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Wednesday, July 9, 2014 • The Islands’ Sounder
SeaDoc looks at crab larvae Concert in the park July 13 to understand population
Dr. Elizabeth L. Harvey photo
SeaDoc is looking for Dungeness crab larvae to study. by JACQ ZIER
Special to the Sounder
Dungeness crab fisheries are some of the most important in the Salish Sea. In Washington state alone, the fishery has an annual average value of about $20 million. Unfortunately there’s a little more work to do to better understand crab reproduction so we can make sure the population thrives while we serve up this delicious crustacean for dinner. Researchers from SeaDoc and the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory in California are looking for local Dungeness crab larvae, called megalopae, to better understand population dynamics and crab fishery cycles. Ultimately this will help us understand what oceanographic conditions are good for crab catching as well. The SeaDoc Society is looking for help from
Acupuncture Soaring Crane Healing
Lori Wilson, L.Ac Dip Ac, East Asian Medicine Practitioner and Licensed Acupuncturist is offering her services in Eastsound at 474 North Beach Rd, #3. (entrance from driveway) 376-5900. Thursday is a sliding scale "Barefoot Dr." clinic for islanders who are unable to afford regular treatments.
Medical Offices Orcas Island Family Medicine, PC.
David L. Russell, MD. Comprehensive health care for your entire family in an intimate and personalized setting. Call 376-4949 for an appointment.
sharp-sighted beachgoers in finding Dungeness crab megalopae for this study. The tiny megalopae are 5-8 mm in length and look like a very small floating crab about the size of a pencil eraser. They might be spotted swarming near the surface of the water by people walking on beaches or docks. The making of megalopae begins when a female Dungeness crab releases a pheromone before she molts. Dungeness crabs can mate nearly year round, but only while females are softshelled. When a keen male picks up her scent, he lifts her up with his claws, carrying her around for hours sometimes, to make sure he is there the instant she begins to molt. Once she has sloughed off her old shell, he deposits his sperm, which she stores until her 2.5 million eggs are fully
developed and fertilized. Afterwards, the male protects his mate from other suitors for several days by carrying her around with him. A female can store sperm for up to two years and may use sperm from one mating event for several batches of eggs. In the following months, the eggs hatch and embark on a metamorphosis through different larval stages. They first resemble small, planktonic shrimp while in the zoea stages. These larvae then undergo months of development in the ocean before they flock to sites close to the shore for a final larval stage known as the megalopae. Megalopae resemble tiny crabs and eventually move to live on the sea floor. It will take three to four more years for these crabs to mature to a harvestable size. A permit is required for megalopae collection, so please call the SeaDoc Society office (360-3763910) to report megalopae sightings. Jacq Zier, a 4th year student at Colgate University, is a 2011 graduate of Orcas Island High School. As a SeaDoc summer intern in 2013 she published an article on harbor seals in the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound and conducted research on threatened and endangered species in the Salish Sea. This summer she is writing a scientific monograph on harbor porpoise.
Pack up your picnic basket, blanket, sun hat, and toe-tapping shoes and join JP, Gordon, and Anita as JP and the OK Rhythm Boys bring their fun musicality to a free concert on the Village Green on Sunday, July 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. JP and the OK Rhythm Boys features fine fiddling, swinging guitar, thumping bass, and soaring 3 part vocal harmonies. And, if JP's ripping fiddling, Anita's sparkling guitar and Gordon's thumping bass and velvet singing aren't enough for you, just wait, and "the boys" may hop onto mandolin, ukulele, banjo, or musical saw for a tune or two. The group has lots of new material they are eager to share with the hometown crowd, and there will be plenty of old favorites as well. Swing, fiddled-up 1960s rockers, hoe downs, waltzes, standards, maybe the odd Klezmer moment, (and, as always, often mixed together in one tune in ever-surprising JP and the OKRB's fashion), and more originals and vocals all the time, JP and the OK Rhythm Boys promise an eclectic eve-
Art show, landscape demo Contributed photo
At left: A landscape painting entitled “Swan Road” by Maggie Sharkey.
Come and step into the illusory moments of plein air painting captured by local artists. Orcas Art Studios is hosting a free “Landscape Painting Demo” at Eastsound Waterfront Park
Pilates Center Works Studio
Offering Pilates, GYROTONIC®, Wellness. Private, small group, and drop-in classes. Athletic Center Building, Eastsound, 376-3659 www.orcaspilates.com
Psychotherapy Michael Elder MFT, CTS
Brief Targeted Psychotherapy 360-376-3255 ext 2, www.michaeleldermft.com
Vision San Juans Vision Source Chris T White, O.D., Full service medical eye care facility. 376-5310 www.cweyes.com
Call the Sounder at 376-4500 to advertise
ning of musical fun and beauty. You can check them out at www. jpandtheokrhythmboys.com and come see them live on the Village Green in Eastsound.
on Thursday, July 10 from 3 to 4 p.m. with Seattle artist Barbara Noonan. The demo will be followed by “Plein Air Summer!” show reception at Orcas Art Studios from 5 to 7 p.m. featuring landscape paintings of nine local artists. The gallery is located at 286 Mt. Baker Rd. Suite A4 – Airport Center.
Michael Elder
Replenish your mind, body spirit
&
MFT, CTS
360-376-3255 ext 2, www.michaeleldermft.com Brief Targeted Psychotherapy
Is there an event or memory from your past, even if vague or fragmentary, which affects your life today in non-productive ways? What do you do in your life that you would like to do more of or less of? If you have an answer to either of these questions, effective, efficient help is available without the need to give a detailed retelling of your story. I look forward to helping you clear the path for moving forward in your life.
Residential & Interior Design
Bonnie Ward ASID, IIDA 376-5050 www.designwardinc.com
“En plein air,” a French expression for “in the open air,” has been practiced for centuries, but became popular with the help of French Impressionists. Plein air painters set up their equipment on location and, in the limited amount of time they have, capture the essence of the scene that inspires them before the sun moves too far and changes the light completely. “Everything that is painted directly and on the spot has always a strength, a power, a vivacity of touch, which one cannot recover in the studio... three strokes of a brush in front of nature are worth more than two days of work at the easel,” wrote Eugene Boudin, one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. For more information visit owww.orcasartstudios.com/gallery/ or email info@orcasartstudios.com.
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