sea Cucumbers in very bad shape. Something was wrong. And so started my obsession with Penn Cove, making daily visits and contacting scientists, looking for answers. It is still work in progress, even if the marine life there returned to normal, most of the affected critters disappeared under the muck, except the cucumbers...
My first blush was that it was caused by Oxygen depletion, caused maybe by the great die-off of the sea stars which left the area under the wharf covered with white microbial mat, combined with the hot weather we had and rather poor circulation of the water in the cove. Especially after the stormy weather we later experienced coincided with the end of the stress event. At the peak of the crises, there was a white layer of water on top of the affected area where the visibility was less then three feet. It was not possible to even estimate the area of the problem area, that would require a boat and much more effort. Plus I didn't even know what I am dealing with. Nearby Mussel farm did not issue any warning about pollution.
Here are few samples of what I found there...
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To be continued ...
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enchantmentdivi
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by enchantmentdivi »

OH no...this is not good. I hope it was just an isolated event in an isolated location and doesn't spread. :(
Jenn
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

enchantmentdivi wrote:OH no...this is not good. I hope it was just an isolated event in an isolated location and doesn't spread. :(
It does look like it was just that - isolated event.
But sadly spectacular one .
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Tidepool Geek »

Hi Jan,

That's a nasty looking event! It does suggest a few questions:

1. Did you see signs of distress in any animals that don't live in the sediment (fish, crabs, etc.)?
2. In the aftermath did you see any indication that the storm you mentioned had disturbed the sediment?
3. Also in the aftermath; have the distressed animals reburied themselves or are there corpses lying around?
4. Did you send your observations to Ron Shimek? He's something of a specialist in unconsolidated sediment (sand & mud) habitats.

Good to hear that the event seems to have passed!

Sedimentally yours,
Alex
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Tidepool Geek wrote:Hi Jan,
That's a nasty looking event! It does suggest a few questions:
1. Did you see signs of distress in any animals that don't live in the sediment (fish, crabs, etc.)?
2. In the aftermath did you see any indication that the storm you mentioned had disturbed the sediment?
3. Also in the aftermath; have the distressed animals reburied themselves or are there corpses lying around?
4. Did you send your observations to Ron Shimek? He's something of a specialist in unconsolidated sediment (sand & mud) habitats.
Sedimentally yours,
Alex
Alex, all good questions.

1. No fish sighted, it is rather barren sandy/mud plain - Cancer gracilis doing OK, Serpula columbiana worms also look healthy. so did the few slugs I found.
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2. The winds were not big enough for that, maybe mix the water but not the bottom. I don't know.
3. Yes, Clams and most of the brittle stars seem to be back in hiding, as did all the worms, unless something ate them all up. Again, I don't know for sure, all I can tell, is that the abundance of species I never seen before were all gone on my last visit there.
4. And yes, I keep Ron informed at all times, since he sure knows more about all this then I ever will. Great guy.
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

More from the muck underworld.
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LCF
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by LCF »

Jan, don't ever stop posting! I learn SO much from your pages!
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Thank you Lynne,
I continue posting critters which the mystery event at Penn Cove brought up from the unseen world of muck,
probably not something most divers care for. Worms don't possess the cute factor of fish and crabs, but
since I have hard time to add new species of those, here are the inhabitants of MUCK :eek:
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by dwashbur »

I can't speak for anybody else, but I find all the critters in our home waters fascinating, and I hop on here every morning eagerly hoping to learn something new from you. So please, whether crabs, fish, worms, mites, pet rocks released into the wild, whatever, keep them coming!
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Be warned, more creepy critters are coming :)
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oldsalt
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by oldsalt »

Jan: The photo of the brittle stars brings to mind the prints of Gustave Dore that you featured before, or even a drawing by Escher. To quote Spock, "Fascinating."
-Curt :rawlings:
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

I sure hope this doesn't spread to other echinoderms ...
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Last Thursday I made a dive at Deception Pass and found couple of Red Sea Cucumbers showing
signs of some kind of disease. I am not saying it is the same malaise which hit the sea stars, but
so far I did not see anything like this before. Also it was strange that 99 % of the cucumbers there were not
feeding at all. Worrisome ...
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Cockles did not like what was happening
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by oldsalt »

Jan: You have done an amazing job documenting this event. Is anyone taking measurements (O2, pollutants, temperature)?
-Curt
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

oldsalt wrote:Jan: You have done an amazing job documenting this event. Is anyone taking measurements (O2, pollutants, temperature)?
-Curt
Thank you Curt,
I did find some data on internet taken at the nearby commercial mussel farm, I am still hoping that somebody
will give me some idea what happened. I have to admit, it is above my pay grade ...
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

still adding new critters to my list :)
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Tom Nic
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Tom Nic »

Wow. Really disturbing.
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Little break from all these distressed critters ...
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Looking for pants :)
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Painted greenling babies :)
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by YellowEye »

Awesome!
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