Swaying in the Tides

The low tide can uncover some mysteries of the British Columbia coast. It's not something I've paid close attention to before, but now that I walk around with camera in hand, I'm more likely to focus on the small details of my surroundings. So, when I saw how far the ocean had receded and exposed miles of a local beach, I channeled my inner explorer and set to work.

This entire area is usually under water but with the low tide, the seafloor was exposed, revealing some tantalizing topography. Walking across it felt like walking across the surface of an alien planet.

It wasn't long before I found the first signs of life.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something scurrying swiftly through the grass. I peered down and was absolutely thrilled to see a little creature hiding in the blades of grass.

There were pockets of water, where fishes and other creatures had remained stranded. These species were literally living on the edge.

As I was inspecting the sea grasses, I saw another fish that had a similar green colour as the surrounding aquatic plants.

Then a reddish one!

I came across translucent sacs filled with a milky substance. I touched one of them gently with my finger, and it felt very soft like a yolk membrane. They appeared to be attached to the body of the grasses under the sand. Inside one of them, I thought I saw small white creatures floating about in the liquid medium, which led me to believe without a shadow of a doubt that these were likely the spawn of Cthulhu. From then on, I was more careful where I stepped.

This is wild stuff, I thought. This discovery (fueled by the cup of coffee I had earlier partaken of ;) got me thinking about evolution. What role did the tides play? Over the years, these lifeforms along the shore learn how to survive in their dual environment (amphi) and adapt biologically (bios). It makes sense that a species capable of dealing with the receding ocean would be more likely to step out of the water altogether and colonize land.

I'm not sure what kind of creature this is, but I'm sure I'm going to have nightmares about it.

Where there is life

The beach was littered with the bodies of dead crabs. Some of them had barnacles sticking to their carcasses, so they had probably been dead for a while. Others showed more recent signs of death and violence.

I looked around and realized why some of the crabs had been torn to pieces.

Barnacle encrusted crab shell with gaping hole

The sound of the waves carried in the soft breeze. Everywhere there were pools with life in them. I couldn't possibly explore them all, and soon it was time to go. The tide was rising bringing a new sea full of wonders...

...lurking beneath the waves.

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