We finished weighing out our alder packs today and then got started on the kelp packs. The kelp is starting to die off now that it is winter. It turns out that algae grows and dies with the season just like terrestrial plants. So all the stalks are very old, shredded, covered in bryozoans, and smell quite awful. We packed them tightly into their wire cages and placed them back into the water. They will go out to become fish food tomorrow.
We had a few extra hours with the high tide after preparing our experiment so we went to a couple of streams that flow into the sea and deployed drift nets to collect any leaves that fall into the streams. We are trying to determine how much leaf matter gets swept into the sea. The waves are much larger than yesterday, crashing quite violently against the rocky cliffs. It’s a wonder that anything can live here.
We also made time to split over to the docks and stare into the surprisingly clear water. The docks float, so the sides of the docks are always underwater regardless of the tides. This means by lying down and starting at the docks you can get a glimpse of what the subtidel zone looks like. We discovered the usual compound ascidians, crabs, mussels, barnacles, and sponges. The algae had died off here as it had in other places. One exciting discovery was a small octopus hunting under the dock. It was about the size of a hand with its legs extending like fingers. It darted quickly into the shadows as octopuses are quite shy and very intelligent. It knew what humans were. We often go weeks of tide pooling without seeing a single octopus. While they are predators and higher on the food chain they are not the top. The most surprising thing I’ve learned about them is that they only live 2 or 3 years. Once the mother lays her eggs she dies shortly thereafter. That’s just the lifespan of these guys. Some say they are as intelligent as humans. They do have remarkable problem solving skills and to stare into an octopus eye is to see awareness. But imagine if humans only lived three years…how much of our intelligence is learned? How much can you learn in so little time? If octopuses were given another decade of life what wonders would they invent or discover? Would civilizations develop under the sea?
Recent Comments