We’re not sure how it arrived in the Floating lab, but several students have observed a beautiful nudibranch called the opalescent sea slug (Hermissenda crassicornis) crawling around in our seawater table.
Thanks to Maya and Zoli for the photos!
Oops, the sea slug that laid this egg mass / egg ribbon seems to have made a mistake by laying it too high on the piling. I took the photo above on 5 May and two days later (see photo below) the egg mass is quite dried out – deadly desiccation! – but somehow still managing to hang on.
During a short excursion to the Director’s intertidal zone on Monday 23 March 2015, D block marine scientists discovered the eggs of several species. Above are the egg masses and adults (including one unusually pale example) of the barnacle-eating sea slug (Onchidoris bilamellata).
Also some very green fish eggs laid in an intertidal crevice (above).
And some dog whelk (Nucella ostrina) egg capsules.
Thanks to Alana for the photos!
While trying to find a small predatory sea star, Ailey, Bader & I found this beautiful blue sea slug (Dirona albolineata) on a net hanging off the Pearson College dock. I have never seen a blue one before – anyone else??
The blueness shows up best in the photo below where the nudibranch is in a small tub with juvenile pipefish, two shrimp (one shrimp was also very blue) and a clown nudibranch (Triopha catalinae) which we also found on the dock.
I’d love to hear any ideas about why it might be blue…
Pearson College Marine Science 