By Jade Dean

Last week, we held our second beach seine of the summer with the Pacific Coast Environmental Conservancy at the Colorado Lagoon and Bayshore in Long Beach, CA. All of our interns are getting the hang of catching and processing the various species we collect during these seines. Miss last month's beach seine recap? Read all about it here!

Here are some of our results:

• Over 400 Topsmelt (Atherinops affinis) caught at the Colorado Lagoon.
• The largest fish caught at Bayshore was a  Bay Pipe Fish (Syngnathus griseolineatus) that measured 20.3cm or 7.9in.
• The largest fish caught at the Colorado Lagoon was a Bat Ray (Myliobatis californicus) that measured  41cm or 16.1in.
• Our Bayshore seine had the most species diversity to date. We caught: Giant Kelpfish (Heterostichus rostratus), Striped Kelpfish (Gibbonsia metzi), Diamond Turbot (Hypsopsetta guttulata), California Halibut (Paralichthys californicus), Bay Pipe Fish (Syngnathus griseolineatus), and Shinner Perch (Cymatogaster aggregata).

This piece is devoted to my fellow plant enthusiasts.
Coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) is a dominant shrub at the Los Cerritos Wetlands and most other wetland communities.Unlike most plants, Coyote brush has separate male and female plants! The females bloom white fluffy, whitish green, and glistening flowers and males have yellowish flowers that are stubbier, short, flattish, with a creamy white color. The plant in the picture is a female. 
The sexy part: The male and female flowers must be in contact from wind dispersal after each is pollinated by honey bees or Argentine ants to produce seed (obligate outcrosser).

Other Fun Facts

• Baccharis derives from the Greek word "bakkaris", referring to plants with fragrant roots
• pilularis refers to the sticky globs on its flower buds
• Native Americans used the heated leaves to reduce swelling, and the wood to make arrow shafts and houses
  
• Coyote Bush appears after fire or grazing in chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities (pioneer species) 
  

By Jade Dean
Last Thursday, Tidal Influence was represented by Eric Zahn, Alex Smith, and Jade Dean during a field training day with the SMBRF. SMBRF is the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation and is a partner on a grant to do Level 3 Monitoring at three sites in southern California: Ormond Beach Weltands, Ballona Creek, and Los Cerritos Wetlands. Level 3 Monitoring entails taking a detailed inventory of the flora and fauna that call these degraded ecosystems home. We are looking forward to collecting data and comparing our results! Check back here for more details as the project progresses. Click "Read More" to look at our pictures.

By Megan Roy
Our Educational programs at Los Cerritos Wetlands and Colorado Lagoon cover a range of topics from flora and fauna to site history and future plans. Check out some of the events we have had recently. 

By Jade Dean
Earlier this month, we identified a bee hive in Phase III at the Colorado Lagoon. In order to protect our employees and volunteers, we enlisted the help of a local beekeeper to remove the hive in a safe and ecologically conscious manner. The removal of the hive was a fascinating process. First, the beekeeper used smoke to disorient the bees and to mask their chemical signals. Once the bees became lethargic, the beekeeper opened the hive and applied a honey water mixture to it. This mixture causes the bees to lick themselves, further distracting themselves before the beekeeper extracts them from the hive. The beekeeper then carefully removes the honeycomb and inserts it in the frame, where it is held in place by rubber bands. Once the honeycomb has stabilized in the frame, the beekeeper inserts it into a bee box. Click "Read More" to see pictures of the process!

By Jade Dean

On Wednesday, Tidal Influence was represented by Jade Dean and Tia Blair at the ESRI User's Conference in San Diego, CA. They attended several moderated paper sessions and the topics ranged from: how to track African lions in a wildlife refuge, how to manage invasive species with GIS, and how to use LiDAR data to map vernal pools and monitor coastal erosion. On the EXPO floor, they discussed conservation efforts in southern California with representatives of Algalita, The Trust for Public Land, and NatureServe. The pair also attended meetups with the Southern California Chapter of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (SoCal Urisa) and CSU Long Beach's GIS Department. All in all, it was an awesome day for networking and learning the latest and greatest ways to use GIS for conservation!

By Jade Dean

By Megan Roy

The Colorado Lagoon is a great place to spend a summer day. Recently, naturalists Dean, Graves, and Roy observed dozens of stingrays within inches of the shore! Moon jellies are another popular attraction at the lagoon. When the moon jelly feeds, the area by the gonads will take on the color of its prey. These jellies also do not have stingers so feel free to frolick in the water. 

By Jade Dean
During the summer, we find ourselves weeding our restoration sites more times than we can count! Here is a small collection of Before and After images of how our hard work has dramatically changed the landscape of Phase III at the Colorado Lagoon.

Click "Read More" to see more Before and After shots of our work!