Posted by jlyle on October 11, 2004 at 16:29:06:
Eventhough it's lobster season, we decided to do a camera dive this past weekend on the wreck of the Avalon (off Palos Verdes Penisula). Earlier this year, this site was densely populated by many, many species of nudibranchs. We have images of over twenty different species that we found on or near the wreck. The Spanish Shawls, Sea Lemons, Bertellas, and others were very plentiful.
They're gone! Except for a few Spanish Shawls, we didn't see any other nudibranchs! I didn't find any egg masses either!
Is this a natural phenomenon? Has anyone else noted similar dramatic changes in nudibranch populations?