Fort Ross Part. 2

Fort Ross

Fort Ross has a whole lot of interesting history. There is a unique blend of diverse cultural groups that make up the history of Fort Ross. Some of the groups included the Russians, the Kashaya Pomo, Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo Indians, the Aleutian and Kodiak Islanders, and the Spanish and Mexican settlers. There was also the Creoles, who were the children of Russian men and Native North American women. The resources at the Pacific Ocean, were a huge part/reason for the history of Fort Ross. In the hunt for "soft gold", the Russians settled Alaska. Then later with two primary goals, the Russians migrated to the Pacific coast. The Russians primary goals included to find warmer locations where they would have the opportunity to grow enough food that would feed the Alaskan settlements. There other goal was to be able to increase the range of marine mammals were being hunted. Nationalities such as the Russians, British and the Americans were hunting marine mammals. Some of the marine mammals that were being hunted included sea otters and  northern fur seals. These goods that they would hunt down, were traded to the Chinese. Because of all of the hunting being done, the Russians with others started to realize that many of the species were on the brink of extinction. Which they ended up creating one of the earliest moratoriums on hunting practices. The local ecosystems at Fort Ross have changed over time because of the different practices that people in the past had practiced.  In 2015, the waters off the coast of Fort Ross were included in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is a globally significant, diverse and productive marine ecosystem that supports abundant wildlife and valuable fisheries. They protect wildlife, cultural resources and habitats of one of the most diverse and bountiful marine environments in the world. Even though the waters of the Fort Ross are part of the sanctuary, there is still a lot of threats within the species. Some of the species that of marine mammals that have re-established populations at Fort Ross include Stellar Sea Lions, California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. Two marine species that were once plentiful before the 19th century "soft Gold Rush" by American, British and Russians were the Northern Fur Seals and the California Sea Otters.

Harbor Seals:
Like mentioned above and in by previous blog entry, harbor seals are seen in the waters of Fort Ross. They haul out along the coast and they rest and relax on the rocks before they have they go back into 

Harbor Seals-Fort Ross

the water to feed themselves. The Harbor Seals have an average size of 5 to 6 feet long and they weigh 200-300 pounds. The Harbor Seals are part of the ear less seal family and they are the smallest of them. There is not many differences between the males and females. They both have short limbs, small ear holes and a cur coat that doesn't have insulation, which they receive from a thick layer of blubber. Their fur varies in color from brown to silver and even spotted black. Harbor Seals are found in the northern waters of the Pacific and the Atlantic. They tend to come to shore every day. They live near shore or estuaries, in soft or rocky areas. The seals tend to not travel less then 12 miles and they are known to travel up rivers when pursing prey. They feed on species that are abundant in the area. For example, cephalopods, crustaceans, and schooling fish. They are known to dive up to 1,640 feed, but on average they dive about 16 feet for food. About 4-8% of their body weight in food everyday are eaten. The Harbor Seals breeding season is between May and June. Annually mature females gibe birth to pups that can swim at birth. The pups are nursed for 30-45 days. During this time they tent to haul out in sites with low or sloped rocks. These sites are typically visible to see predators. Their are three main species that kills Harbor Seals. They include great white sharks, killer whales, and even stellar sea lions. The range of Harbor Seals has not really changed through out the times, but they have abandoned individual sites. That is because of the large amount of human disturbances, such as noise, dogs, small boats, and low-flying aircraft.

iNaturalist is a place where people can record that they see or have seen in nature. It is a great way to learn about the natural world. This is a great way for scientists and land managers to monitor changes in biodiversity. In order for this to be successful, there needs to be enough people recording their observations. Fort Ross wants to and is very interested in knowing what species live out in the rocky intertidal of Fort Ross. Which is why they created a iNaturalist Project named Rocky Intertidal Species of Fort Ross. This way they will be able to collect data on all of the species that live in the intertidal of Fort Ross State Historic Park. There is low-tide, tide pooling and sandy shore environments. It is important that when observing and dealing with the species at the intertidal,that the species are dealt with care. By not removing them from their natural placement and make sure that one is watching their step. There are many kinds of species at the intertidal. Some of the species one will find include; Giant Green Anemones, Nudibranchs, crabs, flat worms, Limpets, sea stars, sea urchins and much more. On the picture above we see on the top left a Rabbit Dorid (Crimora coneja) nudibranch and on the bottom right we see a San Diego Dorid (Diaulula Sandiegensis) nudibranch. The flat worm (notocomplana acticola) is part of the platyhelminthes Phylum and turbellaria class. Notoplana acticola is a polyclad flatworm. Making it one of the most common ones in the rocky shores. The average size for one of these is about 1 cm but they can grow more than 2 cm in length. They are typically found in the mussel beds and under rocks in the lower intertidal. Sometimes some of the mature Notoplana acticola are known to be hermaphrodites.

Notoplana acticola

True limpets are in two superfamiles which are Patelloida and Nacelloida. They are similar in their shells but are solid conical shells. Their nutrients and waste streams enter underneath their shell. The limpets dont have eyes, they guide themselves by chemorecption, which is based on mucus deposits. The flatter their conical shell is the better it is for them because they will be less likely to be crushed by waves that pound on them on the rocky surfaces. They gaze around on vegetation and on detritus. Even when rockes are picked up and moved/re oriented, the limpets at dawn move to reorient their body for a more precise fit into the scar they had excavated into the rock.        

True Limpet