Giant Kelp: exploring a corner of the microcosm

A tiny sea urchin rests between closed fingers.

This is a shot of a polychaete worm and the same urchin.

The blurs in the background are (rotating clockwise from the upper top) a shrimp, an isopod, a melibe, a limpet, and some other creatures. In the foreground, there are the urchin, polychaete worm, and a couple of juvinile Kellet's whelks that are either being amorous or quarrelsome. Their proboscises were extended as they wrestled together in what must have seemed to be the macro-marine equivalent of the Colosseum. No, they did not fight to the death, but if they did my money would be on the worm.

I recall that Justin and I used to use polychaetes as bait when we went fishing in Awajishima for kawahagi and other strange, exotic fish.

The kelp crabs and decorator crabs are really good at hiding, and are not very eager to be photographed. It's amazing the variety of colors that they display, from lemon yellow to grass green to brick red.