microbin_ 的最愛

Lots of juvenile Saccharina latissima at Stanley Park right now in the mid-intertidal. Found alongside lots of the “false Kelp”, Petalonia fascia. Made a quick set of annotated photos to help distinguish these co-occurring species, and two iNat records to note both species. Later in summer, Saccharina population will be restricted to lower intertidal and Petalonia blades will be mostly gone (alternate life cycle stage, a crust, still present).

Note: last photo refers to both species as “juveniles”. Only the Saccharina are juveniles and will grow much larger. The Petalonia are already full grown and very large compared to a “typical” Petalonia in BC.