JadeCraven.Org – Page 2 – My Nature Blog

Ribbon Worms At Eastern Beach

July 3, 2021 by Jade Craven

I was exploring Eastern Beach recently with my mum and nephew when she discovered this weird looking worm.

In the first photo, you can see a flatworm next to it. The flatworm had weird patterning so I assumed that the flatworm and other creature were connected. Mum insisted that it was a separate animal and asked me to get more photos of it.

It turns out that it is a type of ribbon worm called Baseodiscus delineatus. We thought that it may have been, but I was unsure considering the sheer amount of unknown information when it comes to marine life. There isn’t that much information online about it and I’m keen to learn more.

These photos are from two separate trips

Our First Attempt At Fungi Spore Prints

July 2, 2021 by Jade Craven

I love fungi. Most times I upload my nature photos to Flickr and just share them on the blog. On my last trip to the property, I was that impressed with the diversity of fungi that I shared some of them on my personal Instagram page.

A friend commented, sharing the Instagram page of The Spore Print Collective. I was fascinated and instantly showed mum. We looked at a couple of YouTube videos to learn how we could do similar.

I was getting ready to go home the next day when I noticed these fungi growing in mums backyard. Mum, Seth and I quickly found some paper to use (from scrapbooking) and carefully put the fungi on the paper in the spare room.

Nothing happened for days and we assumed that we had failed. This would have been understandable considering we didn’t really know what we were doing. Mum sent me these photos four days later. We are guessing that the room we had them in was too cold/damp, and that it needed to be drier for the spores to actually drop.

We will definitely be doing more experiments to learn as much as we can and hopefully create some art :).

Geelong Waterfront: Sea Cucumbers At Night

July 1, 2021 by Jade Craven

My parents and nephew often go to Eastern Beach to look for marine life. I rarely go with them, as I live on the other side of town and don’t catch public transport at night. I still ask mum to send me photos from their trips and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the images she has sent of these sea cucumbers. It is so fascinating seeing them up close. I’ve only ever seen them after they’ve washed up onto the shore.

Fungi At The Bush Block: June 23

June 24, 2021 by Jade Craven

Recently, I went to the property with my parents. My goal for the day was to collect fungi to create spore prints. I was feeling knackered so didn’t take many photos.

Fortunately, mum did. The final two (dull) photos are mine.

Two Sea Squirt Species At Geelong Waterfront

June 23, 2021 by Jade Craven

My mum was at Eastern Beach recently with my nephew. Normally, I don’t blog about another persons experience… unless they find something really cool.

Mum send me these photos and then called me, talking about these cool blue things she had found. She thought they were awesome and loved the translucence. She asked for my help with identifying them.

I put them up on Facebook. I was a bit hesitant about doing so – the group is dedicated to marine research and many of my questions are fairly basic. I’m trying to rebuild a business and haven’t had the time to try and figure out identifications on my own. I learn a lot from the process but it can take hours.

It turns out that they are lightbulb ascidians, also known as Clavelina lepadiformis. They are on top of a type of sea squirt called Pyura stolonifera, also known as red bait. Both of these species are introduced. It makes me wonder about the connection between these and other Pyura species – were some other local ones (such as P. Dalbyi) considered to be invasive?

We are definitely planning to return and getting close photos using the GoPro and my digital camera. Just need to figure out the best way without getting in the water in the middle of winter.