Christmas Stars

There’s a stunning range of starfish below the water off the West Coast of BC. Here’s a sampling, just in time for Christmas. All photos by Bernard P. Hanby.

This extraordinary encyclopedia of Pacific Northwest marine life includes descriptions of some 1400 species of saltwater plants and animals and about 1700 colour photos. While it is particularly relevant to the coast of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, the ranges of most of the included organisms extend from Alaska to central California, where Point Conception (just northwest of Santa Barbara) is the northern boundary to a southern California faunal region.

It is surprising to realize that coastal water temperatures from Alaska to California are amazingly uniform. You might think that California waters are warm, but they are not. They are cool and temperate, like the waters along the coast of BC. August water temperatures along the coasts of Baja California, San Francisco, Victoria (BC and southern Alaska are usually between 13 and 15 C). This is brought about by the nature of water currents in the North Pacifi c. Warm North Pacifi c currents sweep in a great arc clockwise across the ocean to Oregon and Washington where they turn partly to the north and partly to the south. This warms the northern regions and, together with upwelling of deep water, cools the California coast, thus balancing temperatures north and south. Even the winter temperatures vary only a few degrees along the coast. This thermal uniformity, relatively stable across 22 degrees of latitude and over a long period of time, has brought about a diverse and extensive fauna, the temperate marine fauna of the American North Pacifi c. These species are restricted to temperate conditions and are intolerant of warmer or cooler water.

Of course the Pacific Northwest itself is differentiated by the inland waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Strait of Georgia and all the associated channels and fiords. Locally summer temperatures may be elevated and winter temperatures may be lowered in comparison with the outer coast. This is particularly true for areas around the mouths of streams and rivers. Such areas usually have fewer species than are found on the open coast. On the other hand, swift tidal currents agitate and mix the waters and create habitats rich in marine life.

Half of the species within this very large temperate west coast fauna are endemic (found nowhere else) as compared with less than one quarter of the European North Atlantic species. Unique genera and even families are conspicuous along the Pacific coast. Notable are the lithode crabs of which there are 13 genera and 26 species. Among the mollusk families, chitons and octopod cephalopods have numerous species, more than in other oceans. Sea stars are exceedingly numerous in this region. No other region in the world has so many species, genera and families. Some scientists estimate there are as many as 92 species here. The fishes are interesting and unusual also. The live-bearing sea perch (family Embiotocidae) contains 21 species in 20 genera. These fi sh give birth to large young. The two-meter-long wolf eel is related to the wolf fi sh of the North Atlantic. The greenlings, lingcod and sable fish, closely associated with the Pacific sculpins (family Cottidae) are characteristic of northern seas. Many of them are endemic to the Pacific coast, and over 100 species exist here. Conspicuous and numerous are the rockfi shes, cool water members of the scorpion fish family (Scorpaenidae) of which there are about 60 species along the Pacific coast.

While we are discussing the abundance and the diversity of the marine animals we must not forget the marine plants -- the great kelp forests and the rich interitdal plant growth that provide habitat for so many marine animals. The great intertidal amplitude and the cool summer climate in the northern waters are conducive to abundance and good health in inter-tidal organisms.

The book is designed to be useful to beachcombers, divers, students and professional biologists and anyone interested in marine life. It is easy to use. The Quick Reference Guide and its diagnostic colour photos smoothly direct you to the proper pages. Each phylum is introduced by a few descriptive paragraphs and then the numbered species and the photographs follow. Each species is given a common name, a scientific name, size, range, depth, description and natural history note. Appropriate and useful references are listed throughout the text. Species identification has been checked and rechecked by leading scholars. Dr Michael Hawkes of the University of British Columbia contributed a substantial number of photos of marine plants and reviewed the botanical section of the book. Dr Bill Austin of the Marine Ecology Centre in Sidney, BC, generously gave his advice concerning the difficulty in trying to identify sponge species. Sheila Byers shared her expertise in the extensive section on polychaete worms.

While we like to talk about the abundance of west coast marine life it must be said that the rapidly growing human population together with over fishing, coastal development and pollution have seriously reduced the richness. Let us hope that this comprehensive work will increase appreciation of marine life and contribute to its conservation. The book is a milestone in the photographic documentation of west coast marine life.

Preface by Murray A Newman, PhD Director Emeritus Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre.

Preface and photographs from Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: An Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds and Selected Fishes, by Andy Lamb and Bernard P. Hanby, photographs by Bernard P. Hanby (Harbour Publishing, 2005). Excerpt and photographs used with the permission of the authors and Harbour Publishing.

Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest is available at fine bookstores everywhere. For more information, visit www.harbourpublishing.com.

Andy Lamb is a marine naturalist and educator who has worked as Chief Collector at the Vancouver Aquarium and as a fish culturist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. He is the co-author of the marine classic, Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. He lives at the Active Pass Lodge on Mayne Island, BC.

Bernard P. Hanby, a noted underwater photographer. Hanby is the recipient of the Vancouver Natural History Society’s 2003 Davidson Award for Conservation, and serves on the Conservation and Research Committee of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. His photographs have appeared in numerous publications and are displayed in Vancouver Aquarium and the Alaska SeaLife Centre. He lives in West Vancouver, BC.