Northwest Dive Club

Tom Nic wrote:Great shots! I love the wide angle, the Whitespotted really pops and the clouds of perch add so much to the pictures!

Agreed, very cool shots!

I finally had time to sit down and read all the material in the last dozen or so posts . . . I learn so darned much from this incredible resource you have created, Jan! Not to mention the enjoyment of the sheer artistry of posts like the ones with the old illustrations in them. NEVER stop adding to this!

In the past, I have seen Whitespotted greenling guarding egg nests, but this time
I was lucky to be there when the female actually laid the eggs. From the moment
I arrived at the site I knew something was going on. The clusters of eggs of different colors
I photographed on my previous visit three weeks ago were gone ( hopefully hatched) and the
guardian male was displaying markings I never seen before. It was a BLACKSPOTTED greenling
Then I saw another, larger greenling on the other side of the rusty hardware and it was obvious
that it is a female. I settled on the sandy bottom and waited. And I was rewarded with the view
of the whole ritual. Unfortunately, the male shielded her from my view at the moment when
she deposited her eggs, so no pictures. I didn't want to be too intrusive, so I kept my distance.
Soon after she laid eggs, the male started to bite her and finally chased her away...
But the hordes of Striped perch kept on harassing the nest side and although the male kept chasing
them away, he did not manage to save the eggs. When I visited the site the following day,
all the eggs were gone. :(

Absolutely fascinating that the male changes color that fast! I have seen painted greenling males in their breeding plumage, which is striking, but I never knew how fast they change to those colors, or how long they would maintain them. At least the whitespotted greenling doesn't keep his colors long, it appears.

LCF wrote:Absolutely fascinating that the male changes color that fast! I have seen painted greenling males in their breeding plumage, which is striking, but I never knew how fast they change to those colors, or how long they would maintain them. At least the whitespotted greenling doesn't keep his colors long, it appears.

Yes, I observed the mating colors of Painted ans Kelp greenlings before, but I was never able to judge how long it takes
Thanks to the EXIF data on digital camera, it is possible to keep track of time much easier.

Chemical warfare the slug style...

I got invited by the Marker Buoy Dive Club to join them for a night dive
at Keystone. After the wind storm two days prior, which did lot of damage
to the South Whidbey, the conditions at Saturday night were just perfect.
Although some of the logs and driftwood was still floating around, the seas
were flat and the current nonexistent. And stars above. And after dive -
great hot turkey soup.
While underwater it was little bit silty, critters usually hiding came out.
I almost never see Sailfin sculpin during the day, they were all over the place
at night. From the very shallows to the deep portion of the jetty...

It has been a while since I visited the muck world on Lagoon Point canal.
Some slugs and one fish. 70 minute in cold water, maximum depth 12 feet. Still decompressing

From the lives of anemones:

Sounds like a few individuals and marriages I know!

And here how the neighboring anemones do it


behind the closed doors ...

Hi Jan,

Gorgeous images as always!

Here is a minor (=obscure) point that might interest you - I think that the anemones pictured are actually Epiactis lisbethae according to this 1986 paper by Fautin & Chia:
https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream ... sAllowed=y

Check it out and see if you agree (the discussion section toward the end of the paper describes some of the visible differences between E. prolifera & E. lisbethae).

Taxonomically yours,
Alex

P.S. The sign on the park gate seems to say "We're not allowing this gate to be used - so don't block it" ironic

Thank you Alex for bringing it to my attention, I had no idea...
I will dig into my files of photos and see if I can make some sense out of them.
Meanwhile I will leave my old posts alone and concentrate on upcoming holidays
Merry Christmas !

Winter diving . The ever-changing winds and weather conditions affect the decision WHERE TO DIVE ?
One of the calmer, all weather localities :

Another locked gate because of winter.
Road down to the beach covered with broken tree branches ...
Winter Solstice celebration dive

Hauling your gear those long distances is keeping you young.
-Curt

No Lingcod and their egg masses this year.
Plenty of Red Irish Lords. They are now laying their eggs on the clay ledges.

Christmas Eve dive with Maya, not a bad way to build appetite ...

Did not find single star wasting away, so that is a good sign. But not many signs of recruits,
unless they grow somewhere else around here, out of sight ...
There are surviving adults here and there.
But plenty of Green sea urchins.

Last dive of 2014 :


and first dive of 2015 :


HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Striped Nudibranchs - out of muck and out having fun

Few more Armina shots, these are feeding on Orange Sea Pens ...

The Green sea urchins can't be ignored anymore at Keystone.
They are spreading fast. I found only one juvenile Sunflower star.
Not enough to keep urchins in check ...
ScubaJess inspecting the battlefield

Jan K wrote:Not enough to keep urchins in check ...

Perhaps some urchin crunching wolfies will help? I've seen more than usual this Fall.