Eyes Over Puget Sound: Sunny, warm and colorful

Late summer brings warm air temperatures, abundant sunshine and drier conditions throughout Puget Sound. Stream flows in the region’s northern rivers are lower than our rivers in south Puget Sound.

Click here to see this month's report

Yet, the combination of abundant spring rain and weak upwelling from the Pacific Ocean means Puget Sound waters are still fresher than at any time in the past 17 years.

While the abundance of jellyfish is lower this year, our warm water temperatures, especially in central Puget Sound, are accompanied by large rafts of drifting macroalgae. What else did we see on our Eyes Over Puget Sound overflight? Diverse blooms in colors of green, orange and red-brown in many our inlets.

We are also checking to see how if our benthic invertebrate community is changing. We are monitoring and measuring samples of these critters that live in the sediments of Puget Sound at our long-term monitoring stations. We’re gathering information so we have baselines to see if any long-term change is occurring among this sensitive part of the Puget Sound ecosystem.

This year, we’re getting great hands-on assistance from our Washington Conservation Corps intern, Nicole Marks. To see more about the project, check out the great poster Nicole has created.

Puget Sound Nutrient Watch: A new blog series

Welcome to our first installment of “Puget Sound Nutrient Watch,” an ongoing series of blogs that will focus on the excess nutrient problem in Puget Sound.

A healthy Puget Sound is an integral part of our cultural history and future. Are nutrients causing it to change?

In this post we will be going over why we care about excess nutrients and how they are affecting Puget Sound. Read on to learn about:

• Our recent Puget Sound Nutrient Dialogue that brought together scientists from across Puget Sound region to discuss the latest science on nutrients.
• Why you should care. Understand what happens to a water body that is overly rich with nutrients. 
• Two brand-new publications on nutrients in Puget Sound. These review new modules that have been added to the robust Salish Sea computer model. 
• The report on the Sediment Diagenesis Module describes how the model incorporates the dynamic interaction of nutrients within the sediment and water column. 
• The report on the Ocean Acidification Module reveals on how the new ocean acidification module can help us pinpoint areas in Puget Sound that are influenced the most by regional sources of nutrients.
• How can nutrients be bad? Impacts that excess nutrients cause to the health of the Sound.
• What to expect in this blog series.

Puget Sound Nutrient Dialogue

We would like to thank everyone that came out to the Puget Sound Nutrient Dialogue in Auburn last month, it was a great success! We had around 120 people show up ready to participate in the conversation surrounding the science of excess nutrients in Puget Sound.

Puget Sound Nutrient Dialogue participants eager to save the Sound.

If you missed out and would like to participate in future events, please sign up for email notifications through our Listserv. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with others who value the Puget Sound and want to protect it from excess nutrients.

Presentation slides, a summary of the event, pictures, videos, and more from the Puget Sound Nutrient Dialogue will be posted on the project webpage.

Why should we care? 

Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon are an important part of a healthy and productive marine ecosystem. Excess nutrients, however, can be problematic for marine water quality – most often nitrogen. Just as you need nutrients to keep your body healthy, too much of anything throws the system out of balance. 

We're working to understand nutrient problems in Puget Sound
so we can keep it the beautiful natural resource that it is today. 

When it enters marine waters in excessive amounts, nitrogen causes what is called eutrophication. Eutrophication is the term for what happens when a water body becomes over-enriched with nutrients. This over-abundance of nutrients will cause dense growth of algae and plant life and the death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

Nitrogen acts like a fertilizer causing algae to grow. Too much nitrogen results in excessive algae growth, which puts the health of Puget Sound off balance. When algae die and decompose, it consumes oxygen out of the water column (especially at depth). In some shallow inlets and bays around the Sound, this will deplete oxygen to low levels which stresses fish and the other critters that live in important nearshore habitats.

Thinking about our future

Our science today tells us we have a nutrient over-enrichment problem in Puget Sound. We are in the beginning phase of a long-term project that will ultimately help us address this overabundance of nutrients. Our goal is to ensure the Puget Sound we know and love remains resilient to stresses from nutrient problems caused by our growing population and exacerbated by climate change.

Latest science – understanding the problem

Salish Sea graphic of nutrient-rich zones
from the Salish Sea Model.

