What’s In the Tidepools? – November 2023
As tidepool season is in full swing, November’s highlights included, octopus, sea hares, keyhole limpets, sea stars and more. It was a very busy month with a fee free day on Veteran’s Day, great low tides, a tour with Zoo Volunteers and a special visitor. Here is a sampling of what our volunteers observed during this month — thank you to everyone who contributed. Remember to send in your photos; we truly appreciate sharing them with everyone.
Don’t forget to visit the Tidepool Videos page.
Volunteers from the San Diego Zoo visited Cabrillo for a tour of the Upper Monument as well as the Tidepools. Cabrillo Volunteers had the chance to visit the zoo last month.
Sea Hares and eggs are always fun to find in the tidepools. Sea Hares eat algae. They sense the food at a distance and cut it up with their radula. They use three stomachs, two of which have grinding “teeth” inside.
Visitors are often asking to see Sea Stars in the tidepools. If the Knobby Sea Star loses an arm to a predator, it can grow it back. Sea stars eat by inserting their inside-out stomach into a shell and digesting their prey. When the meal is done they retract their stomach back into their bodies.
See if you can find the Brittle Star near the anemone. The Star was approximately 1/2 inch in size.
The Two Spot Octopus is common in the tidepools. Their camouflage gives them the ability to instantly adapt to their surroundings, matching both texture and color even though they only see in black and white.
We had a special visitor to the tidepools in November. Former TPERP Coordinator Ranger Bonnie was in town for a visit.
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Great photos! This past Saturday, Hopkins Rose Nudibranchs were all out, I counted at least a dozen that I saw.