Blog Post #9 Shannon Point

Shannon Point is an interesting place far away from the Greater Seattle area. Surrounded by water and distant hills, the smell of the sea is ever present in area of the Pacific Northwest.


On the left is a picture of the underside of a sea star. I was lucky enough to catch a picture of it flipping over in its tub. This is possibly a Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides). I thought it was awesome to be able to see the underside of a sea star so easily. Its mouth part and legs are so weird. I found it in a tub next to the exit going towards the rocky beach. This keystone species is an important weight that balances the ecosystem its originally from. On the right is a picture of a diatom plankton through a microscope. It does absolutely nothing and is a bit boring. The importance of this small ball of weightless mass is almost nonexistent by itself but packed with the rest of the population of plankton, they serve a purpose of sustaining life for just about every living thing on earth. They feed so many sea creatures which, in turn, feeds others. I could add that the small boring parts in life serve a purpose just as much as this little guy serves a purpose. Purpose is great.

The next photo shows multiple limpets (Patellogastropoda) gripping to a large rock on the beach. Until a higher tide comes, they probably won't do anything but hold tight. The picture on the right has a dead eel that has washed up on shore. It's less than a foot long and unidentified. Many things that wash up on shore end up become food for the air breathers that fly and poop on humans.

I think the most interesting thing I saw at Shannon Point was the tiny cool looking sea slug. It was awesome seeing one up close and personal. It was so small and cute. One thing that change my perspective about the coast in Washington (or at least added to it) was that the sea floor is dirt and lots of dirt and not always pretty. Also, I didn't expect lichens to grow in such large quantities to cover the topside of a cliff. That was pretty interesting. One ecology question I have is: what is the seagulls role in this ecosystem?

Shannon Point was a cool place to visit. 10/10 would recommend.