The Finer Things

When looking closely one can see all sorts of interesting interactions. We got to dive at a site that I have not been at for many years. Pearse's Casing (named after John Pearse -who was an early invertebrate ecologist here) used to have a large structure on the seafloor, but alas it has collapsed over the years. However, there is still exciting things to see there. For example, the gooseneck barnacles that are hitching a ride on a seaspider (as shown above). You can see the Cirri (legs used for filter feeding) coming out of a couple of their bodies. Always strange to think that barnacles are crustaceans, not something else.

While I often think of Antarctica as an Echinoderm dominated place, there really are a whole lot of molluscs as well. Like the snail above.

Or this snail, wandering through a field of cnidarians (octocorals) as well as lots of diatoms and hydroids.

But most people's favorite snail form, are nudibranchs are there are numerous cool looking ones here.

I think this one, with the frosted tips, is probably my favorite. So when looking at the small scale, lots of fine scale detail to be lost in, even in a landscape of amazing visibility and ice.