Saginaw Bay
Is this a monster emerging from the depths to attack a blue-booted hiker? It may seem to be, but this sunflower star typically pursues smaller prey, anything from clams and sea urchins to crabs and other sea stars. These flabby creatures are among the largest and fastest of their clan, reaching diameters of 35 inches and attaining speeds of 5 to 10 feet per minute. Young 5- or 6-armed stars develop from free-floating stages, and additional arms grow in later. This handsome individual is encircled by twenty of these flexible, active appendages.
The sunflower star was only one example of a myriad of fascinating discoveries along the shore of Saginaw Bay on Kuiu Island. Clams squirted jets of water 2 feet in the air, and crabs scrambled across and beneath the intertidal rocks. Upon closer inspection, portions of the rocks themselves looked like invertebrates. Fossils of ancient brachiopods, or lamp shells; bivalves; and fusilinids were frozen in stone and lay scattered on the beach, supporting life of modern species. The cliffs were studded with evidence of bygone ages 250 million years ago, just before the massive extinction of ammonites and numerous other groups that preceded the dinosaurs. Colorful harebells, paintbrushes, and columbines decorated the coarse walls of calcareous shale. A black bear appeared at the far end of the beach as we boarded Zodiacs to return to the Sea Bird. It was an excellent comparison with the brown bear sighted early this morning in the quiet shelter of Red Bluff Bay on Baranof Island.
The ship traveled through Frederick Sound during the afternoon. Bright sunlight danced on the wind-ruffled water. Our patient search for marine mammals paid off, and by evening, we had spotted Steller's sea lions, humpback whales, harbor porpoises, and Dall's porpoises, their flashy cousins.
A dinner of filet mignon and clam bouillabaisse lured us away from the bow, and before long we consumed our delicious meal. Do clams taste as good to sunflower stars?
Is this a monster emerging from the depths to attack a blue-booted hiker? It may seem to be, but this sunflower star typically pursues smaller prey, anything from clams and sea urchins to crabs and other sea stars. These flabby creatures are among the largest and fastest of their clan, reaching diameters of 35 inches and attaining speeds of 5 to 10 feet per minute. Young 5- or 6-armed stars develop from free-floating stages, and additional arms grow in later. This handsome individual is encircled by twenty of these flexible, active appendages.
The sunflower star was only one example of a myriad of fascinating discoveries along the shore of Saginaw Bay on Kuiu Island. Clams squirted jets of water 2 feet in the air, and crabs scrambled across and beneath the intertidal rocks. Upon closer inspection, portions of the rocks themselves looked like invertebrates. Fossils of ancient brachiopods, or lamp shells; bivalves; and fusilinids were frozen in stone and lay scattered on the beach, supporting life of modern species. The cliffs were studded with evidence of bygone ages 250 million years ago, just before the massive extinction of ammonites and numerous other groups that preceded the dinosaurs. Colorful harebells, paintbrushes, and columbines decorated the coarse walls of calcareous shale. A black bear appeared at the far end of the beach as we boarded Zodiacs to return to the Sea Bird. It was an excellent comparison with the brown bear sighted early this morning in the quiet shelter of Red Bluff Bay on Baranof Island.
The ship traveled through Frederick Sound during the afternoon. Bright sunlight danced on the wind-ruffled water. Our patient search for marine mammals paid off, and by evening, we had spotted Steller's sea lions, humpback whales, harbor porpoises, and Dall's porpoises, their flashy cousins.
A dinner of filet mignon and clam bouillabaisse lured us away from the bow, and before long we consumed our delicious meal. Do clams taste as good to sunflower stars?