One of the most important tools for understanding the effects of nutrients in Puget Sound is the Salish Sea Model. The model was developed by Pacific Northwest National Labs in collaboration with Ecology scientists and with grant funding from EPA.

This robust computer model helps us better identify human sources of nutrients that are negatively impacting the health of Puget Sound by simulating the natural environment. It models complex water circulation and water quality dynamics in all of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia.

Our two latest publications - released July 2017 - help predict impacts that are influencing Puget Sound's health.

The Sediment Diagenesis Module added the capability to the Salish Sea Model to simulate sediment-water exchanges. This module simulates the way organic matter decomposes, which allows the model to more accurately reflect actual conditions in Puget Sound. As organic matter decays both within the water column and bottom sediment layers, nutrients are released back to the water and consume oxygen in the process.

The Ocean Acidification Module calculates the impacts of regional nutrient sources on acidification. Results from this effort indicate that human-related sources of nitrogen and organic carbon can influence Puget Sound's carbonate system balance.

Toxic algae blooms - like this one that happened at
Deception Pass - can be caused by eutrophication.

Blogging on how this issue impacts Puget Sound’s health

Throughout this series we will dive into the specific impacts caused by excessive nutrients in Puget Sound that have damaging effects on water quality.

These impacts potentially include:

• Harming nearshore habitat and benthic invertebrates
• Intensifying ocean acidification at some locations
• Facilitating the break-down of the marine food web
• Increasing the number of algae blooms

Stay tuned as upcoming blog features dig into each of these issues, highlight new reports, and share new information as it becomes available.

Tackling the Puget Sound nutrient problem

The Puget Sound Nutrient Source Reduction Project is using best available science to understand the nutrient problems in the Sound and develop a plan to reduce human impacts so that we can protect the health and resiliency of Puget Sound.

The Salish Sea Model is a state-of-the-art computer modeling tool that allows scientists, engineers, and planners to understand the complex physical, chemical, and biological patterns in circulation and water quality. We will be using the model to compare Puget Sound to marine water quality standards, understand how bad water quality will be if we continue with the status quo, and evaluate nutrient reduction options for improving and restoring the Sound to meet our water quality goals.

Visit our website and join our listserv to get up-to-date information concerning the nutrient problem in Puget Sound. You can also this full blog series by searching "Puget Sound Nutrient Watch". We want this to be a collaborative effort that brings all of the technical work that is happening on Puget Sound nutrients together. We need all hands on deck to find the best solutions for meeting water quality goals for Puget Sound.

By: Jenny Robertson, Ecology Environmental Specialist

Calling all lovers of the Puget Sound!

Are you interested in regional efforts to keep Puget Sound healthy and resilient? Join us in Auburn, Wed., July 19 at Green River Community College to attend our Puget Sound Nutrient Dialogue. This all-day meeting will bring together those working to understand and protect Puget Sound to discuss what we’re learning from our most recent science.

Fort Lawton West Point Lighthouse, Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington (Courtesy of Kenny Rowe)

After a decade of development, we have the state-of-the-art Salish Sea environmental computer model to help us understand changes in Puget Sound and evaluate the best solutions to reduce human impacts. This model shows us that land-based human sources of nutrients are leading to cases of low dissolved oxygen levels in the Sound. We are using this tool – in combination with ongoing field monitoring data and broad stakeholder input – to develop options to reduce nutrients in the Sound.

Join the conversation and learn how an over-abundance of nutrients affect our beloved Puget Sound. A healthy balance of nutrients is essential for a healthy food web, just as we require a balanced diet for good health. But excess nutrients from human sources can cause problems in Puget Sound just as over-eating can lead to health problems in your body. The over-enrichment of nutrients is diminishing dissolved oxygen levels that fish and other species in the Sound need to thrive.

 

Click here to register!

Join us in person

When	July 19
Time	8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where	Green River Community College, Lindbloom Student Union Center
Address	12401 SE 320th St. Auburn, WA, 98092

Register by July 5 to secure your seat!

Parking and the event are free. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided. Lunch will be available for purchase at the college’s newly remodeled cafeteria.

 

How can nutrients be negative for Puget Sound? 

A healthy Puget Sound is integral to our identity and our future. There is a growing body of science and evidence that shows increasing nutrients are adversely affecting the Sound. 

