This is a red sea cucumber that I saw in the tide pools. It wasn't really doing anything because it was out of the water, so it was just chillin'. Sea cucumbers are an important invertebrate in the benthic zone they eat algae, and small waste particles. The most interesting thing I saw at Shannon point was on the boat, after my group pulled the net out of the water, it was filled with hundreds of shrimp which was pretty cray cray. This trip was an awesome experience because there was such a great diversity of life everywhere, especially in the tide pools, there were so many organisms I've never seen before. So it really opened my eyes to the density and the diversity of life on the pacific northwest beaches. One question I had was about the trawling off the boat, does that do damage to the ecosystem?
Hello Holly! This is a beautiful sea cucumber that you found here! I haven't the chance to see any in the intertidal zone. However, I saw one in the laboratory part. It wasn't the same specie though, as yours seem more colorful, thinner, and doesn't look like it holds many spines.
ReplyDeleteUhm, when I saw that pic without really looking at it (ya know before your eyes adjust)... it looked like a big orange poop. LOL!!!! ahhhh... I'm too funny. ANYWHO. Yes my answer to your question would be yes, trawling off a boat is very harmful to soft bottom communities. However, it was in the name of science and he tried to go back to the much softer areas where he had already gone the boat ride right before us. But other people who do that aren't as careful and this has become a problem for those organisms.
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