Sea Discovery: Chitons, the algae vacuums of the intertidal Chitons are a group of molluscs that are defined by the eight plates that act as armour on their backs. These plates are mobile and allow the oval-shaped mollusc to curl itself into a ball when hiding from predators (just like Read more…
Hornets in the news In September 2019, a nest of Asian giant hornets was destroyed near Nanaimo. This spring, with pandemic-induced anxieties running high, the New York Times published an article dubbing this invader the “Murder Hornet” after a honeybee hive was decimated in Washington. Unfortunately, this sensationalistic media reporting Read more…
Sea Discovery: Wolf eels, the not so terrifying “wolf-ish” fish Hidden in the darkness of the deep, wolf eels are not as dangerous as they look according to The Marine Detective. Well, maybe not to their prey, but with divers, they tend to shy away in their caves and peek Read more…
Weekly Sea Discovery: What are phytoplankton and why are they globally important? In this week’s Sea Discovery, we are going microscopic! Lately, you may have noticed the waters surrounding Mayne becoming very green and murky. This colour change is due to microscopic algae known as phytoplankton. What are phytoplankton? Their Read more…
Weekly Sea Discovery: One organism or many? The budding and beautiful orange sea pen Suitably named after the old-fashioned quilled pen, sea pens have a very distinct shape. Sea pens are cnidarians and related to soft corals, sea fans, anemones and jellies. These bottom-dwelling invertebrates look quite different from their other stinging Read more…
In this article, we discuss some of the various land mammals found on Mayne Island and their role in our local ecosystems. Not only are these animals essential to the balance and function of our ecosystems, but they also have some fascinating behaviours! Northern river otter (Lontra canadensis; weasel) A Read more…
The strange and beautiful grunt sculpin The grunt sculpin is a favourite fish of many divers and ocean enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest. When I first laid my eyes upon this stripy, stout-looking fish, I thought it looked quite tropical. With its small size (up to 8 cm long), large Read more…
Weekly Sea Discovery: Bubble Snails As we continue our eelgrass surveys in our local waters, I am always amazed at the diversity of exciting creatures we encounter. Last week, we mapped an area by Montague Harbour and came upon hundreds of egg deposits in the eelgrass bed (see photo). Though Read more…
Weekly Sea Discovery: Fish or Eel? The Mysterious Gunnels of Mayne Island While turning over rocks and searching for hidden creatures along Mayne Island’s shores, you may see a long, slippery animal slide into a dark crevice. Your first guess might be that you’ve just seen an eel, with a long tapered body and Read more…
It’s true! A slug is essentially a snail with little to no shell. They are part of a class of molluscs called gastropods (from the Greek for “stomach-foot”), just like nudibranchs and whelks. Land slugs are a well-known slimy encounter in Pacific Northwest forests. As with many creepy crawlers, they are very misunderstood. Some of us might only Read more…