Red gorgonian on rocky reef, below kelp forest, underwater. The red gorgonian is a filter-feeding temperate colonial species that lives on the rocky bottom at depths between 50 to 200 feet deep. Gorgonians are oriented at right angles to prevailing water currents to capture plankton drifting by.
Species: Red gorgonian, Leptogorgia chilensis, Lophogorgia chilensis
Location: Santa Barbara Island, California
Image ID: 35825
Kelp fronds showing pneumatocysts, bouyant gas-filled bubble-like structures which float the kelp plant off the ocean bottom toward the surface, where it will spread to form a roof-like canopy.
Location: Santa Barbara Island, California
Image ID: 35827
Red gorgonian on rocky reef, below kelp forest, underwater. The red gorgonian is a filter-feeding temperate colonial species that lives on the rocky bottom at depths between 50 to 200 feet deep. Gorgonians are oriented at right angles to prevailing water currents to capture plankton drifting by.
Species: Red gorgonian, Leptogorgia chilensis, Lophogorgia chilensis
Location: Santa Barbara Island, California
Image ID: 35828
The Grizzly Giant Sequoia Tree in Yosemite. Giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum), roots spreading outward at the base of each massive tree, rise from the shaded forest floor. Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park.
Location: Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 36401
Sunlight glows throughout a giant kelp forest. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky reef to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 37086
Kelp fronds and pneumatocysts. Pneumatocysts, gas-filled bladders, float the kelp plant off the ocean bottom toward the surface and sunlight, where the leaf-like blades and stipes of the kelp plant grow fastest. Giant kelp can grow up to 2' in a single day given optimal conditions. Epic submarine forests of kelp grow throughout California's Southern Channel Islands.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 37100
Garibaldi maintains a patch of algae (just in front of the fish) to entice a female to lay a clutch of eggs.
Image ID: 37144
Kelp fronds and pneumatocysts, giant kelp forest, Catalina Island.
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 37193
Kelp fronds and pneumatocysts, giant kelp forest, Catalina Island.
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 37199
Kelp fronds and pneumatocysts. Pneumatocysts, gas-filled bladders, float the kelp off the ocean bottom toward the surface and sunlight, where the leaf-like blades and stipes of the kelp plant grow fastest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 37297
Giant Kelp Forest, West End Catalina Island, rendered in the round by a circular fisheye lens.
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 38480
Giant Kelp Forest, West End Catalina Island, rendered in the round by a circular fisheye lens.
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 38481
Garibaldi and California golden gorgonian on underwater rocky reef, San Clemente Island. The golden gorgonian is a filter-feeding temperate colonial species that lives on the rocky bottom at depths between 50 to 200 feet deep. Each individual polyp is a distinct animal, together they secrete calcium that forms the structure of the colony. Gorgonians are oriented at right angles to prevailing water currents to capture plankton drifting by.
Species: California golden gorgonian, Giant kelp, Muricea californica, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 38501