Geelong And Surrounds

I was on such a high at the end of last week, largely thanks to getting clear photos of favourite species. I was keen to return to St Helens a night to see what additional critters we could find.

It ended up being a bit of a crapfest. Previously, this area had been pretty quiet. This small harbour was mostly vacant during the pandemic. It took a while for visitors to start returning to Geelong despite all restrictions being removed. I didn’t realize how spoiled this made us when it came to finding marine life. There were more boats attached to the floating pontoons, so we made sure to keep out distance. We mostly stuck to the boat ramps.

I struggled to find anything new other than a couple of shrimp.

I’ve decided to back off from this location for the rest of the summer, especially as activity is likely to increase. This means I’ll be mostly restricted to Eastern Beach, unless I want to turn an adventure into a daytrip. I’m leaning towards stepping back from marine life in general this summer and focus on getting my health/life in order. This will help me in future seasons 🙂

Marine observing + heat intolerance do not mix!

[Read more…] about St Helens Boat Ramp at Night: September 2023

These photos were taken on February 21, along with the Botrylloides and other sea squirts. I’ve put the images on iNaturalist but haven’t tried to identify them. This is because I’m overwhelmed by the sheer amount of marine life. There are so many different taxonomic groups.

The above is likely to be a calcareous sponge  Possibly belonging to the genus Sycon.

According to Wikipedia,

These sponges are small, growing up to 7.5 cm with a length from 2.5 to 7.5 cm, and are tube-shaped and often white to cream in colour. They are known to aquarium hobbyists as “Pineapple” or “Q-Tip” sponges, and are frequent “hitchhikers” accidentally brought in.

This website has more information about Sycon sponges.

[Read more…] about Other Marine Life At St Helens

I recently went to St Helens to get photos of Botyrlloides. I did have an additional motive: I wanted to get more photos of various sea squirts to help me learn more about them.

I understand that all ascidians are sea squirts. However, these images show the type of marine life that I always assumed were sea squirts. I don’t know if they are related taxonomically in a way that other ascidians aren’t. Regardless, I want to learn about and start documenting these guys.

[Read more…] about Learning More About The Sea Squirts At St Helens

I recently shared how I discovered a colony of Botrylloides Diegensis at Eastern Beach. I was contacted the next day asking if a local field nats group could use my photo as part of a future guide.

I instantly agreed, but part of me was reluctant because the photo was so blurry. I figured out what was causing the issues with focus and decided to return to St Helens with the goals of getting better photos.

My trip was a success. I was able to get photos showing different colours and it growing on different substrates. I’m impressed with the quality of the photos, especially as I was dangling my arm over the edge of the pontoon and hoping to get the image in focus. It allows me o see more of the key features, which will make it a lot easier to learn what they actually are.

I’m now uploading all images to iNaturalist to help me keep track of my observations.

[Read more…] about Botrylloides Galore At St Helens

I hadn’t though about St Helens Boat Ramp – or marine life in general – for months. It was winter, and I was too busy any outside chores done before my heat intolerance rendered me housebound for the summer.

Then I accidentally made a Botrylloides diegensis observation. The next week, I had a zoom call with two ascidian experts. We shared photos and they helped me understand the features that both both B. Diegensis and Pyura Dalbyi stand out.

I was excited. I had gone through photos that I had previously taken and had noticed what appeared to be P. Dalbyi in many of those photos. I decided to return to St Helens ASAP to 1) get better photos and 2) see what other species was there.

I only stuck to the side of one boat ramp so was limited in species diversity.

[Read more…] about Multiple Invasive Ascidians At St Helens Boat Ramp