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Surfperch Summit
Last fall, Karen Crow (second from right) contacted Luis Rocha (right), Giacomo Bernardi (middle), me, and Mike Westphal (left) about joining her ichthyology class for some trawls in Monterey Bay...
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Mermaid’s Purse
Mermaid’s purse – ventral view Winters storms wash mermaid’s purses onto the sandy beaches. I found this one in the fresh wrack on the morning of March 9th. The only dog on the beach beat me to it and...
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And the King of the Surf is…
…the redtail surfperch, Amphistichus rhodoterus. Redtail Surfperch Redtails rule theoutershores beaches. See Let’s Check Out Another Surfperch for an introduction to the redtail surfperch. They’re...
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Redtail Rush
When I visit theoutershores I’m usually working on a project. Over the last few years I’ve been characterizing the community of surf fishes (see And the King of the Surf is…) and exploring color...
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Shows
On September 26, 2012 I posted this photo on theoutershores’ facebook page along with the message, “The early morning search for the purple olive, Olivella biplicata, begins here.” I took the photo on...
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Estimating Flying Ant Day
If you follow TOS at all, you know I’m always checking out the wrack line. First thing I noticed May 8 was the unusual composition of the wrack; kind of a wrack line mystery. The fresh wrack was...
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In the Mirror
These shorebirds are feeding “in the mirror.” The mirror is the reflective sheen left on beach sand by receding waves. In the photo above, you can see a nice reflection of each bird; thats the mirror...
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Fins on Fire
Low Tide in the Surf Zone Surfperch live on sandy beaches which can be vast, uniformly colored and featureless. It’s a drab place. Sometimes the beaches are broken up by rock features but true...
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Finding Yourself in the Infralittoral Fringe
The sandy beaches where surf perch live much of their lives can be vast and featureless. The sand is constantly on the move so we don’t see plant and animal landmarks indicating the zones so familiar...
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Comb Jellies
I have walked this trail many times; it’s full of promise. This is just after 6 am, June 22. Pleurobrachia bachei Just above the low tide mark, the beach was strewn with sea gooseberies or cat’s...
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To Bite, or Not to Bite
That’s an age old dilemma. I put surfperch to the test last year with a preference experiment. I presented colored lures to surfperch in the wild. If surfperch bite each color equally then there is...
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Sea Stars and Sand Dollars
Sea stars, Pisaster ochraceus The lower low tides, especially those below mean lower low water (0.0′), afford an opportunity to observe Pisaster ochraceus, wherever rocky outcrops jut from the sand....
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Beach Trails
Some beach trails capture my imagination. I have a sense of anticipation just before I crest the foredune and catch my first glimpse of the surf zone. Check out these first glimpses from one of my...
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Finding Fish: Do Tides Matter?
Redtail Surfperch, Amphistichus rhodoterus There aren’t a lot of ways to collect first hand information about surfperch in the surf zone. Boats can’t operate in the surf, scuba is out and handling a...
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Sunflower Star, Pycnopodia helianthoides
Sunflower star, Pycnopodia helianthoides Sunflower stars are attractive sea stars that are most at home in the subtidal zone and deeper. You will sometimes encounter them on the beaches, however, if...
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Composition of the Catch
The image below is a screen cap of the cover page of what is probably my favorite surfperch paper. I’ve learned a ton about surfperch natural history from the material Darrell Pruden put together for...
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Flustrellidra corniculata, a Bryozoan
Flustrellidra corniculata At very low tides beachcombers sometime run across Flustrellidra corniculata, the branched-spine or spiny leather bryozoan. They occur in the low intertidal and below, down...
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Seaweeds in the Sand
Below are some images of seaweeds I found exposed on the sand during a recent low tide. Each of these seaweeds, two kelps and two reds, are most at home in the low intertidal and shallow subtidal...
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Eelgrass in the Wrack
Eelgrass, Zostera marina This is eelgrass, Zostera marina. A few days ago it was abundant in the wrack line, on the beach and in the surf. Most of the eelgrass debris was composed of broken stems,...
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Tracks, Trails and Shows
Back in April I posted photos of shows for razor clams and the purple olive. Since then I’ve been a bit more observant about signs in the sand. Thus, this is kind of an extension of my previous brief...
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