An expedition exploring the marine biodiversity off the seashore of Southern California recently spot a noteworthy sea biff love as the Spanish shawl . It ’s just one of a host of curious ocean creature observed so far inOceanaandBlancpain ’s second sea pleasure trip in the realm . The goal ? To bolster the region ’s reputation as the “ Galapagos of North America ” and seek outstanding protective cover for the animals that last there .
The Spanish shawl , Flabellina iodinea , is one of the ocean ’s morecolorful ocean slugs – and that ’s really say something when you ’re dealing with thenudibranchs . As a soft - bodied marine gastropod shellfish , it lacks the shell of its more snaily cousins and instead swear on steal weaponry to stay secure .
The vibrant colour of Spanish shawls is no stroke , representing a defence experience as aposematism in which brute use bright color to warn predators that they ’re armed . It comes from astaxanthin , which it gets from eating hydrozoan – and that ’s not the only thing it steals .
A warty sea cucumber in all its glory.Image credit: Danny Ocampo
When threaten , it can float unco quickly , resembling a shawl as its cerata flail like so many threads . However , in a real bind those cerata double up as a form of attack , releasing nematocysts that the sea slug consumes from its hydroid fair game and thenredistributes in its own tissue paper .
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The excursion has already sighted a number of remarkable sea creature , including strawberry mark anemone , warty ocean cucumber , island kelpfish , and Pacificangelsharks . Southern California ’s unique geology and cold-blooded , nutrient - rich water are a drive force for the incredible biodiversity assure here , but it ’s under menace from bottom trawls and set gillnets .
In support of apetition to protect California ’s biodiversity , Oceana and Blancpain will be carrying out several probe during this most recent junket . They include collecting environmental DNA ( eDNA ) to notice the desoxyribonucleic acid step of animals and plant in the neighborhood , scuba dive surveys to document the diverseness of species , and identifying giant seabass and their collection land site as part of the “ Spotting Giant Seabass ” research project .
“ These expeditions allow us to document and characterize the Brobdingnagian raiment of California ’s renowned maritime life history in support of ourcampaign to reduce the web of sea beast in position gillnet fishing gear , ” said Oceana in astatement . “ These fishing nets used to catch California halibut and white seabass off Southern California can be over a mile – up to 20 football fields – long and are one of the most indiscriminate sportfishing geartrain used in the United States . ”
“ These nets are among the neat threat to the recovery of previously overexploit species such as great white shark , jumbo seabass , and tope shark . Our research is spotlight the marine life at risk from web , and what we must safeguard to keep our oceans abundant and resilient in the expression of mood change and unprecedented human stressors . ”