This dialogue is meant to bring together stakeholders, decision-makers, scientists, and the interested public to:

• Talk about the current state of the knowledge
• Discuss the effects of excess nutrients in Puget Sound
• Make connections between different areas of research
• Identify new studies that will improve our knowledge and understanding
  

Just like your human body, our Puget Sound ecosystem needs balance to be healthy. Too many nutrients in the Sound can also lead to undesirable changes in the food web, over-growths of algae that wash up on our beaches, increases in jellyfish populations, and more harmful algae blooms. Beyond changing what is considered normal for Puget Sound, these problems could reduce the Sound’s ability to be resilient to increasing pressures from climate change and the growing human population in the region.

 

Stay involved! 

Learn more about the project on our website where you can also find updated information on the Puget Sound Nutrient Dialogue as it becomes available.

Subscribe to our project listserv to receive email updates. 

By: Jenny Robertson, water quality environmental specialist

Eyes Over Puget Sound: River flows above normal

Cooler and wetter conditions earlier this year have set the stage for a favorable supply of freshwater. River flows are all above normal due to warm May temperatures melting our abundant snow pack. These conditions are creating significantly fresher conditions in Puget Sound surface waters. 

Click here to see this month's report.

Algae blooms are limited but there are some yellow-green blooms growing in bays near the Kitsap Peninsula and in the Puyallup, Skagit and Stillaguamish river estuaries. Red algae blooms are present in the rivers feeding into Willapa Bay. Also see what is “blooming” in the sediments of Puget Sound.

What's Eyes Over Puget Sound?

Eyes Over Puget Sound combines high-resolution photo observations with satellite images, ferry data from travel between Seattle and Victoria BC, and measurements from our moored instruments. We use a seaplane to travel between our monitoring stations because they are so far apart. Once a month, we take photos of Puget Sound water conditions and turn those out, along with data from our stations, in the monthly Eyes Over Puget Sound report.

Eyes Under Puget Sound: Critter of the Month – Tube-Dwelling Anemone

Wildflower season is upon us here in the Pacific Northwest, and this month’s critter is a reminder that the marine environment has “flowers” of its own! Meet the tube-dwelling anemone, a delicate blossom at the bottom of Puget Sound.

The tube-dwelling anemone Pachycerianthus fimbriatus,
photographed at the Seattle Aquarium

Blooms of many colors 

With their wispy crown of tentacles, tube-dwelling anemones might easily be confused with tube worms, but they actually belong to the phylum Cnidaria, which also includes corals and jellyfish.

These tube-dwellers are not true anemones; they are in a special group called cerianthids, and Pachycerianthus fimbriatus is the only one found in Puget Sound. They range in color from white to purple to orange, and often grow in large groups that look a bit like flowers in a meadow.

P. fimbriatus can be found from southern Alaska to Baja California, in depths of up to 268 meters (about 800 feet). In our sampling, we encounter them most frequently in Bellingham Bay, Sinclair Inlet, and the South Sound – places where they can easily burrow into the soft mucky sediment.

Different-colored individuals of
Pachycerianthus fimbriatus at the Monterey Bay Aquarium;
photo courtesy of Dave Cowles at inverts.wallawalla.edu

Down the tubes

P. fimbriatus has a soft, vulnerable body, so it burrows into the mud and creates its own protective dwelling around it. Its building materials are not sand or mud as you might expect, but a special type of thread secreted by the animal, called a ptychocyst (pronounced “TIE-co-sist”).

All cnidarians have nematocysts (stinging cells) but ptychocysts are unique to tube-dwelling anemones. The ptychocyst threads are woven together to form a thick, slippery casing that projects above the sediment’s surface, and may extend up to 1 meter (3 feet) in the mud below.

P. fimbriatus with its sea slug predator,
Dendronotus iris, climbing its tube.
Note the slug’s coiled white egg mass in the background.
Photo courtesy of John Yasaki, Oakland, CA.

The anemone can retract its entire body into the tube, which comes in handy when it encounters its main predator - the giant nudibranch, Dendronotus iris. The nudibranch grazes on the anemone’s tentacles, and also cleverly lays its eggs on the outside of the anemone’s tube, so its young are born right on top of their meal. All this snacking doesn’t necessarily mean death for the anemone – it has tentacles to spare, and can live up to 10 years.

