Last Friday (24 April 2015), divers collected this little guy in a bottle and brought him back to the seawater table in the Floating lab of Pearson College. It is a grunt sculpin (Rhamphocottus richardsonii) which, in my mind, rivals the spiny lumpsucker for cuteness!
initially the grunt sculpin spent most of its time in the brown bottle it came to us in (see above). But it is now more bold and venturing out of the bottle often and exploring the seawater table.
First year marine scientists travelled to Sidney (BC, not Australia as some of them thought when the trip was announced in class!) on 10 and 12 December to visit the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre, a small aquarium full of local fishes, invertebrates and seaweeds.
We saw many beautiful and amazing creatures including:
Sea nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens)
Grunt sculpin (Rhamphocottus richardsonii) in empty giant acorn barnacle
Grunt sculpin (Rhamphocottus richardsonii)
Hooded nudibranch (Melibe leonina)
Anemones (Urticina sp. and Anthopleura xanthogrammica) & ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus)
Juvenile wolf eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) in empty scallop shell
Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)
This particular individual is known as Steve and was very active on Monday 10 Dec.
A few students played the salmon survival game.
And most got their hands wet in the touch tank.
Thanks to the Oceaneers at the Ocean Discovery Centre for all of their information & enthusiasm and to Sophie for several photos & for driving us to the aquarium!
Pearson College Marine Science 