March Seaweeds I

Posted on April 3, 2020 by An Bollenessor under seaweeds, snorkeling, wide angle

Last week it was time to check the state of the seaweeds and as expected they looked glorious. Unfortunately it was a bit windy and choppy and so the viz left something to be desired, argh! These are some of the better pics. I am in the process of creating a gallery of seaweed species (just reds to begin with), see the link at the very top of the blog. This is by no means a proper guide, as for that you often need more detail than just underwater impressions, but extra images might help in conjuction with a proper guide such as the “Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland” Seasearch book. Anyway, I have started gathering old pics and hope to add more soon. The common flat red species in the photos above and below is very pretty but it is one of these species you need to look at under the microscope so I will not attempt to label it with a name (yet). Other species can be identified more easily, such as Under tngue weed Hypoglossum hypoglossoides (two photos below). Below, Thong Weed Himanthalia elongata, Little Fat Sausage Weed Champia parvula and Juicy Whorl Weed Chylocladia verticillata and a bit of Bushy rainbow wrack Cystoseira tamariscifolia covered in red epiphytes.

back in the water

Posted on September 9, 2018 by An Bollenessor under bacteria, Canon G16, crustaceans, fish, seaweeds, snorkeling

It had been over two months since I last went snorkeling at my spot in Castle Beach. Although I did go on two boatdives (with no photos to show for), let’s say the work-life balance was tipped in the wrong direction. However I had time for a low-tide snorkel this Saturday and it was great to be back in the water, with a Curlew as my only companion. It was the plan to practise strobe photography but unfortunately I did not manage to get my settings right and I was going nowhere. As this is an activity that is supposed to be fun, I decided to ditch the strobe and stick with natural light. Fish I spotted were Ballan- and Corkwing wrasse, two-spot gobies, tompot blennies, a fifteenspined stickleback, a dragonet and sand eels: It is pretty much the worst time in the year for seaweeds but the pools are still quite pretty. The first three photos give a general impression of the seaweeds, including Thong weed, Harpoon weed and Irish moss. After that: Codium spp, Juicy whorl weed Chylocladia verticillata, a big plant of healthy-looking Hairy sand weed Cladostephus spongiosus, withered Red rags Dilsea carnosa and Dulse Palmaria palmata growing on a kelp stipe. I called it quits after two hours. On my way back I noticed an abundant green algae species I had not seen before. David Fenwick identified it as actually being a cyanobacterium rather than a seaweed: Rivularia bullata, interesting! Hope to do a lot more snorkeling before it gets too cold…

Falmouth Seaweeds Mid-November

Posted on November 14, 2017 by An Bollenessor under 2017 Falmouth seaweeds, Canon G16, seaweeds, snorkeling

Above the spot where I have been snorkeling all year at Tunnel Beach, between Castle- and Gylly Beach, in Falmouth (Pendennis Castle can be seen in the background). The best time to snorkel is before low tide, as when the tide comes in the viz gets worse. I try to aim for 50-100 cm above the low tide mark which is really shallow. This area is not a real rock pool but rather a gravelly zone between the rock pools proper and the kelp forest which begins past the last row of rocks on the photo. Last week I went snorkelling three times but only last Thursday had decent viz. The photos below show the abundance of pink Harpoon weed Asparagopsis armata, green Sea lettuce Ulva lactuca and new growth of Thong weed Himanthalia elongata and older plants covered in red fuzzy epiphytes. The old wireweed Sargassum muticum plants have died off and the remnants are covered in many epiphytes such as Juicy whorl weed Chylocladia verticilata, Cock’s comb Plocamium cartilagineum and the pretty Iridescent fern weed Osmundea truncata. However, there is new growth everywhere as well so, like Himanthalia, this species seems to have a half-yearly lifecycle. Below some Irish moss Chondrus crispus next to Wireweed. After that, lots of little fuzzy Falkenbergia growing on top of Discoid forkweed Polyides rotundus. This combination grows in a large patch and looks interesting but I struggled to get decent photos, as the dark seaweeds on very white gravel mess up the white balance big time. Next one or two different species of fine flat reds, the last probably Nitophyllum punctatum. The Bushy rainbow wrack Cystoseira tamariscifolia is dying off (here overgrown with Asparagopsis and Dictyota) but the related Bushy berry wrack C. baccata is doing well. Among its epiphytes Spiny straggle weed Gelidium spinosum (ID thanks to Seaweeds of the Atlantic facebook page members) which is also freeliving, and finally the green Codium fragile. One time, when the tide came in, the water was super oxygenated, and all surfaces were covered with small silver bubbles which was beautiful (and annoying as the camera lens was also covered). The following photos show a very different looking Codium fragile, C. tamariscifolia overgrown with Sea beach Delesseria sanguinea and more Thong weed.

