You’ve seen their bleached skeletons lying on the beach or scattered in gardens. What does a living sand dollar do?
Buried Treasure
October 11, 2021 •
Allison J. Gong
Allison J. Gong is a marine biologist and college-level biology teacher. She writes about her observations of the natural world at Notes From a California Naturalist.
They Can’t Stand Air or Rain. They Live Exposed to Both. How do Tidepool Creatures Survive?
December 10, 2019 •
Although the world’s oceans cover approximately 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, most humans interact with only the narrow strip that runs up onto land. This bit of real estate experiences terrestrial conditions on a once- or twice-daily basis and … Read more
Invasion of the Bee Body-Snatchers
October 29, 2019 •
Meet the flies that lay their eggs in a bee’s body.
Voracious Flowers of the Tidepool
August 13, 2019 •
Some of the most conspicuous animals in Northern California tidepools don’t look like animals at all. They resemble flowers more than any animal you’re probably familiar with.
Meet A Beach Worm That Builds Sand Castles
June 6, 2019 •
Phragmatopoma californica breathes over its entire body, poops from near its mouth, and reproduces with other worms despite living inside a tube.
Tidepool Creatures Bend the Sex Rules We Take for Granted
February 13, 2019 •
Learn about the small snail Crepidula fornicata, the anemone whose babies crawl out its mouth, and gymnastic barnacle sex.
The Eyes of the Sea Star
December 11, 2018 •
We’re used to bodies having front and back, top and bottom, left and right. But as some common California tidepool creatures show, there’s a totally different way of living.
Anemones Recognize ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ — and Go to War Over It
October 3, 2018 •
Check out any Pacific coast tidepool for a chance to see the evidence of a common invertebrate going to war over the difference between us and them.