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May 5, 2008 : Macrocystis sp.
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Plant Family / Families: Lessoniaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Macrocystis sp.
Institution: Weston Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve
Map Location: via Google Maps
Name Location: near Monterey, California, USA
I'm surprised that no kelp flies made it into this photograph. Dipterans (perhaps in the Coelopidae) seemed to be swarming on all of the knotted kelp clumps found on the rocky Weston Beach at Point Lobos. As Dr. William Bushing notes in this article on Macrocystis pyrifera, "...These decaying kelp plants provide food for many of the sandy beach invertebrates including kelp flies and beach hoppers on the surface, and marine life that burrows into the sand."
Even though there are no flies to spot, a close look will net you a reflection of me in the lower left pneumatocyst (I was wearing a hat) and partial reflections in the other two (mostly of the legs of the tripod).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at May 5, 2008 12:00 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Joe at May 5, 2008 1:16 AM
Great photo. The moisture almost oozes out of the screen, it really looks wet. But, not a good picture of you Daniel! LOL.
Posted by: Knox at May 5, 2008 3:43 AM
Beautiful photo, the colors and reflections are awesome.
Posted by: Meg Bernstein at May 5, 2008 4:31 AM
Incredible photo of a world-wide plant type that gets very little attention. Is it possible that kelp is the most widespread plant on the planet?
Posted by: J at May 5, 2008 5:08 AM
You, thanking me! for subscribing!!
Perhaps the best site online!
Excluding of course Wikipedia for quickly looking up scientific data.
Thank you! and whomever supports the site.
PS I still work on marine invertebrates, and did not know about kelp as a food source for the intertidal ones. Disclosure: I am a biochemist, not a biologist.
Posted by: Mary Hamilton at May 5, 2008 6:11 AM
ala hitchcock daniel
we could write a storey about
the picture within a picture
the sea turtles are trying to nest
out on our beaches here in central
west coast of florida lights out at night
hopefully we can help and save- thank you
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at May 5, 2008 6:41 AM
Looks good enough to eat!
Posted by: Eva at May 5, 2008 7:31 AM
J's question about the distribution of kelp is interesting. According to Wikipedia the distribution of the kelp family, Lessoniaceae, is the northeastern Pacific Ocean and southern Australian coasts. I also found from several sources that perhaps the most widely distributed flowering plant is the common reed, Phragmites australis, of the grass family, Poaceae.
Posted by: Rodney Young at May 5, 2008 11:17 AM
I've always thought seaweed is beautiful. In fact, I enlarged and framed some colorful shots of seaweed I took in New Zealand back in the early '80's. They are hung over my fish tank, even though it's a freshwater tank.
Posted by: Roberta at May 5, 2008 11:27 AM
Thanks for the beautiful algae picture.
Posted by: Anthony at June 28, 2008 12:16 PM
how many fungi species are not still discovered?
Posted by: kiran at September 7, 2008 9:30 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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I have to say, deep down inside, I'm glad there are no flies in this picture. As important as I'm sure they are to the world, Diptera is by far my least favorite order of organisms ever to have existed. They even beat out Blattodea, even the 6cm flying tropical varieties. Good riddance to them. More kelp for the marine infauna.
Anyways, theres a LOT of cool stuff going on geologically too at Point Lobos. Formed as the accretionary prism from the subduction of the Faralon plate under the North American Plate, it was then moved up to its present location from thousands of km south near Mexico due to the San Andreas. This makes for some really cool doubling of rock layers in the Southern Coast ranges as well as some really cool volcanoes caused by a migrating triple junction. There are a variety of really rare and interesting metamorphic rocks that can be found in the area, including blue schist and serpentinite (California's state rock). Plus, it just so happens that a submarine canyon has helped erode a big chunk of that accretionary prism, causing the beautiful Monterey Bay and all of the associated marine habitats.
So, its cool to see one of the most tectonically and geologically interesting places on the earth directly next to and tied to one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Im jealous of your visit.