Lord of the rings

P. fimbriatus can be easily identified by its two distinct rings of tentacles. The outer ring is long (used for reaching out to catch the small crustaceans it likes to eat) and the inner ring is short, used for transferring food to the mouth.

P. fimbriatus, close-up view of tentacle rings from above.
Photo courtesy of Mike Munroe, http://www.mikejmunroe.com/

In some species of tube anemones, the tentacles are also able to absorb ultraviolet rays and glow with a fluorescent light.

A preserved P. fimbriatus specimen with its
tube cut open to reveal the animal inside.

Race against slime

Although a living tube-dwelling anemone is a pretty sight underwater - with its colorful tentacles waving in the current - nothing makes us marine scientists groan more than seeing one in a freshly collected sediment sample.

When we catch P. fimbriatus in our benthic grab, the fine threads of its tube become a tangled mass, turning into a black slimy goo ball that entangles everything it touches. We try to separate these animals from the rest of the sample as soon as possible to avoid creating a giant mess!

By: Dany Burgess & Angela Eagleston, Environmental Assessment Program

Critter of the Month

Our benthic taxonomists, Dany and Angela, are scientists who identify and count the benthic (sediment-dwelling) organisms in our samples as part of our Marine Sediment Monitoring Program. We are tracking the numbers and types of species we see in order to understand the health of Puget Sound and to detect any changes over time.

Dany and Angela share their discoveries by bringing us a Benthic Critter of the Month. These posts will give you a peek into the life of Puget Sound’s least-known inhabitants. We’ll share details on identification, habitat, life history, and the role each critter plays in the sediment community. Can't get enough benthos? See photos from our Eyes Under Puget Sound collection on Flickr.

Eyes Under Puget Sound: Critter of the Month – The Heart Urchin

Happy Valentine's Day from this
adult specimen of Brisaster latifrons
collected from Puget Sound.

Be still, my heart (urchin)! During the time of year when candies and valentines are everywhere you look, it is only fitting that we present to you the most romantic creature in Puget Sound as February’s critter: the Heart Urchin.

The shape of my heart

Heart urchins are a type of sea urchin, which are in the phylum Echinodermata (meaning “spiny skin”), along with sea stars and sea cucumbers. Unlike most sea urchins, which are round, heart urchins appear heart-shaped because their bodies are elongate, with a small depression for the mouth at one end.

A living heart urchin is brownish in color, with its many spines giving it a furry appearance. Once the animal dies, however, the spines fall off, leaving the smooth white external shell, or test, exposed. The heart urchin test is made up of hundreds of hard interlocking plates, but it is actually quite brittle in dead specimens, which is why you will hardly ever find one washed up on the beach.

Different views of Brisaster latifrons missing a majority of its spines and revealing its white test.
Photo courtesy of Linda Schroeder (PNW Shell Club).

 

How deep is your love?

Brisaster latifrons, freshly collected by our team
from Puget Sound sediments.

Only one species of heart urchin, Brisaster latifrons, occurs in Puget Sound, and it is also the most common sea urchin we encounter during our sediment monitoring. B. latifrons can be found from Alaska to southern California, inhabiting soft muddy bottoms in deeper water depths of 51-1,166 meters (although Puget Sound depths only reach about 300 meters).

Growing up to 73 mm, the heart urchin is a fun and welcome sight in our sediment grabs. We just have to handle their fragile outer shells carefully – we don’t want to break any hearts!

This juvenile Brisaster latifrons displays the five
petals of the ambulacra on its dorsal (top) surface.

Flower power

Heart urchins have little in common with flowers, but they do have some surprisingly flower-like features. For example, underneath their spines are five flower petal-shaped outlines called the ambulacra.

The pedicillariae are another type of flower-like appendage that stick out of the test. They have serrated claw-like pincers that open and close at the end of their long stalks. They use these pincers for a variety of functions like defense, capturing food, parasite removal and more! When the pincers are open, they resemble flower blossoms, and when closed, they look like tulips. Now that’s a bouquet I’d like to give to my ex-boyfriend.

Close-up of the pedicillariae showing the
claw-like pincers closed (left) and open (right).

