George Island, Alaska
George Island is a tiny piece of land located at the edge of Cross Sound and the wide Pacific Ocean. We dropped anchor during breakfast in Granite Cove, a protected inlet with easy shore access to the island. We divided into two groups and while some of us boarded our fleet of Zodiacs as they circumnavigated the island, learning about kelp beds, geology and seabirds, others went ashore. Those on land chose between a walk along the intertidal zone to view invertebrates and sea life of all kinds, or a longer hike through the forest to the WWII gun emplacement atop the island.
The walk to see the 6 inch naval gun, the “Brigadier,” built in 1906 and brought to its current location in 1942 to guard against a Japanese offensive, offered us the opportunity to talk about the fascinating history of George Island. It also gave us the chance to see some of the more diminutive, but no less wondrous, species in this bountiful rainforest. The mushroom pictured above belongs to the family Russulaceae. Mushrooms are mysterious and interesting organisms. They can be delicious or deadly. This is one of the gilled mushrooms and in this specimen the gills have turned upward to allow the spores to be released more easily and efficiently. Below and to the left of the mushroom’s stalk is a banana slug – so named for the typically yellowish coloration accented by dark splotches. Slugs are relatives of snails but lack the shell characteristic of their cousins. Land snails use their shells to protect them from drying out, but slugs, that make their home in moist, generally overcast regions, shed the shell as unnecessary. They are hermaphroditic creatures that must use their only well-developed sense – touch – to find potential mates of the same species. When not looking for love, banana slugs roam the forest floor in search of food – either plant material or one of their favorite meals – mushrooms. Slugs and fungi may not be big, but they both play an important role in the healthy functioning of the forest ecosystem and remind us of the wonders to be found in unexpected places.
George Island is a tiny piece of land located at the edge of Cross Sound and the wide Pacific Ocean. We dropped anchor during breakfast in Granite Cove, a protected inlet with easy shore access to the island. We divided into two groups and while some of us boarded our fleet of Zodiacs as they circumnavigated the island, learning about kelp beds, geology and seabirds, others went ashore. Those on land chose between a walk along the intertidal zone to view invertebrates and sea life of all kinds, or a longer hike through the forest to the WWII gun emplacement atop the island.
The walk to see the 6 inch naval gun, the “Brigadier,” built in 1906 and brought to its current location in 1942 to guard against a Japanese offensive, offered us the opportunity to talk about the fascinating history of George Island. It also gave us the chance to see some of the more diminutive, but no less wondrous, species in this bountiful rainforest. The mushroom pictured above belongs to the family Russulaceae. Mushrooms are mysterious and interesting organisms. They can be delicious or deadly. This is one of the gilled mushrooms and in this specimen the gills have turned upward to allow the spores to be released more easily and efficiently. Below and to the left of the mushroom’s stalk is a banana slug – so named for the typically yellowish coloration accented by dark splotches. Slugs are relatives of snails but lack the shell characteristic of their cousins. Land snails use their shells to protect them from drying out, but slugs, that make their home in moist, generally overcast regions, shed the shell as unnecessary. They are hermaphroditic creatures that must use their only well-developed sense – touch – to find potential mates of the same species. When not looking for love, banana slugs roam the forest floor in search of food – either plant material or one of their favorite meals – mushrooms. Slugs and fungi may not be big, but they both play an important role in the healthy functioning of the forest ecosystem and remind us of the wonders to be found in unexpected places.
