Three Cool Things

There are some things I can only categorize as "cool". These are things I have seen and learned that make me smile. I thought I would share a few today.

Sea Urchins Wear Hats

On my visits to the marine station aquarium, I enjoyed watching the sea urchins moving around with hats on. The closest at hand for them were mussel shells.

There is some debate as to why they do this, but it seems likely that it is at least partly for camouflage. People even make little hats for sea urchins. Here is a link that shows some of these hats.

Coralline

Coralline algae is a kind of red algae that encrusts rocks, shells, and other surfaces in the water. It has calcium carbonate in it, which makes it harden. It often looks like someone used pink paint to decorate items in the water. This is red encrusted calcareous algae. There are different types of coralline algae, and I was astonished when I held a piece of it and it resembled a piece of coral--thus the name.

From the Bonne Bay Marine Centre and Aquarium, Norris Point

These specimens are from the marine centre at Norris Point. The photo doesn't do justice to the colours. The one on the right is pink. The lefthand one is white. When they are dead, they can turn white.

Coralline is an essential part of intertidal ecosystems. Something else really cool about coralline is that it can photosynthesize in the dark as well as in the light. This allows it to survive in shallow or deep water. To read more about coralline, you can check out this link (scroll down to the bottom).

Speaking of Photosynthesis

When I was exploring the tidal flats the other day, I saw these bubbles on the bottom of the shallows.

I thought they were interesting. I would have expected bubbles to float to the surface so I contacted Michael Burzynski, who knows about such things. Turns out, these little bubbles are produced as a product of photosynthesis! There are filaments of algae on the surface of the mud. When they come in contact with the water, they photosynthesize. Oxygen is the waste product of this photosynthesis. Of course, this is essential to all life. It was mind blowing to actually see this process in action.

Another cool thing is that if you zoom in on the photo, you will see a little reflection in each bubble. That is a reflection of me taking the photo. I like the symbolism of that. These processes are essential for all of our survival. 

This is a good place to give a shout out to Michael. He wrote an amazing book: Gros Morne National Park: The Most Beautiful Place. I highly recommend it. It is well written, informative, and visually beautiful!