Black Cormorant

Brown Gorgonian

Brown gorgonian at Underwater Island, Anacapa.

Red and Yellow Gorgonians

Red and yellow gorgonians. Gorgonians usually align their longer axes perpendicular to the current. Red and yellow often appear fairly close together, with one behind the other. Perhaps one strains from the water the food that the other has missed; or perhaps theyare just being neighborly!

Brittle Star with Red Gorgonian

A yellow brittle star clambers over a red gorgonian. Brittle stars like to be above the ocean floor, and will climb up on anything. Groups of them can crush young eelgrass plants under their collective weight.

Spiny Lobster

Lobsters are very curious and will energe from their crevices to stroke a visiting diver with their antennas. They are strong and speedy and can evade all but the quickest of tail-grabbers.

Flying Cormorant

Cormorants seem strong and determined in flight,if not particularly graceful.  They are capable.

Lightbulb Tunicate

These tunicates are about the size of pencil erasers.

Anemone

This green anemone  was orange, although it wasn't particularly deep.  It was about the size of a coffee cup.  It was at Cat Rock, off the south coast of Anacapa.

Seal

Harbor seal at Rat Rock, Anacapa Island.  Seals are shy and don't interact with divers often.  They use their fins as hands, to grip kelp or (occasionally) divers.  This seal was very curious about my neoprene hood, and grasped it and pulled gently upward.  It didn't pull the hood off, although a little cold water seeped in.

Sea Lions

Sea lions zoom past divers at The Gap, Anacapa Island.  Sea lions have trenedous grace and strength, and seem to enjoy playing with clumsy humans.  Desipte the name, they are more like dogs than cats.

Pink Abalone

Pink abalone at Channels, on the south side of Anacapa. The white fringe on the foot identifies it as a pink -- see http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pubs/abalone.htm. Abalone may be slow-moving, but they have a lot of personality. With two independent, movable eyes, they can take in lots of scenery. We should all soak up our surroundings in this way!