 

Eat your heart out

Top: Tube feet come out of the pores
that make up the ambulacra petal outline.
Bottom: Close-up of the tube feet.

Like other sea urchins, heart urchins have tube feet - slender tubes with suction cups on the ends that extend from pores in the ambulacra petals. These amazing feet serve multiple functions:

• Feeding: As the urchin burrows slowly through the mud, it ingests sediment and delicious organic matter along the way (this is called “deposit feeding”). The tube feet help by delivering food particles to the mouth.
• Locomotion: Thousands of tube feet work together at the same time to move the heart urchin wherever it needs to go. As the urchin moves along, the tube feet act like feelers or antennae to sense its surroundings.
• Respiration: Heart urchins primarily live in the mud. Modified tube feet that stick out above the mud’s surface act as a kind of snorkel to allow the urchins to obtain oxygen.

We hope after reading this blog, you too have fallen in love with the heart urchins.

By: Dany Burgess & Angela Eagleston, Environmental Assessment Program

Brisaster latifrons classification guide

Critter of the Month

Our benthic taxonomists, Dany and Angela, are scientists who identify and count the benthic (sediment-dwelling) organisms in our samples as part of our Marine Sediment Monitoring Program. We are tracking the numbers and types of species we see in order to understand the health of Puget Sound and to detect any changes over time.

Dany and Angela share their discoveries by bringing us a Benthic Critter of the Month. These posts will give you a peek into the life of Puget Sound’s least-known inhabitants. We’ll share details on identification, habitat, life history, and the role each critter plays in the sediment community. Can't get enough benthos? See photos from our Eyes Under Puget Sound collection on Flickr.

Eyes Over Puget Sound: A look at 2016 in photos

After two years of very warm air and record-high water temperatures, Puget Sound is close to normal. Between the Blob warming our waters in 2015 and the past year of El Niño, we're still a bit warmer than usual, but we're in better shape than we've seen in some time.

Click here to see our 2016 in pictures report.

Learn about how the global climate affects water quality, see the impacts warmer waters had on the Sound and compare photos from flights throughout 2016 in this year-end summary.

Nov. 2016 - Squaxin Passage

Feb. 2016 - Willipa Bay

We had some major rains this year! They sent mud and runoff into our rivers, downstream and out into the Sound. 2016 began and ended with sediment dynamically painting our waters.

Sept. 2016 - Liberty Bay

The very low summer river flows we experienced last year reflected climate predictions for the northwest. Our rivers are like a cold faucet: turned up high, their flow keeps waters cool, moving and full of oxygen. With the river taps turned way down, marine waters don't get mixed as much which causes warmer temperatures and higher salinities. As a result, we saw abundant jellyfish, floating macro-algae and Noctiluca blooms.

Sept. 2016 - Budd Inlet

Aug. 2016 - Eld Inlet

Surprisingly, only south Puget Sound developed very low summer oxygen levels in 2016. By fall, La Niña came with a punch! This brought more rain and cool air temperatures. But the question remains: will this be an unusual La Niña?

July 2016 - Edmonds Underwater Park

What's Eyes Over Puget Sound?

Eyes Over Puget Sound combines high-resolution photo observations with data from our monthly monitoring stations, from our regional partners and from instruments we have on ferries. We use a seaplane to travel between many of our monitoring stations because they are so far apart.

Once a month, we take photos of Puget Sound water conditions and turn those out, along with data from our stations, in the monthly Eyes Over Puget Sound report.

Eyes Under Puget Sound: Critter of the Month - Black-Eyed Hermit Crab

A Black-Eyed Hermit peers out from its
moon snail home near Victoria, British Columbia.
Photo courtesy of Keoki Stender.

Happy New Year! Following the southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas for luck on New Year’s Day, we bring you the adorable Black-Eyed Hermit Crab as January’s Critter of the Month.

Home is where the shell is

Like most hermit crabs, the Black-Eyed Hermit is never far from home. The crab’s body is soft and fragile, so it seeks protection from predators inside an empty snail shell. If the crab feels threatened, it can retract its entire body into the shell, leaving only its not-so-tasty claws exposed.

