This article is a part of our second newsletter titled, The Persaud Catalogue Scientific Journal of Marine Biology. In this journal, we will publish information concerning the various marine flora & fauna of certain places. This newsletter, will publish sporadically, & not on a timed basis like The Persaud Catalog. This journal is in affiliation with The Persaud Catalog, however it is a separate entity. In this article, we will state all of the most prominent species of Marine Flora in Malibu Lagoon that were found. We will state the density of these species, the place where it was found the most, & a detailed description of the species. Please note, this was done with the correct permits, do not attempt to imitate this survey without being aware of the permits necessary to do so. On June 17th of 2023, we sent 2 field agents to Ranchos Palos Verdes Beach. On the beach, We did a survey of all the seagrasses & seaweeds that washed up on shore. We have took the coordinates & a sample of certain of these species, in order to study them. They have collected samples of the seaweed species that were found along the beach. We got in total, 6 samples of seagrasses from the beach. In this article, we will publish the results of examination of these seagrasses, & due to this article being public, it will make an official public log of all the seagrasses along that beach. To be clear, this is a survey that will only be conducted once, & not yearly like the Malibu surveys. This survey is a stand alone study. With that being said, let us delve into the seagrasses of Ranchos Palos Verdes Beach.
The Initial Survey Of Ranchos Palos Verdes Beach
Under this category, will be all of the compiled list of all of the species that were found along the beach. All of our specimens were taken at approximately 6:30 PM on June 17th, 2023. This was closer to high tide then to low tide, as the high tide of the day was at 9:17 PM. This may influence the results as we may have more seaweed samples then we would at say low tide. Below is the list of all samples of seaweed found at Ranchos Palos Verdes.
Specimen 1: Chondrus Crispus (Carrageen Moss / Irish Moss )
We found the species Chondrus Crispus growing abundantly along the beach. This species is also known as Irish Moss, or Carrageen Moss. The beach is rather rocky, which makes conditions very comfortable for this species to grow. We found this specimen at the coordinates of 33°43’44” North 118°21’9” West or 250° West . Our Specimen measured at 16.9 centimeters (6.653543 inches). Usually in this species each plant grow to at minimum 20 centimeters. meaning it is This specimen was a deep wine red colour, meaning it was most likely in it was healthy, & had not been exposed on the beach for very long. Carrageen moss will turn brown in the winter, however since summer solstice in California is the 22nd of June, this moss had been in the spring & early summer heat for quite some time. Irish moss will usually have branches 2 millimeters to 15 millimeters thick, however our specimen was somewhat small so it was at a lower thickness. This species was the most prominent by far along the beach, as you quite clearly could not walk more then 10 feet without seeing or stepping on Carrageen Moss. This species grows most commonly in the intertidal zone along the beach, & as deep as the oceanic floor. Carrageen moss is also deep purple in colour. This species is found practically everywhere on the beach except for the Rocky Areas.
Specimen 2: Unidentified White Seagrass Species
We found this strange specimen along the sandy portion of the beach, far from
the rocky portion of the beach. It seemed to be the only specimen of its species along the beach. We found this species at coordinates 33°43’44” North 118°21’9” West or 294° North West. Our specimen for this species measured at approximately 6.5 inches long (16.51 centimeters). It seems to have a main root part that connects all of its leaves, that is attached to the bottom of the specimen. This species seemed to be in the highest density on the north central most area on the beach.
Specimen 3: Callophyllis
We found this specimen very close by the place where the white specimen. It was tangled in a large mat of Carrageen Moss. We found this specimen at the coordinates 33°43’44” North 118°21’9” West or 297° North West. Our specimen of this species measured at approximately 5.25 inches (13.335 centimeters) long. We narrowed it down to the genus of Callophyllis, however we could not figure out exactly which species it was. There are approximately 55 species under this genus, making it extremely hard to determine which exactly it was. Our specimen was a light red colour, & not very pigmented at all. When held up to the light, the tips are translucent. Additionally the branches of this species seemed to have some kind of bacteria growing on it, as when held up to the light, there seemed to be large dots on the branches. This could also just be a pigmentation issue. This genus is characterized by its red, disco looking seagrasses. Out of all the species on this list, it seemed to be the third least common on the beach.
Specimen 4: Corallina Officinalis (Common Coraline)
We found this specimen clumped in the same mat as the specimen of Ulva Lactuca. These 2 specimens were found at 33°43’44” North 118°21’9” West or 333° North West. Our specimen of this species measured at 5.25 inches (13.335 centimeters) long. This species seemed to have one central stem, & have a small appendages growing off of all of the sides. This species is also rather fluffy, & calcareous. Out of all the species on that beach this species seemed to be the second most commonly found. Common Coraline grows primarily in the rocky & intertidal zones, but strangely enough washes up the most on the beach & not on the rocks or in-between them. This species is certainly very recognizable as it is a deep purple colour, similar to that of Carrageen Moss. This species is found on the highest density on the sandy most parts of the beach, & is virtually nonexistent on the rocky areas of the beach.
Specimen 5: Ulva Lactuca (Sea Lettuce)
We found this specimen clumped in the same mat as the Purple Seagrass. These 2 specimens were found at 33°43’44” North 118°21’9” West or 333° North West. Our specimen of this species measured at approximately 13 inches long. It seems, that we found just the leaf portion of this species. Our specimen does not seem to have a stem, fruit, root, or anything of the like. This is most certainly just the leaf of whichever species it belongs to. Ulva Lactuca has thin, flat, long, wide leaves that are extremely recognizable. This species is also a deep neon green colour, however it can also appear a regular ivy green. This species, along with Zostera Marina, is the one of more uncommon of all the seagrasses on this list. More specifically, it is the second most uncommon of all of the species. This species grows most commonly on rocks, & in intertidal zones. This species seems to be in the highest density on the central most side of the beach.
Specimen 6: Zostera Marina (Common Eelgrass / Seawrack)
We found our specimen of Zostera Marina at the coordinates 33°43’44” North 118°21’10”, or 314° North West. This species is not found as frequently on the beach as all of the other species on this list. It was found towards the center of the beach, further away from all other major mats of seagrass. Zostera Marina always tends to grow to massive lengths, but we found an especially small specimen. The longest part of specimen for this species measured at 45 inches long (114.3 centimeters). Though, this specific was discovered in a large mat, so many of its tendrils broke off from the main root. This makes it difficult to determine the real length that the unbroken specimen is supposed to be. This species & Ulva Lactuca, seem to be the least common along Ranchos Palos Verdes Beach. This species is extremely easy to identify as it is long, thin, & green. It is by far the the longest species found on Ranchos Palos Verdes Beach. It seems to be found in the highest density towards the central most areas of the beach.
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