While aloft in a small plane, recent MLML grad Heather Hawk snapped this aerial shot of Moss Landing Marine Labs. A whole wall of the lab faces the Old Salinas River Channel and its pickleweed marsh. The flying snowy egrets and splashing sea otters in the channel are a dangerous distraction for the studier-turned- window-gazer…
Posts Tagged ‘Moss Landing Marine Labs’
How the Seagulls See Us
March 16, 2011Sperm Whale-Sized Calamari
March 8, 2011
(photo: B. Hooton)
Going eye to eye with this Robust Clubhook Squid is one of the many experiences that await visitors who tour Moss Landing Marine Labs. Large squid are favorite snacks of sperm whales, as the artist’s rendering on the wall suggests. You’ll notice that the sperm whale doesn’t have any teeth on its upper jaw. How did MLML grad Mariah Boyle use this fact to keep the peace between villages in Fiji? Find out in The Case of the Missing Sperm Whale Teeth!
That’s MISTER Steller Sea Lion to You, Buddy
February 28, 2011
(photo: B. Hooton)
Meet Ralph. He’s our resident stuffed Steller Sea Lion and general pinniped ambassador. Facing off with this giant beast is just one of the many experiences that await tour visitors at Moss Landing Marine Labs. Steller sea lions are largest of the eared seals (check out Ralph’s little ears), and while they typically live along the shores of Alaska and British Columbia, their range extends down to Año Nuevo in California. Males can weigh as much as one ton! But don’t worry, you can get a closeup look at Ralph without fear – it takes a lot to perturb him these days.
Blending into Nature
February 5, 2011
(photo: B. Hooton)
When the current Moss Landing Marine Labs facility was built in 2000, the Habitat Restoration group of the Benthic Ecology Lab restored the surrounding dunes from nonnative ice plant to native California vegetation. The lab itself seems to blend into the hillside. This photo of the MLML Library reveals a view that offers plenty of reasons for procrastination…