Falmouth Seaweeds: Mid-April part II

Posted on April 19, 2017 by An Bollenessor under 2017 Falmouth seaweeds, Canon G16, seaweeds, snorkeling

Above an illustration of the decline of seaweeds: Juicy whorl weed Chylocladia verticillata all white and fuzzy (see for a more healthy looking plant this post from 2.5 months ago) on a bed of the common and pretty Discoid fork weed Polyides rotundus. There seem to be around 25 or so (larger) species that are common in these pools. Many of them can be seen in the two photos below (including a stray Bladder wrack, a species that dominates the shore just a meter higher): Below, a whole bunch of individual species. First, Sea beech Delesseria sanguinea, which must have washed up from under the kelp beds (too bad I did not get the entire plant in frame…). Second, a photo of Ulva with Chipolata weed Scytosiphon lomentaria. Third, the brown Divided net weed Dictyota dichotoma. Fourth, Slender wart weed Gracilaria gracilis. Fifth, False eyelash weed Calliblepharis jubata; this plant has grown quite large and has turned from dark red/brown to a much lighter brown. Sixth, the Falkenbergia stage of Harpoon weed Asparagopsis armata (see the third photo) on the right. Seventh, Red grape weed Gastroclonium ovatum. Finally, two photos of my favourite species the blue Bushy rainbow wrack Cystoseira tamariscifolia.

Falmouth Seaweeds: Mid-March part 2

Posted on March 20, 2017 by An Bollenessor under 2017 Falmouth seaweeds, Canon G16, seaweeds, snorkeling

More seaweed photos, taken a couple of days after the ones in the previous post, when it was overcast and the water was less clear. The photos are not as good, but there are still a lot of interesting species to see. Below some photos showing the diversity of species next and on top of each other. In the last two months, most species have been growing quite a lot. There are quite large patches of Slender-beaded coral weed Jania rubens. Bushy rainbow wrack Cystoseira tamariscifolia plants are completely overgrown with all kinds of epiphytes, seaweeds, sponges and colonial tunicates, and often have a Nursehound egg case attached. Next, photos of individual species. First some flat reds: Leafy rose weed Rhodophyllis divaricata, Beautiful fan weed Callophyllis laciniata, Branched hidden ribs Cryptopleura ramosa (probably), the invasive species Devil’s tongue weed Grateloupia turuturu and Under tongue weed Hypoglossum hypoglossoides. After that, two species that look a bit similar: left the reddish Discoid fork weed Polyides rotundus and right Clawed fork weed Furcellaria lumbricalis. The former is one of the most common species (also on the photo above it) but difficult to photograph as it usually sits on the white sand. After that, Juicy whorl weed Chylocladia verticillata. Last, two quite unassuming species: Black scour weed Ahnfeltia plicata and Sea flax weed Stypocaulon scoparium. Identifications made possible using the must-have Seasearch Guide to Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland, David Fenwick’s excellent aphotomarine website (and personal communication) and the good people of the Seaweeds of the NE Atlantic facebook group (any mistakes are my own).

some more January Seaweed photos

Posted on January 30, 2017 by An Bollenessor under 2017 Falmouth seaweeds, Canon G16, rock pooling, seaweeds, snorkeling

It is my plan to post photos of seaweeds from one large rock pool in Falmouth every month. As I am making good on my new year’s resolution of going out to the beach, I have some more photos to post before it is February though. I am slowly learning to take better photos, but will also post ones that are not that great to cover more species. Below, Club bead- or Feathery tube weed Lomentaria clavellosa, the small epiphyte Little fat sausage weed Champia parvula (heavily cropped, I need a macro lens!) and Juicy whorl weed Chylocladia verticillata (with some of the edible Dulse Palmaria palmata on the left of it).I found quite a few more species but the photos ended up a bit meh, so I will have to go back and try harder. Below, two that ended up quite nice. Serrated wrack Fucus serratus covered with a variety of red epiphytes and a piece of washed up Sea oak Halidrys siliquosa.

photographing seaweeds with a Canon Powershot part III

Posted on April 9, 2016 by An Bollenessor under Canon Powershot D30, non-native species, rock pooling, seaweeds

Another couple of sessions trying to take seaweed photo’s. A couple of seaweed species are really thriving at the moment, one is False eyelash weed Calliblepharis jubata in the middle of the picture above. In the picture below a couple of other species, Irish moss Chondrus crispus in the foreground, Discoid forkweed Polyides rotundus on the left, Black scourweed Ahnfeltia plicata on the right, with some Red grape weed Gastroclonium ovatum at the top. Below that two ‘miscellanious’ pictures and after that some photos of individual species: the photo that turned out best was of Bonnemaison’s hook weed Bonnemaisonia hamifera, an invasive species from the Pacific. After that Juicy whorl weed Chylocladia verticilliata, a Plocamium species and my favourite, the Bushy rainbow wrack Cystoseira tamariscifolia.