References & Resources

This list includes resources we have found to be very valuable. Much of what is here are resources to help identify seaweeds for the amateur. New resources keep appearing – including one App, so this list could never quite be totally up to date but it provides an excellent starting place if you want to investigate further.

Figure 1: A tide pool brimming with coralline algae – the resources below helped us to know what we were observing; Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C., Canada. November 6, 2020. Photo ID: 27125 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

References:

Lamb, A. and B.P. Hanby. 2005. Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park.

Druehl, L. D. and B. E. Clarkston. 2016. Pacific Seaweeds: A Guide to Common Seaweeds of the West Coast. Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park.

Lindeberg, M. R. and S. C. Lindstrom. 2010. Field Guide to the Seaweeds of Alaska. Alaska Sea Grant College Program, University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

O’Clair, R. M. and Lindstrom, S. C. 2000. North Pacific Seaweeds. Plant Press, Auke Bay.

Scagel, R.F. 1972. Guide to common seaweeds of British Columbia. British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria.

Sept, J. D. 2019. The New Beachcomber’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park.

Mondragon, J. and J. Mondragon. 2010. Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast: Common Marine Algae from Alaska to Baja California. Shoreline Press, Santa Barbara.

Swinimer, A. 2021. The Science and Spirit of Seaweed. Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park.

Kozloff, E.N. 1993. Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast. 3^rd ed. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Mathieson, A. C. and C. J. Dawes. 2017. Seaweeds of the Northwest Atlantic. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst and Boston.

Bunker, F. StP. D. and J. A. Brodie and C. A. Maggs and A. R. Bunker. 2017. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland, second edition. Wild Nature Press, Plymouth.

Abbott, I.A. and G.J. Hollenberg. 1976. Marine Algae of California. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.

Braune, W. and M.D. Guiry. 2011. Seaweeds – A Colour Guide to Common Benthic Green, Brown and Red Algae of the World’s Oceans. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag KG, Ruggell, Liechtenstein.

Bothwell, J.H. 2023. Seaweeds of the World – A Guide to Every Order. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.

Phillips, J.A. 2023. The Lives of Seaweeds – A Natural History of our Planet’s Seaweeds & Other Algae. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.

Figure 2: When identification questions lingered, or when we felt “full to the brim” with so many species just observed, we found it always helpful to summon the patience to await another low tide, possibly seek out another location or choose another season, and then return to the seashore with open minds – we have found that there is always more that the seaweeds have to show us. Little Qualicum River Estuary, Strait of Georgia, B.C., Canada. April 29, 2021. Photo ID: 27126 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com

Web Resources & Other:

E-Flora BC: electronic atlas of the plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Available at http://eflora.bc.ca

AlgaeBase. National University of Ireland, Galway. Available at http://www.algaebase.org/

Seaweeds of Alaska. Available at http://www.seaweedsofalaska.com/

Biodiversity of the Central Coast; An interactive field guide to the species of the Central Coast of British Columbia. Available at https://www.centralcoastbiodiversity.org/seaweeds-algae-and-seagrasses.html

Netarts Bay Today; Seaweeds and Seagrasses. Available at https://www.netartsbaytoday.org/Seaweeds_and_Seagrasses.html

The Seaweed of Canada: Guide Pages to Assist with Species Confirmation. Available at https://seaweedcanada.wordpress.com/

Center for Phycological Documentation – DeCew’s Guide. Available at https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/guide/brownkey.html

The Outer Shores; Surfperch and nature on the sandy beaches. Available at https://theoutershores.com/bio/animals-plants-and-algae/marine-algae/

The University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley; Common Seaweeds of Point Reyes National Seashore. Available at https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/picture_key.pl?sortfield=class

The Seaweed Site: information on marine algae; at last check a selection of 250 of the larger seaweeds from the north-eastern Atlantic, many of which occur in Norway, Britain, Ireland, Atlantic France and Spain and in Portugal. Available at https://www.seaweed.ie/descriptions/

Blue Ecosystems, Dr. Rachel Einav; a website featuring some of the species of the eastern Mediteranean coast. Available at https://www.blue-ecosystems.com/seaweed

British Columbia – Weather conditions and forecast by locations. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Available at https://weather.gc.ca/forecast/canada/index_e.html?id=bc

Tides, Currents and Water levels. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Available at https://tides.gc.ca/en/stations

Marine Weather for: Pacific – South Coast. Available at https://weather.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?mapID=02

Moon Phases – Lunar Calendar. Available at https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/canada/victoria

And, a second source available at https://www.almanac.com/astronomy/moon/calendar/BC/Victoria

Seaweed Sorter App; Pacific Northwest edition. Patrick Martone.

Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia. Josie Iselin, The Curious World of Seaweed. Exhibition. Available at https://explore.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/curious-world/

Figure 3: Getting close to carefully observe certain species can be a challenging effort and always reminds us of the strength and vitality seaweeds demonstrate by their very existence. Botany Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C., Canada. May 29, 2021. Photo ID: 27127 ©Seaweedwhisperings.com