Midweek diving

[DaleC]

Rather than start multiple threads I will just keep posting into this one from now on.

Diving this Thursday (Dec 16th) at Cultus Lk. if anyone wants to join in; looking for CLS dens. Jade bay boat launch, 9:30 am ish (I have to leave by 11:30am).

 

[DaleC]

Well, the vis has definately taken a turn for the worse in Cultus (about 3' down to 50' depth) and I wonder if it is from the heavy rainfall, lake turn over or a bacterial bloom caused by all the rotting salmon. I noted the development of large patches of yellowish,tan bacterial colonies all along the littoral zone too.

I headed south from the Jade bay boat launch and dropped to about 40-50' with a plan to do 20 minutes out at that depth and return along the 30' contour (my idea of gas planning with a J valve ). after a few minutes I came across a jumble of structures made of I beams at 43'. Here is a very very jerky 1:39 video of it. Sorry for the quality (gotta stop doing crack before the dives) but maybe an ID can be made from it: YouTube - Bailey bridge 0001

I'll try to rip some stills and post them as well. Are there any army engineer types who could say whether these are parts of a Bailey bridge?

After this clip I tried to take more footage but my camera flooded (damn it).


These appear to be connecting points that a pin would go through

Different sizes of I beam construction

Rectangular holes in the I beam

More I beam construction

* edit* After some research of my own it would appear that these are panels from a Bailey bridge. It is funny because there is an urban legend about military vehicles and a Bailey bridge being dumped in the lake but I have always assumed it would be on the west side of the lake where the DND land is. Now the question is: Were these just dumped from a barge or something and why or was the bridge washed out from a nearby creek or crossing?
Jinkies, I think we have a mystery shaggy.

 

[Les]

you say looking for CLS dens??? what is this?

 

[DaleC]

Cultus lake sculpin, aka pygmy coastal sculpin, aka slimy sculpin, aka Cottus sp. . It's a dwarf variant of freshwater sculpin only found in Cultus lake though a similar variant is also found in Lake Washington in the states. Because of that, it is on the SARA (species at risk act) list as threatened. There is very little known about the fish including it's lifecycle, reproductive behavior, nesting sites etc... I'm trying my hand at developing a small research study to try to identify potential den sites, mark them and monitor them for activity. Over Xmas I hope to work on a blogsite that descibes the whole thing.

Always looking for others who want to participate

 

[mustang_5l]

I'm in. Let me know when and where.

 

[Bayara]

Cultus lake sculpin, aka pygmy coastal sculpin, aka slimy sculpin, aka Cottus sp. . It's a dwarf variant of freshwater sculpin only found in Cultus lake though a similar variant is also found in Lake Washington in the states.

Tons of slimy sculpin in Northern Alberta, too.

 

[DaleC]

Slimy sculpin is probably used as a common name in both cases. The correct name would be Cottus sp. It is thought to be a varient of Cottus aleuticus but as yet has not been formally identified as a seperate species so it just gets a "sp." for now. Do you know the formal name for the slimy sculpin you are refering to?

Here's a link: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/fishfacts/sculpin.pdf

Over the holidays I'm planning to set out the parameters and methodology for the study so others (if interested) will be on the same page. It's my first foray into this sort of thing and I'm hoping it will serve as an entry level experience for local divers (or at least me) to apply diving towards a defined conservation/research/stewardship goal. It's not sexy like turtles or sharks but it's local, clearly defined, achievable and there is actually a knowledge gap that can (possibly) be filled.

 

[Bayara]

Slimy sculpin is probably used as a common name in both cases. The correct name would be Cottus sp. It is thought to be a varient of Cottus aleuticus but as yet has not been formally identified as a seperate species so it just gets a "sp." for now.

The slimy sculpin in Northern Alberta are also Cottus sp (indicating species) but in this case the formal name is Cottus cognatus. So you're right - they are just the same common name.

I'll be keeping track of your study. If you need any help with it let me know - I'll be interested to see how it goes.