Have you seen any RARE species at Catalina??

[drbill]

Cool... a triggerfish at Indian Rock. That's a cooler water site. I've only seen them in Lover's Cove in Avalon, the warm end of the island.

 

[SeaDana]

Yeah, it was pretty surprising!

 

[Nay]

It looks close, but bushier and not as wiry as the example photo in "Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast." Any thoughts?

FrankO,
I've seen the same thing at Shaw's recently on two separate dives within a few days of eachother. It was just one stalk and I was really tempted to rip it out from it's roots because it just didn't look right.
I was thinking Calurpa of course but I didn't harm it because I wasn't really sure what it was.
Interesting.

Debbie, I think project rocks.

 

[drbill]

I think the picture of S. muticum in "Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast" is not representative of a mature large algal specimen, just the smaller ones. I would prefer a phycologist better versed in taxonomy to verify that though. I just play one on TV.

 

[OCdiving Deb]

FrankO,
I've seen the same thing at Shaw's recently on two separate dives within a few days of eachother. It was just one stalk and I was really tempted to rip it out from it's roots because it just didn't look right.
I was thinking Calurpa of course but I didn't harm it because I wasn't really sure what it was.
Interesting.

Debbie, I think project rocks.

Thanks for the project support Nay!

Hey, if you ever suspect a Caulerpa sighting DON'T rip it out!!! It can spread more easily if disturbed and that could be very detrimental to the other species there.

I am a certified Caulerpa surveyor and so if you ever see it, report it to me. I can get the info to the proper authorities and it can be properly ID'd, contained, and removed.