Hermit crabs carry their shell homes around with them wherever they go, which might seem tricky given the size and weight of these portable dwellings. However, the coiled hermit crab body shape is perfectly designed to fit into a “mobile home.” In addition, the crab has structures near its tail called uropods (shown in the photos below). The hook-like uropods grasp the inside of the shell, holding it in place as the crab crawls along.

Left: Side view of a preserved Black-Eyed Hermit specimen; the arrows indicates the hook-like uropods.
Right: Close-up of a uropod.

 

Moving on up

The Black-Eyed Hermit is one of the largest hermit crabs in Puget Sound (with a body-shell length of about 4.5 cm) so it prefers to reside in a nice roomy moon snail shell. As the hermit crab grows, its borrowed shell stays the same size, so it will eventually outgrow its home and upgrade to something with a larger floor plan. When free shells are scarce, the crab may try to “evict” one of its neighbors, forcing the other crab to pack its bags and move out.

A close-up dorsal (top) view of the head, showing
the black eyes. Photo courtesy of Dave Cowles.

Easy on the eyes

Although there are multiple species of hermit crabs in Puget Sound that have red stripes on their bodies and look relatively similar at first glance, our Hermit can be easily identified by its large, oval-shaped black eyes (the other species have yellow or green eyes). The Black-Eyed Hermit is also the most common hermit crab species we encounter during our sediment monitoring. It can be found from Alaska to southern California, inhabiting sandy or muddy bottoms from the tide line to about 150 meters (almost 500 feet!) deep.

Love is a battlefield

Another feature that sets the Black-Eyed Hermit apart is its distinct claws or “chelipeds”, which have large spines on the dorsal (top) surface and smooth undersides. Like other hermits in the family Paguridae, its chelipeds are unequal in size – the right is slightly heftier than the left.

Left: The spiny cheliped (claw) of the Black-Eyed Hermit. Right: Close-up of the spines on the cheliped’s dorsal surface. Photos courtesy of Dave Cowles.

These large claws come in handy when the male Black-Eyed Hermit is looking for love. First, he finds a female crab and grabs her by the shell. He then carries her around with him for up to several days until she is ready to mate, fending off other males with his claws.

By: Dany Burgess & Angela Eagleston, Environmental Assessment Program taxonomists

Critter of the Month

Our benthic taxonomists, Dany and Angela, are scientists who identify and count the benthic (sediment-dwelling) organisms in our samples as part of our Marine Sediment Monitoring Program. We are tracking the numbers and types of species we see in order to understand the health of Puget Sound and to detect any changes over time.

Dany and Angela share their discoveries by bringing us a benthic Critter of the Month. These posts will give you a peek into the life of Puget Sound’s least-known inhabitants. We’ll share details on identification, habitat, life history, and the role each critter plays in the sediment community. Can't get enough benthos? See photos from our Eyes Under Puget Sound collection on Flickr.

Eyes Over Puget Sound: La Niña is here!

With La Niña present we are seeing wetter and warmer conditions. Heavy rains in October swelled Puget Sound rivers and streams to above normal levels. As a result, water temperatures, salinities and oxygen in Puget Sound are returning to normal.

Click here to read the November report.

While surface water in Puget Sound has cooled, it is still warmer than in the Straits.

I can see clearly now

We continue to see large groups of jellyfish in finger Inlets of South Sound and slowly fading red-brown blooms in Eld and Budd Inlets. A lot of suspended sediment was observed east of Steamboat Island and south of Squaxin Island. Otherwise, we have clear water.

What is Eyes Over Puget Sound?

Eyes Over Puget Sound combines high-resolution photo observations with data from our monthly monitoring stations, from our regional partners and from instruments we have on ferries. We use a seaplane to travel between many of our monitoring stations because they are so far apart.

Once a month, we take photos of Puget Sound water conditions and turn those out, along with data from our stations, in the monthly Eyes Over Puget Sound report.

Eyes Under Puget Sound: Critter of the Month – Sweet Potato Sea Cucumber

With its smooth, plump body, this month’s critter bears a resemblance to items you might find in a grocery store. Meet Molpadia intermedia, the Sweet Potato Sea Cucumber.

Our Critter of the Month Molpadia intermedia, freshly collected from mud under Puget Sound.

