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Shelf life

17/6/2021

10 Comments

 
PictureWhen you dip a camera into a rock pool and fire it off, sight unseen,
you can end up with 100 photos of brown slime. But every now
and then there is one like this, a wandering sea anemone.
By Helen Keellings
 
WE HUMANS thought we were hard done by in last week's big storm. Spare a thought for the little fellas who live practically on our doorstep in much more precarious situations and endure ten, a hundred or a thousand times the danger and discomfort twice every single day of their existence.
 
The selfie stick is a vanity; an indulgence. But combined with a waterproof camera it becomes a tool for observing the habitat of those determined little survivors – the living creatures and plants that inhabit the intertidal zone.

For the past nine or ten years I've spent as much time as possible out on the rocks of Wreck Beach, Harmers Haven, Coal Point (originally Point Lydia) and further along to Cutlers Beach at low tide. The aim is to take as many pictures as possible while the tide allows, of as many different rock pools, underwater ledges and crevices as I can find. Then beat it homewards before the tide rises too much, to rinse the camera and unload the results on to my computer.
Photo by Helen Keellings
Who knew the red rock crab has hairy legs?
Picture
Anthothoe albocincta feeding
It's a bizarre way to take photographs; I literally have no idea what's on the camera until I see the pictures on screen. Some days there are 50 pictures of brown slime. On others a 100 out-of-focus kaleidoscope images.

​Then there are the gems – the ones that take my breath away with their colours, beauty or unexpected content. Did you know that the Red Rock Crab has long silky hair hanging from its limbs?

​The Yellow and White Striped anemone, 
Anthothoe albocincta, when closed, is as plain and insignificant as any dollop of pale brown slime; open and feeding, they are glorious little daubs of brilliant colour. Anemones feed either at high tide or when submerged. These little guys live under rock ledges, not too far out but generally hidden. 

When the weather is good and an exceptional low is due, I head out with maybe an hour or ninety minutes before the tide turns to 'chase' the receding seas. I use a FujiFilm XP 120, my third underwater camera in ten years. It is robust, dependable and familiar – I've used Fuji cameras since digital imaging became a “thing”. 

​In Paws Galore op shop I found some sturdy skateboarding knee protectors because the barnacles can leave an awful mess on skin. Footwear depends on time of year; old jogging shoes with a grippy sole; Reef Walkers, pricey surfers boots and my favourite Woni footwear – the designer gumboot.

 
I'm always very aware of the exact moment the tide turns. The old saying, “Never turn your back on the sea”, is essential practice. In reality, there are very, very few hours in the year that can be spent safely photographing what lies below the surface of our rocky reef. My decision a few years ago was to go for quantity over known quality; maximise the number of shots by setting the camera to fully automatic and weed out the disasters on the computer; the unfocused and the black and brown slime. I guess that for every hundred rockpool photos I take, one or two will be a keeper. One in five hundred is “WOW!”
Photo by Helen KeellingsDog whelk laying eggs
Some photographs need to be examined closely. I've found the legs of sea spiders and other unidentified critters on a second, third or fourth examination. First viewing of the dog whelk laying eggs made little sense until I found a dried dog-whelk egg case on the beach and identified it. I'd seen this before! Abalone are hard to spot (just as well), as are the gloriously lumbering elephant snails.
 
As our land seasons turn and change, so do the seasons of the sea. April and May is the breeding season of the sea hares. They inhabit the extremely shallow rock platforms populated by ascidians and with hiding crevices. A photo taken from above shows a very unattractive lump of greenish matter. If I can submerge the camera – they are beautiful, delicate creatures with frills and vents.
 
The first Wandering anemone I found was dead and decomposing on Wreck Beach. It looked like rotting eggs although I could not identify the species. Then I found another, off the steps at Harmers Haven, slightly less rotten but still unidentifiable. At last, a living creature – vibrant and healthy not far off the Olearia Street carpark. This was a red letter day!
 
In none of these photographs has the true colour of the reef been altered or enhanced. A shout out to my friend and co-observers Sue and Michael Canders, who love our little section of the Great Southern Reef as much as I do.

10 Comments
Deborah
18/6/2021 03:57:38 pm

OMG. what an interesting and well written article. Who knew!!! thank you for all the information. It's a cool underwater world.

Reply
Julie Thomas
18/6/2021 04:44:37 pm

A wonderful tale and a magnificent set of pictures, Helen. Thank you for bringing this beautiful underwater reef world to people who don't get to snorkel or dive to see it. We can be inspired - now that we can see what we are protecting UNDER the water when we take care of our shoreline.

Reply
Helen Keellings
18/6/2021 05:42:14 pm

Thank you Julie. I don't know how successful the rehoming of sea life is, but every so often we find warreners, elephant snails, horse conchs and other critters washed up but alive. I believe we should drop them back into the water to give them another chance. After all they go through!

Reply
Julie Thomas
22/6/2021 12:08:44 pm

Absolutely, Helen. Many can hold on for quite a while, adapted to being stranded till the next high tide picks them up again. Definitely worth giving them a chance if they're too far up the beach. To me, a person who will do this is compassionate person in general. Bravo.
And the creatures deserve our help. It's their world, too, isn't it?

Catherine Watson
19/6/2021 08:50:44 am

What a breath-taking glimpse into another world, and what a wonderful resource. Helen follows in the great traditions of citizen scientists.

Reply
Anne Heath Mennell
20/6/2021 02:59:29 pm

I agree with the comments above, Helen, and thank you for sharing your words and wonderful images of a world completely new to me.

I'm reminded of the old conservationist adage - See, Care, Act. If people see something they are more likely to care about it and, if they care about it, they are more likely to take action to protect it. The underwater world is a complete mystery to all the people who can't dive, snorkel or even swim. Our offshore Bass Coast waters are unique in many ways and are so precious but those in power think nothing of drilling, desalination, over-fishing, pouring in effluent and other toxic waste and that's before we start on the issue of plastic waste.

Please, can you show us some more of this world on a regular basis? Who knew there was such a thing as a sea hare, never mind one which squirts purple ink!

Reply
Brian Carr link
21/6/2021 01:21:14 pm

Great pictures, thank you.

Reply
Helen K
21/6/2021 02:35:37 pm

I'll try to send Catherine some pix more often, Anne, but it can take a long time until I have a store of good, interesting photos. The response here is very encouraging!

Not much happens over winter; the slime on the rocks is one of those seasonal things with which I need to deal. Black slime is deadly, like black ice. Dark reddish brow is somewhat navigable but dodgy. Green and fawn are good becausr they are bryzoans not slime.

I'm being unfair, lumping it all together as 'slime' - it's algae and deserves our respect!

Reply
Anne Heath Mennell
21/6/2021 03:07:16 pm

Good reminder, Helen, that all living things deserve our respect for their place in the web of life. We need to re-think the old hierarchy of humans on top, above the animals, with plants a distant third and fungi, lichen, yeasts, moulds, mycorrhiza, bacteria, algae etc. not considered or appreciated at all. Everything is connected to everything else and has vital roles to play which we mess with at our peril! I look forward to more of your images from the underwater world in the future.

Reply
Margaret lee
21/6/2021 06:01:11 pm

They are absolutely fantastic Helen. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful and precious world. I do much the same thing in the bush hunting for tiny orchids, plants , mosses and fungi!! Our tiny and spectacular species need protecting at all costs given the assault on our land here on The Bass Coast

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