33 articles
The bat star (Patiria miniata) is the kelp forest's web-fingered clean-up crew — a slow omnivore that turns detritus into reef fertility. Facts, ecology, where to see one.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
The cabezon Scorpaenichthys marmoratus is the largest sculpin on the Pacific coast — an egg-guarding ambush predator of kelp reefs with famously toxic roe.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Mytilus californianus builds wave-swept mussel beds that shelter hundreds of species. Glue chemistry, keystone starfish, zonation and conservation.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The flat porcelain crab packs under Pacific shore rocks by the hundred, sifting plankton with feathery mouthparts and shedding legs it can calmly regrow.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Gray whales swim some 10,000 km each way between Arctic feeding grounds and Baja lagoons, hugging the kelp line. Feeding, migration, kelping and survival.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Gray whales hug kelp coastlines for 20,000 kilometres a year — feeding, rubbing and hiding calves in the kelp line. The whale–kelp forest connection, explained.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The grunt sculpin is a thumb-sized fish that walks on its fin rays, hides inside empty barnacle shells and, it seems, impersonates the barnacle itself.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Do harbour seals live in kelp forests? Not quite — but they hunt in them, pup beside them and shape them. Inside the seal–kelp relationship.
Tom Okafor ·
The hooded nudibranch Melibe leonina is a translucent sea slug that nets plankton from its perch on kelp blades. Biology, diet and where to see one.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
The spiny scallop Chlamys hastata is a sponge-armoured, blue-eyed bivalve of Pacific kelp forests that can swim away from sea stars. Full species profile.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Moonglow anemone (Anthopleura artemisia) species profile: the gravel-coated anemone that buries its column in sediment beneath rocks, and how to find it.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The orange sea pen is a quill-shaped coral colony of the sandy seafloor that retracts into the sediment when touched — and glows when disturbed.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Crassadoma gigantea, the purple-hinged rock scallop, cements itself to rock for life and filters the kelp forest's currents behind a bright orange mantle. ID and ecology.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Cancer productus owns the rocky shallows of the Pacific coast: crushing claws, black-tipped pincers, and a quiet role policing urchins. ID, biology, fishery.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The sea lemon Peltodoris nobilis is a fist-sized, lemon-scented nudibranch that grazes sponges on Pacific kelp reefs. Identification, biology and ecology.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Sea lemons are confused with leopard dorids, the Monterey dorid and the Atlantic sea lemon. A diver's guide to telling the real Peltodoris nobilis apart.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
The staghorn sculpin cruises Pacific estuaries from Alaska to Baja, tolerates fresh water, and carries venomous antler-like spines on its head.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Pterygophora californica grows a woody stipe that stands for decades, sheltering understory life while faster kelps rise and fall around it. Species profile.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Striped shore crab (Pachygrapsus crassipes) species profile: the bold, fast, green-striped crab of Pacific rocky shores — sprinter, grazer and lab superstar.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Black oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani: the rock-loving sentinel of the Pacific coast — habits, tiny population and what it reveals.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The black oystercatcher lives its whole life on kelp-fringed rock, hammering limpets and mussels. Ecology, bill lore, breeding and its role as an indicator.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus) is a blue-black schooling mainstay of Pacific kelp forests. Biology, fishery and what its presence tells us.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The giant green anemone is a solar-powered predator of Pacific tidepools and kelp-forest edges. Its biology, symbiosis and decades-long life.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The leopard shark is a spotted, harmless houndshark of Pacific bays and kelp edges. Biology, behaviour and the famous warm-water aggregations.
Tom Okafor ·
Fish-eating anemone (Urticina piscivora) species profile: the big red anemone that catches fish under the kelp canopy and doubles as sea star prey.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima) species profile: clonal armies, tentacle wars, symbiotic algae and survival at the top of the rocky shore.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The northern clingfish grips rough rock with a suction disc no engineered cup can match. Meet the small fish that surfs storm surge under stones and holdfasts.
Dr. Elias Brandt ·
Discurria insessa, the kelp limpet, lives its whole life on a single stipe of feather boa kelp — one of the coast's strictest partnerships.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Porichthys notatus hums for hours to woo mates, glows with borrowed light and survives hours out of water. Meet the kelp coast's oddest neighbour.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Ceratostoma foliatum, the leafy hornmouth, is a winged predatory snail of Pacific kelp reefs — a slow driller of mussels and barnacles.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Calliostoma ligatum, the blue-top snail, is a small pearly topsnail that grazes living kelp blades along the Pacific coast, from blade to canopy.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Black tegula (Tegula funebralis) rules the high tide line of the Pacific coast — a decades-lived black turban snail whose grazing shapes kelp recruitment.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The crevice kelpfish can turn from red to brown to match the algae it hides in. Meet the small, coiled shape-shifter living inside the kelp forest's foundations.
Dr. Elias Brandt ·