Although the Sweet Potato Sea Cucumber may look and sound like a vegetable, you definitely don’t want to go slicing up this slimy mud-dweller on your salad!

Brother from another mother

Sea cucumbers like Molpadia intermedia are part of a larger group called Echinodermata that also includes sea stars, brittle stars and sea urchins.

Superficially, sea cukes don’t look much like their echinoderm kin, but they all have 3 characteristics in common:

1. A water vascular system made up of tubes and valves which allows movement, digestion, and breathing by pumping water throughout the body
2. Pentaradial symmetry – the body is organized in 5 symmetrical sections
3. An internal skeleton containing calcium carbonate

Get under your skin

In the case of sea cucumbers, the internal skeleton takes the form of tiny particles called ossicles, embedded in the outer skin. Taxonomists can identify sea cucumbers by examining the shape of their skin ossicles under a light microscope.

M. intermedia has 2 kinds of ossicles:

1. “Tables” – flat plates with tall, narrow spires
2. Plates shaped like tennis racquets, filled with tiny holes

LEFT: Microscopic images of M. intermedia’s skin ossicles. The table images show a dorsal view (top)
and lateral view (bottom). The racquet-shaped ossicle shows the small perforations throughout.
RIGHT: Close-up of M. intermedia’s skin with ossicles (tables and clusters of racquets) visible.

In  addition to ossicles, M. intermedia has something else lurking inside its skin: tiny iron- and phosphate-rich blobs called phosphatic bodies. You can see these microscopic orange blobs in the image to the right above. The animals get more of these as they get older. Scientists think these granules serve to strengthen the connective tissue in the skin.

No foot to stand on

A living Molpadia specimen with its feeding
tentacles extended. This individual is waiting
to be weighed and measured in the field.

Sea cucumbers typically have rows of tube feet running the length of their bodies; however, M. intermedia lacks tube feet, giving it a smooth and shiny appearance. Its soft, cylindrical body has muscles running its length. These muscles can expand to lengthen it (up to 43 cm) or contract to shorten it into a little ball when it is disturbed.

At one end of its body is a mouth surrounded by 15 feeding tentacles. These short finger-like (digitate) tentacles help push food into its mouth as it ingests sediment while burrowing. At the rear end of its body is a short, stubby tail.

Couch Potato

M. intermedia seldom moves, making it an easy target for its main predators, including the Sand Star, Luidia foliolata, and fish. In some areas, M. intermedia lives in densities of up to 15 per square meter, and individuals tend to aggregate in groups of two to six. Talk about a sea cucumber buffet!

M. intermedia in a sediment sample which
has been partially rinsed through a sieve.

Critter of the Month

Our benthic taxonomists, Dany and Angela, share their discoveries by bringing us a benthic Critter of the Month. Dany and Angela are scientists who work for the Marine Sediment Monitoring Program. These posts will give you a peek into the life of Puget Sound’s least-known inhabitants.

In each issue we will highlight one of the Sound’s many fascinating invertebrates. We’ll share details on identification, habitat, life history, and the role this critter plays in the sediment community. Can't get enough benthos? See photos from our Eyes Under Puget Sound collection on Flickr. Look for the Critter of the Month on our blog.

By: Dany Burgess & Angela Eagleston, Environmental Assessment Program

Pollution solution: Keep a clean beach, help keep shellfish harvests open

There’s poop on Washington beaches. Bird poop. Fish poop. Insect poop. Dog poop. Cat poop. And yes, there is people poop, too.

North Beach has suffered several shellfish harvest closures due to dangerously-high levels of fecal bacteria.

Beach poop comes in all shapes and sizes, but the vast majority is invisible. Beach poop can originate from many different sources, both human and animal. But whether it comes from humans, our pets and horses, or wildlife it adds fecal coliform bacteria to our beaches and shellfish beds. This directly affects our ability to harvest and enjoy razor clams.

Beach poop is everyone’s business. 

New beach study pinpoints sources

A new study released by our Environmental Assessment Program identifies levels of contamination and main sources of fecal coliform bacteria pollution along the Pacific coast--from Ocean Shores to the Moclips River--and offers solutions that residents and visitors can use to keep beaches safe from this problem. High levels of fecal coliform bacteria not only impact shellfish beds, but can make people and pets sick from exposure to contaminated water.

