Search Blog Posts
177 results.
We're over the moon for the moon snail
With its easily recognizable shell (the largest found on Puget Sound beaches), we are certainly over the moon for this month's critter: the Moon Snail.
The voucher sheet project
A voucher sheet is a document that contains descriptions and photos of a species. We create these to identify the critters we monitor and to help other scientists doing similar work.
Be still, my heart (urchin)!
Unlike most sea urchins, which are round, heart urchins appear heart-shaped, elongate with a small depression at one end for the mouth.
Ring in the New Year with the black-eyed hermit crab
The black-eyed hermit is never far from home, because it carries it along. Hermit crabs find protection from predators inside empty snail shells.
Eyes Over Puget Sound: La Niña is here!
November 2016 surface-conditions report: heavy rains swelled Puget Sound rivers and streams to above-normal levels, so water temperatures, salinity, and oxygen improved.
Get winterized with the frost-spot corambe
The frost-spot corambe is a beautiful sea slug with frosty white speckles that seem to glow as if it just swallowed a set of twinkly lights.
Having a bad hair day? The hair worms can relate
The hair worms belong to a family of polychaetes called Cirratulidae, and their tangled hairs are actually branchiae, external gills that occur in pairs along their bodies.
Sound-to-table? The sweet potato sea cucumber is a produce impersonator
With its smooth, plump body, this month’s critter bears a resemblance to items you might find in a grocery store. Meet Molpadia intermedia, the Sweet Potato Sea Cucumber.
Review our report on options to help the Chehalis River Basin
As part of a community effort to restore the basin and put it on a path to recovery, we have completed a report for your review and input.
Pea crabs, the ultimate unwelcome houseguests
Pea crabs are very tiny. They can be found inside oysters, marine worms, or — especially in the Pacific Northwest —in ghost shrimp burrows.