If you’ve been down the Miners Bay pier this past summer, you might have noticed an unusual piece of equipment tied to the near end of the long dock: a white bucket, bobbing in the ferry wake, with a large water jug visible below the surface of the waves. Maybe Read more…
Never underestimate bull kelp. At this point in the year, you may see bull kelp in the intertidal zone looking more like organic sludge than the epic growing algae of the Pacific. What is witnessed in the winter washed up on beaches, its stalk wound round itself in lifeless knots, Read more…
Did you know the Ocean’s Day Intertidal Exploration has been running since 1995? Begun by Michael Dunn and the Mayne Island Naturalists, this annual event has seen a variety of different incarnations, at a variety of different beaches around the island. Held on, or close to, Ocean’s Day or World Read more…
With Oceans Day taking place this month, it’s a great time to take a closer look at one of coastal B.C.’s more elusive creatures – the humble clam! These molluscs call the sandy shorelines of Mayne Island home. The native clam species found in the Salish Sea include littleneck clams, Read more…
These days it seems like you can’t visit the beach or take a walk along the shoreline without spotting refuse of some kind: plastic bags, old shoes, rope, an increasing amount of single-use face masks, and Styrofoam, Styrofoam, Styrofoam everywhere! Cleaning up beach plastics can sometimes feel like a hopeless Read more…
The ocean bioluminescence that we see in the waters around Mayne Island are created by dinoflagellates: tiny, single-celled plankton. There are thousands of species of dinoflagellates throughout the oceans of the world, and most of them reproduce asexually. It is assumed that dinoflagellates light up when disturbed to intimidate or escape predators.
The intertidal zone is the area of shore between the lowest and highest tides. From sea stars to tidepool sculpin, an amazing array of different creatures call this harsh environment home.
In celebration of Oceans Day, the Mayne Island Conservancy hosted a three-part event on whale conservation efforts in the Salish Sea on June 29, where we learned how connecting people to the ocean through art, innovation and citizen science can motivate protection of marine ecosystems. To open the evening, island Read more…
From the scuttle of shore crabs to the spray of clams, the intertidal zone is always teeming with new and exciting life! We visited Piggott Bay with the Mayne Island School at low tide to see what we could discover, and the beach did not disappoint. After navigating rocky crevices Read more…
New Addition to Miners Bay If you’ve been to the Miners Bay dock in the past couple of weeks, you might have noticed something new in the water. Our light trap has been deployed and will stay floating beside the dock until this September. Not to be confused with a Read more…