The mass of fish in lake Merritt!!
Healthy Bat Rays (2) with out-going tide, clear water
...sitting on a metal cormorant
Tiny fish! School of ~50-100 tiny fish (1inch and smaller) swimming and hiding in the green filamentous algae near the boat docks. Likely juveniles.
Here is a close-up of one of the tiny fishes thanks to the intrepid @chilipossum
Associated observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140588498
HELLO AGAIN.
This is now the second time I've photographed this undescribed nudibranch - the first one was found by Luan Roberts when we were dock fouling in August 2021: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/91369989
Unfortunately I did not have collecting materials with me, and I couldn't detour via CAS, so it got to go about its nudibranch business after these photos were taken.
This mystery slug does not appear in Behrens et al, Eastern Pacific Nudibranchs, 2021, nor have I found any references to it elsewhere.
Found by @anudibranchmom
Same individual as https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140313024
Third sighting of this mystery slug!
Beige, only a tiny bit of orange on the head and a just few white dots, plus short/dense cerata. About 7 mm.
The hawk was enjoying a rat breakfast so I was able to get quite close
Watched it wend its way through the algae. It would the climb up on the surface of the water upside down and be carried around/half swim. Its sharp tail used as an anchor point.
It was also swallowed very briefly by a yellow finned gobi who, when the nudibranch was on the sidewall of the channel, came up underneath, observed a moment. Then swallowed. Then spat
Bioluminescence in Lake Merritt today.