The North Beach Bacteria Study is a collaboration between Ecology, Washington Department of Health, the Quinault Indian Nation and local governments. Its aim is to improve downgraded shellfish areas and protect those that currently meet water quality standards.

“Maintaining healthy beaches and shellfish beds is everyone’s business,” says Lydia Wagner, our project coordinator on the study. “Beachgoers must be responsible for their own activities that contribute to bacteria pollution.”

The North Beach area receives tens of thousands of visitors during the summer months and clam digs, which creates an intermittent, heavy-use impact on beaches.

Do your part to keep the beach clean

For beach tourists, the study offers three easy tips they can use to keep Washington beaches clean and limit bacteria problems in shellfish areas:

1. Bag your pet waste and properly dispose of it
2. Pack out your picnic trash
3. Don’t feed wildlife

Learn more tips to be a good beach steward on our website. 

Local residents are also encouraged to maintain their home’s septic system. Regular maintenance supports clean beaches and helps avoid costly repairs later.

Dig deeper into the science

The study is the first step in creating a great resource for those interested in protecting Washington’s coastal beaches. Residents will understand how a damaged septic system can harm the beaches they love. Visitors will understand why packing out the beach poop, whether it’s actual poop or common litter, is important to maintaining the safe and healthy beaches they love to visit. 

There is a simple solution to the problem of common beach pollution: bag it up and pack it out.

By: Dave Bennett, communications manager

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Diving into warmer waters

Summer is officially here, and it is bringing record-breaking Puget Sound water temperatures along for the ride. What could this mean for you? First, join us for the BEACH program kick-off in the June Eyes Over Puget Sound report.

Click to view the June report here

Is my beach safe for swimming?

Each year between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the Washington State BEACH Program monitors saltwater beaches to make sure conditions are safe for swimming and other recreational activities.

Media joined the monitoring teams last month for a kick-off to find out more about the condition of our favorite beaches and how to help keep them healthy.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for beach water quality updates, or visit our BEACH Program website for more information on beaches near you.

Visibility conditions for divers

Our monitoring team brings you a new feature: water visibility at different locations around Puget Sound. If you’re thinking of grabbing your scuba gear this weekend, take a look at our map to find out where underwater visibility is highest or lowest.

Visibility might be lower than in previous months. This new section will eventually deliver present conditions. We’d love to hear your feedback on it!

What does recent rain mean for water quality in Puget Sound?

Fortunately, rivers are now flowing at higher levels compared to last year’s drought. Still, we are missing a lot of the snow to support summer flows.

Visit our Flickr album for more photos from this month's Eyes Over Puget Sound report.

Despite recent rainfall the Fraser River has not been flowing nearly as high as last year, a year of drought. Why does this matter? The Fraser River, the longest river within British Columbia, is also the largest freshwater source for the Salish Sea.

Low flow in Fraser River means the water isn’t circulating as much as the Salish Sea does in normal years. Stagnant, or motionless, water means warm temperatures will continue, pollution will increase, and jellyfish could continue to appear in large numbers.

What about the jellies?

During sea plane flights over Puget Sound, we also observed many “smacks,” or groups of jellyfish. You can see high numbers of them in Eld and Totten Inlets in the South Sound region.

Phytoplankton blooms and large mats of floating organic material also showed up east of Bainbridge Island and Port Madison, as well as Quartermaster Harbor near Vashon Island.

Ew…what’s that smell?

Plug your nose before meeting our latest Critter of the Month! The Pacific Stinkworm, Travisia pupa, smells like rotting garlic when disturbed. 

Though not as easy on the eyes as last month’s critter, Travisia pupa plays an important role on the muddy ocean bottom. The Pacific Stinkworm, also known as the Pupa Utility Worm, helps aerate material on the ocean floor by burrowing and turning over sediment as it feeds. Visit our Critter of the Month blog series for more.

What's Eyes Over Puget Sound?

Eyes Over Puget Sound combines high-resolution photo observations with satellite images, ferry data from travel between Seattle and Victoria BC, and measurements from our moored instruments. We use a seaplane to travel between our monitoring stations because they are so far apart. Once a month, we take photos of Puget Sound water conditions and turn those out, along with data from our stations, in the monthly Eyes Over Puget Sound report.