I had such fun at the open water swim clinic last weekend. Not only did I learn a ton of open water swimming tips from the experts, I definitively answered the question of how to tell a dolphin fin from a shark fin:
I also learned that these clear critters are not jellyfish that sting, but harmless salps:
A salp pumps water through its body to filter out the phytoplankton. The population of salps (or salpa) ebbs and flows with the bloom of phytoplankton. As the plankton blooms, the salp population grows and feeds on the plentiful food. Salps play an important part in the ocean ecosystem by building up the carbon layer as their poop — and eventually their slimy dead bodies — sink to the ocean floor. A Los Angeles County lifeguard informed us that it’s been 50 years since salp were seen at Zuma Beach.
Thank goodness I was safe from the ravages of diving dolphins and slimy salp! What fun sightings have you made on a recent training swim, bike or run?
The boys and I ran/walked a 5k on the beach last fall, and we found all kinds of critters! Kelp, crab shells, a dead fish… The coolest was the 1″ complete sand dollar 🙂 I had only ever found broken pieces, but Luke found the whole one.
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A complete sand dollar is the best race “medal” ever!!
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Holy cow! I thought those were jellyfish eggs! We swam awhile back and the water was FULL of them like they were all over and wrapping around our arms, it was sick. Relieved they aren’t jelly eggs though! All we’ve had at Corona Del Mar is a bunch of jellyfish lately =(
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