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Marine Ecology
of
Sub Tidal California
Ecology: The inter-relationship
between organisms and their
environment
Introduction: Images
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White Shark (Charcarodon carcharius)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
California Hydrocoral (Stylaster californicus)
Habitat: Open Ocean
Primary producers: Phytoplankton
 Top predators: Sharks; Pinnipeds; Tuna;
Toothed Whales
 Some large animals eat plankton
 No place to hide
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Open Ocean: Images
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Blue Shark (Prionace glauca)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus
obliquidens)
Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Mola Mola (Mola mola)
Purple Jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca)
Habitat: Sandy Plains
Primary producers: Phytoplankton
 Protection
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– Camouflage
– Burying
Common job: Detritus Consumer
 Flat Fish, Tube Anemones, Worms, Sea
Stars, Clams, Snails, Sea Pens,
Octopus
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Sandy Plains: Images
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Speckled Sand Dab (Citharichthys stigmaeus)
Thornback Ray (Platythinoidis triseriata)
Spotted Cusk-Eel (Chilara taylori)
Bat Ray (Myliobatis californica)
Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus)
Sea Pen (stylatula elongata)
Worm evidence
Clam syphon
Tube Anemone (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus)
Habitat: Kelp Forest
Kelp requires a rocky substrate
 Giant Kelp and Bull Kelp
 Kelp rarely deeper than 130’
 Camouflage, Protection, Food
 Holdfast, Stipe, Blades, Pnuematocysts
 Requires water movement
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Ode to a Kelp Forest
Where waves crash and currents roar,
Where rocky bottoms meet the shore,
Where water’s cold and nutrient rich,
Where organism’s find that special niche,
There you’ll find that algal form
called Kelp - from which the forest’s born.
The Kelp Forest: not just a place for plants,
But a community, a vital dance
in the web of life.
A player in a seamless whole,
that touches the mind and touches the soul.
© Neil Robertson, 2010
Kelp Forest: Images
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Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera)
Articulated Coralline Algae
Kelp Bass (Paralabrax clathratus)
Kelp Lace Bryozoan (Membranipora membrancea)
Habitat: Rocky Reefs
Cracks & crevices
 Substrate for Kelp
 Primary producer: Kelp
 Detritus Feeders and Grazers
 Carnivores
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Rocky Reefs: Images
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California Hydrocoral (Stylaster californicus)
Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus)
Cabezon’s Eye (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus)
Giant Sunflower Star (Picnopodia helianthoides)
Brown Rock Crab (Cancer antennarius)
Strawberry Anemones (Corynactis californica)
Abalone (Haliotis rufescens)
Phyla of Kingdom Animalia
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Porifera
Cnidaria
Ctenophora
Entoprocta
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Mollusca
Annelida
Arthropoda
Echinodermata
Chordata
Phylum: Porifera
Sponges: around 5,000 living species
 Simplest multi-cellular organisms
 Cellular-level organization
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– Their cells are specialized
– Similar cells are not organized into tissues
All sessile and benthic
 Filter feeders
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Porifera: Images
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Orange Puffball (Tethya aurantia)
Cobalt Encrusting Sponges (Hymenamphiastra
cyanocrypta)
Red Volcano Sponge (Acarnus erithacus)
Aggregated Nipple Sponge (Polymastia pacifica)
Phylum: Cnidaria
Radially or Biradially symmetric
 Tissue level of organization
 True organs do not occur
 Two basic body forms:
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– Medusa: free swimming or floating
– Polyp: usually sessile
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Nematocysts
Phylum: Cnidaria
Corals
 Hydroids
 Sea anemones
 Jellyfish
 Sea pens
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Cnidaria: Images
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Orange Cup Coral (Balanophyllia elegans)
Cobalt Sponge (Hymenamphiastra cyanocrypta)
California Hydrocoral (Stylaster californicus)
Strawberry Anemones (Corynactis californica)
Metridium Anemones (Metridium giganteum)
Blue Rockfish (Sebastes mystinus)
Fish Eating Urticina (Urticina piscivora)
Giant Green Anemone (Anthopleura
xanthogrammica)
White-Spotted Rose Anemone (Urticina lofotensis)
Purple Jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca)
Phylum: Echinodermata
Calcereous endoskeleton
 Pentaradial symmetry
 Water vascular system (tube feet)
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– Decentralized nervous system
Phylum: Echinodermata
Sea stars
 Brittle stars
 Sea urchins
 Sand dollars
 Sea cucumbers
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Echinodermata: Images
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Giant Spined Star (Pisaster giganteus)
Leather Star (Dermasterias imbricata)
Bat Star (Asterina miniata)
Giant Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia
helianthoides)
California Sea Cucumber (Parastichopus
californicus)
Warty Sea Cucumber (Parastichopus
parvimensis)
Orange Sea Cucumber (Cucumaria miniata)
Phylum: Arthropoda
Bilaterally symetrical
 Strongly segmented bodies
 Exoskeletal construction
 Molting required for growth
 More species of Arthropod than all
other species combined
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Phylum: Arthropoda
Barnacles
 Shrimp
 Crabs
 Lobster
 Isopods
 Amphipods
 Copepods
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Arthropoda: Images
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Coonstripe Shrimp(Pandalus hypsinotus)
Moss Crab (Loxorhynchus crispatus)
Hermit Crab (Pagurus armatus)
Cryptic Kelp Crab (Pugettia richii)
Red Rock Crab (Cancer productus)
Giant Acorn Barnacle (Balanus nubilus)
Phylum: Mollusca
Bilaterally symmetrical
 Strongly cephalized
 Complicated digestive system
 Complicated nervous system
 Most have a shell
 Over 50,000 living species
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Phylum: Mollusca
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Abalone
Nudibranchs
Octopi
Squid
Scallops
Sea hare
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Mussels
Oysters
Clams
Periwinkles
Chitons
Snails
Limpets
Mollusca: Images
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Red Abalone (Haliotis rufescens)
Lewis’ Moon Snail (Polinices lewisii)
Purple Ringed Top Snail (Calliostoma annulatum)
Whitecap Limpet (Acmaea mitra)
Sea Hare (Aplysia californica)
Spanish Shawl (Flabellinopsis iodinea)
Sea Lemon (Anisodoris nobilis)
Rock Scallop (Crassedoma giganteum)
Clam Syphon
Lined Chiton (Tonicella lineata)
Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens)
Humboldt Squid (Dosidicus gigas)
Market Squid Eggs (Loligo opalescens)
Phylum: Chordata (vertebrates)
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Organisms that possess a Notochord
– a rod that serves to stiffen the body and act
as a support during locomotion
Bilateral symmetry
 Segmented body
 Ventral heart and closed blood system
 Bony or cartilaginous endoskeleton
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Phylum: Chordata (vertebrates)
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Tunicates
Salps
Sharks
Rays
Skates
Bony fish
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Sea lions
Seals
Whales
Sea otters
Dolphins
Birds
Chordata: Images
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California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
Pacific Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina)
Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Lightbulb Tunicate (Clavelina huntsmani)
Blue Rockfish (Sebastes mystinus)
Rubberlip Seaperch (Rhacochilus toxotes)
Blackeye Goby (Coryphopterus nicholsi)
Snubnose Sculpin (Orthonopias triacis)
Female Kelp Greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus)
Copper Rockfish (Sebastes caurinus)
Vermillion Rockfish (Sebastes miniatus)
Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus)
Feather Duster Worm (Eudistylia polymorpha)