Sandy Intertidal Pools

 



First Day Doing Field Work In The Sandy

Sandy Intertidal Pool.

I caught on the sand a, what I think, Mexican flower flatworm.  We saw a few sun star starfish and a brittle star.  Being early in the morning, it wasn't too hot but they were still enough evaporation for the salinity to be 40 parts per thousand. In general, the northern part of the bay normally has higher salinity than the 35 parts per thousand for most of the ocean.  The octopus was one of the best finds, but it was too small to identify, although it was probably the two-spotted octopus that is found in the area.   We saw many Mollusca (snails), and learned about the operculum on the back of the foot which they use to close off during a low tide to keep from drying out.

--Laura

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