With the summer month’s low tides, we are able to explore areas that are often inaccessible. One of these areas is the green algae, the home of so many creatures seeking protection from so many predators. Here we invade the privacy of the Purple Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus nudus.

This is definitely a slimy type of habitat as we see one of the crabs emerging on the left. The photograph on the right shows where it gets the common name from, Purple Shore Crab. It is an aggressive resident of this inter tidal zone

Bull Kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, has an impressive growth record growing up to 80 feet long (24m) in a single season. At the end of the year it dies and the storms wash it up onto the shores.

It grows in underwater forests in shallow oceans and offers a secure home to many sea creatures or food for others. Sea otters love to use these thick kelp beds. The plant is secured by an enormous holdfast. A bulbous float is shown on the right that keeps the fronds afloat and at low tide can be seen bobbing about in the water.

Rockweed, Fucus distichus, is very common in the middle intertidal zone. A shoot grows from a holdfast and repeatedly divides. It produces slimy mucus to help prevent it from drying out when exposed.

Most of the sea life is only observed on the rocks and shore at low tide or washed up onto the beaches after a storm. One of these casualties is this Sunflower Star, Pycnopodia helianthoides. This is the largest sea star in the world and worth looking for in the tide pools as it may be stranded as it forages for food. When young they have 6 arms but as they age they can have more than 20. They are rapid movers compared with the other stars and cause panic amongst other animals when it enters any tide pool. Sea urchins are a favorite food but everything is eaten even other stars if they do not depart quickly.

	Sea Lettuce, Ulva species, is edible and grows in the low to mid interidal one. It occurs on the west coast from Alaska down to Chile. Its main habitat is on rocks in shallow areas that are protected from strong waves and the sun. It is also common in esturies where it ataches itself to eelgrass, it can also grow on pilings and boat docks if conditions are favourable.

Another intriquing name for a seaweed is Nail Brush, Endocladia muricata, it is very common an appears dark red to purple and sometimes brown. it favors the very high reaches of the shore, clinging to the rocks with the Acorn Barnicles. Many small creatures crawl inside the tangles of this alga to shelter from predators and the elements.

The bright reds of Turkish Towel, Chondracanthus exasperatus, are easily spotted when washed ashore.

As it ages it loses this bright and intense color and turns dark purple to nearly black. Then in the winter the blades die off and are a frequent addition the other seaweeds washed up on the shores after the storms. The holdfast however waits for spring to start new growth.

The California Mussel, Mytilus californiensis, is quite unmistakable and it thrives in vast number huddled together in the pounding surf. They may layer themselves on the tops of others and this in turn can cause them problems. The mussels at the bottom have a hard time holding into the rocks in stormy conditions with all the extra weight. Large waves can then tear out masses of these creatures. When this happens, the bare rock is quickly re colonized

We end this brief tour of the tides and marine life with one of those very popular sea urchins, the Eccentric Sand Dollar, Dendraster excentricus. These have been hand painted by artists and collected by children. The patterns on these creatures are rather unique and do appear to have been etched indeed by artists. Normally these creatures are covered with spines and when they die these spines are washed away revealing the shell as we know it.