ORA Variegated Sea Urchins

Last week I went to FJW Aquarium (my local fish store) while on my way to work.  I was just looking for another shrimp for my tank when I spotted the label: ORA Sea Urchins.  I remembered reading an article on the ORA blog about how they bred this species (link below).  FJW had just received ten of these urchins a few days ago and there was only two left.  I love Echinoderms and especially sea urchins so I bought both of them.

These sea urchins are Variegated Sea Urchins - Lytechinus variegatus.  Their range is around Florida and the tropical west Atlantic.  Every time I go to Florida I see these urchins, sometimes in the thousands.  They can get as big as a tangerine and are usually purple but sometimes pink.  I typically find them in sea grass beds but have also seen them on bare sand along the swimming beaches.  They eat algae and sometimes cover themselves with blades of the seagrass they are eating as well as shells; perhaps for camouflage.

ORA Variegated Sea Urchins at FJW, both are about the same size as a quarter. 

The other ORA Variegated Sea Urchin at FJW, this one is a little darker.

The two ORA Variegated Sea Urchins in my 30 gallon tank.  This tank has lots of Caulerpa, Halimeda, and some hair algae for them to graze on if they choose.  They are often seen together like in the picture above. 

ORA Variegated Sea Urchin - blog post.  For more information and some more cool photos of the Urchins developing.  Great job ORA!  I hope you add some more Florida urchins to your breeding list; perhaps.  Long-spinned Urchin - Diadema antillarum or West Indian Sea Egg - Tripneustes ventricosus. 

Phlox pilosa - Big Thicket National Preserve

There are many species of wildflower growing in the Big Thicket National Preserve and one of the showiest during the spring is the Downy Phlox - Phlox pilosa.  It grows along the roadside where you can see its bright magenta flowers when driving by. Up close it has thin leaves covered with soft hairs and sweet smelling flowers.  

Phlox pilosa, growing along the roadside in Tyler Co. TX

The bright showy flowers provide food for butterflies and hummingbirds.

There are 9 subspecies of Phlox pilosa across its range; 5 of those are native to Texas.

Another species of Phlox is found in the Big Thicket area is Phlox nivalis ssp. texensis; it is Endangered and was once thought to be extinct.  It has a very small range that is being monitored.

For more info click:  Texas Trailing Phlox

Other possible species that could be found in the area include:

Phlox drummondii - Annual Phlox (usually has bright red flowers)

Phlox divaricata - Wild Blue Phlox (has light blue flowers and spreading growth)

Sarracenia alata - Big Thicket National Preserve

Last summer I posted about how the severe drought in Texas was effecting the Sarracenia alata populations  in Big Thicket.  See:  Sarracenia alata 2011 Drought  Many plants in the Big Thicket area were severely damaged or killed due to the drought and populations of certain species declined considerably.

On my trip yesterday things looked much better than last year thanks to the good amount of rain we've had this spring.  It was much more lush overall with many species of wildflowers blooming.  The Sarracenia populations had many new leaves but I only saw one flower overall.

Sundew Trail:

The Sundew Trail Sarracenia population seems to have been hit hard by last years drought.

There were no flowers and all of the pitchers were thin, short, and phyllodia like.

A patch of some of the healthier plants along the Sundew Trail.  If I didn't know they were growing here I probably wouldn't have seen them.

Pitcher Plant Trail:

The Pitcher Plant Trail S. alata population looked really good.

There was a lot of healthy pitchers!

A nice big and healthy pitcher.  

The only S. alata flower I could find.

...So as you can see the Big Thicket populations of Sarracenia alata was negatively impacted by the drought last year but thankfully still survives.  Remember: when visiting it is important to never take anything!  No collecting leaves, plants, seeds, flowers, etc.  By collecting you could be removing plants that could determine the survival of the species.  As seen above - these two populations will have almost no seeds produced this year.  Hopefully there will be no more droughts in the near future and these Sarracenia alata populations can restore themselves to their previous abundance.

My Easter Decorations

Happy Easter!

I like to keep my holiday decorating simple and natural so for Easter I have Waterford crystal bowls filled with various mediums and a replica bird eggs.  I also have a few Martha Stewart  Silver Foil Bunnies, that look like they are chocolate but are actually resin.  The egg replicas came from a craftsman in the UK; they are solid and hand painted.

On my desk I have the medium sized bunny with a small Waterford bowl.

Great-crested Grebe egg replica.

A larger Waterford bowl with various mosses and lichens.

Great Auk egg replica

Another small display near in my bedroom.

Guillemot egg replica in white reindeer moss.

Atlantis Celebrity Summit - Saline Beach, St. Barths

Saline Beach was my favorite part of visiting St. Barthelemy.

It was a lot of fun because of all the people from the cruise ship being there in addition to the beautiful scenery: crystal blue water, white sand, and the coral reef.

Saline Beach, St. Barths Island

Blade Fire Coral - Millepora complanata 

Caribbean Reef Squid - Sepioteuthis sepioidea

Horse Conch - Triplofusus giganteus, I think someone picked this guy up and dropped him upside down where he was stuck between two rocks.  I pulled him out and put him right-side-up here on this rock.

West Indian Sea Urchin - Tripneustes ventricosus

 Brain Coral - Diploria sp.

Brain Coral - Diploria sp.

Caribbean Spiny Lobster - Panulirus argus 

Finger Coral - Porites porites

Long-spinned Sea Urchin - Diadema antillarum

Elkhorn Coral - Acropora palmata, growing in pretty shallow water.

Elkhorn Coral - Acropora palmata 

Blade Fire Coral - Millepora complanata, with many small reef fish in between the blades. 

Queen Parrotfish - Scarus vetula

Queen Angelfish - Holocanthus ciliaris

Atlantic Blue Tang - Acanthurus coeruleus

These are just some of the things I was able to photograph while snorkeling.  There was many other fish, coral, and other invertebrates around this area.  I can't wait to come back to St. Barths and spend more time exploring this beautiful beach.

Atlantis Celebrity Summit - St. Barthelemy

St. Barths was my favorite island we visited during the cruise!  I think it might be my favorite island of the Caribbean (tied with St. Thomas).  It is a wonderful place.

St. Barths has no cruise port so we were tendered to charming Gustavia. 

Gustavia Harbor filled with all sorts of boats and very fancy yachts.

Lots of high-end shopping and fine dining.

There is also nice Louis Vuitton and Hermes if you are looking for a nice souvenir too! 

I spotted this sea turtle while walking along Gustavia harbor. 

I wonder if someone feeds it.

Fort Oscar

View from Fort Karl

View from Fort Karl looking down at Shell Beach.

A ship replica inside the Wall House Museum.

Pretty roof tops along the hillside.

Desserts from the Wall House Restaurant

View of Gustavia at night from the cruise ship.

The most fun part of the day on St. Barths was spending time at Saline Beach.

Which is the topic of the next post....

Atlantis Celebrity Summit - Dominica

View of Roseau, Dominica from the cruise ship.

A sign showing the wildlife of Morne Trois Pitons National Park

Orchid - Spathoglottis plicata, which is actually native to Tropical Asia and Australia.

Path leading to Middleham Falls

Ginger Lily - Alpinia sp.

Fire Bush - Hamelia sp.

Red-necked Amazon - Amazona arausiaca , high up in the canopy. 

The weather was cool and pleasant for being a tropical rainforest.

Tree Fern

Heliconia sp.

Middleham Falls

The water was so refreshing! 

Middleham Falls

Middleham Falls

Dominica is very lush with tropical forest.