Low tides this week! (June 5-9)
Hello sea star fans!
Some of the lowest tides of the summer are happening this coming week, meaning it's a great time to get out and check on your local sea stars! Coincidentally, it's also Ocean Week Canada, AND it's been ten years since the current bout of SSWD began. The approximate low tides for Quadra and Cortes Island are listed below.
Hakai research technicians did our first survey of the year last month at our three sites on the east side of Quadra Island (Hyacinthe Bay, Moulds Bay, and Shellaligan Pass). We saw very little wasting, but with the unseasonably hot spring weather—increased wasting has been correlated with warmer waters—it will be interesting to see how the sea star fare as the summer progresses.
Want to get more involved? Pick a shoreline to monitor monthly on low tide beach walks! The easiest way to share observations on iNaturalist from these monthly walks is to take representative photos of the sea stars you see: a photo of healthy individuals of each species (no need to know the species—iNaturalist will help with that!), and photos of stars that look potentially diseased. Check out the project description or this Hakai-Friends of Cortes Island primer for a reminder of the signs and symptoms of sea star wasting.
Happy intertidal explorations!
Quadra low tides:
Monday June 5: 1:30pm, 0.3 m
Tuesday June 6: 2pm, 0.3 m
Wednesday June 7: 3pm, 0.4 m
Thursday June 8: 3:45pm, 0.6 m
Cortes low tides:
Monday June 5: 1:30pm, 0 m
Tuesday June 6: 2pm, 0 m
Wednesday June 7: 3pm, 0.2 m
Thursday June 8: 3:45pm, 0.5 m
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