Peri Coleman
@pericoleman.bsky.social
Botanist, Quaker, grandmother, friend of dogs, and lover of all things saltmarsh & salt lake.
Latest counts of Karenia in sheltered areas of the northern Yorke Peninsula are depressing. The HAB continues to growl along. 4,778 cells/mL (4.8 million cells per litre) at the Wills Creek boat ramp at Price.
August 31, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Latest counts of Karenia in sheltered areas of the northern Yorke Peninsula are depressing. The HAB continues to growl along. 4,778 cells/mL (4.8 million cells per litre) at the Wills Creek boat ramp at Price.
Plankton samples settling. Recent counts have included the coast from Ardrossan to Price on the Yorke Peninsula, West Lakes and Garden Island in northern Adelaide, and the Onkaparinga estuary. That Karenia mikimotoi sure gets around.
July 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Plankton samples settling. Recent counts have included the coast from Ardrossan to Price on the Yorke Peninsula, West Lakes and Garden Island in northern Adelaide, and the Onkaparinga estuary. That Karenia mikimotoi sure gets around.
Sheaoak Flat has a fascinating soup of organisms in the near shore at the moment - in between the mass of organic debris partially dissolved in the water post-storm that blew some of the bloom away… Here is a cure copepod to brighten up your day
June 8, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Sheaoak Flat has a fascinating soup of organisms in the near shore at the moment - in between the mass of organic debris partially dissolved in the water post-storm that blew some of the bloom away… Here is a cure copepod to brighten up your day
It’s the name. It makes me smile. This is a tintinnid. A type of protozoan that gallops around in a wine glass. Normally not yellow - fell in a puddle of iodine stain on my microscope slide.
May 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
It’s the name. It makes me smile. This is a tintinnid. A type of protozoan that gallops around in a wine glass. Normally not yellow - fell in a puddle of iodine stain on my microscope slide.
Messing about with live plankton samples from Stansbury on the Yorke Peninsula. This part of Oyster Bay was currently free of the large Karenia mikimotoi bloom, but had some other cute microplankton to chase around under the microscope
May 11, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Messing about with live plankton samples from Stansbury on the Yorke Peninsula. This part of Oyster Bay was currently free of the large Karenia mikimotoi bloom, but had some other cute microplankton to chase around under the microscope
For those following the SA algal bloom, news from Faith today about a potential species flip:
“It is good to see that a bloom species swap is occurring at Middleton Beach, with the Karenia mikimotoi cell count dropping and numbers of Asterionellopsis diatoms taking their place in my sample today.”
“It is good to see that a bloom species swap is occurring at Middleton Beach, with the Karenia mikimotoi cell count dropping and numbers of Asterionellopsis diatoms taking their place in my sample today.”
April 27, 2025 at 8:49 AM
For those following the SA algal bloom, news from Faith today about a potential species flip:
“It is good to see that a bloom species swap is occurring at Middleton Beach, with the Karenia mikimotoi cell count dropping and numbers of Asterionellopsis diatoms taking their place in my sample today.”
“It is good to see that a bloom species swap is occurring at Middleton Beach, with the Karenia mikimotoi cell count dropping and numbers of Asterionellopsis diatoms taking their place in my sample today.”
About the Fleurieau Peninsula bloom - it looks like Karenia mikimotoi. As always, remember the old adage about not swimming in turbid or coloured waters. If you do get wet, rinse in cool freshwater. If the aerosols irritate your lungs, vacate the area or mask (n95).
March 25, 2025 at 11:09 AM
About the Fleurieau Peninsula bloom - it looks like Karenia mikimotoi. As always, remember the old adage about not swimming in turbid or coloured waters. If you do get wet, rinse in cool freshwater. If the aerosols irritate your lungs, vacate the area or mask (n95).
Tawni and Mark have been counting the leaves of baby mangroves again. The numbers go up and down with the weather, but that smile on Tawni's face tells the tale! The slow upward overall trend continues 🙂
March 10, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Tawni and Mark have been counting the leaves of baby mangroves again. The numbers go up and down with the weather, but that smile on Tawni's face tells the tale! The slow upward overall trend continues 🙂
Comet Atlas is fading fast. Tonight the comet is a blurry haze. I caught an echo of it on my old digital camera. Squint and you may pick it out, right of the cactus, above the tail of my weather station wind vane.
But my abiding memory will be the startle of seeing it so clearly, two nights ago.
But my abiding memory will be the startle of seeing it so clearly, two nights ago.
January 20, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Comet Atlas is fading fast. Tonight the comet is a blurry haze. I caught an echo of it on my old digital camera. Squint and you may pick it out, right of the cactus, above the tail of my weather station wind vane.
But my abiding memory will be the startle of seeing it so clearly, two nights ago.
But my abiding memory will be the startle of seeing it so clearly, two nights ago.
Watching the tide emptying out of the saltnarsh creek. A while to go before sunset, but the heat is already going out of the day. Deep breaths of wonder.
January 18, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Watching the tide emptying out of the saltnarsh creek. A while to go before sunset, but the heat is already going out of the day. Deep breaths of wonder.
This milky brine is displaying a phenomenon called “white Christmas”. In Australia the term is usually reserved for a white sugary confection, but in solar saltfields it refers to a rare event type, where microscopic gypsum crystals suddenly mass precipitate into the brine column.
January 16, 2025 at 8:34 AM
This milky brine is displaying a phenomenon called “white Christmas”. In Australia the term is usually reserved for a white sugary confection, but in solar saltfields it refers to a rare event type, where microscopic gypsum crystals suddenly mass precipitate into the brine column.
There are tansy herbs (Tanacetum vulgare) erupting into flower all over the garden at the moment, so I couldn’t see any reason for the verandah to miss out.
January 14, 2025 at 12:50 AM
There are tansy herbs (Tanacetum vulgare) erupting into flower all over the garden at the moment, so I couldn’t see any reason for the verandah to miss out.
Can’t believe how many flowers are present on my Peruvian apple cactus (Cereus repandus). After thirty years of glorious flowers, last year it decided to produce fruit. Probably because Ray-over-the-road’s baby Cereus is big enough to flower now. Yum. Can’t wait for this year’s crop.
January 11, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Can’t believe how many flowers are present on my Peruvian apple cactus (Cereus repandus). After thirty years of glorious flowers, last year it decided to produce fruit. Probably because Ray-over-the-road’s baby Cereus is big enough to flower now. Yum. Can’t wait for this year’s crop.
Green tea in the shady kitchen, while the day cools enough for me to do the tasks that await by the sewing machine.
January 4, 2025 at 5:36 AM
Green tea in the shady kitchen, while the day cools enough for me to do the tasks that await by the sewing machine.
And some nights you get the Milky Way, the Aurora australis and reflections in the perfect surface of a #saltlake. What more could anyone want?
January 3, 2025 at 2:49 AM
And some nights you get the Milky Way, the Aurora australis and reflections in the perfect surface of a #saltlake. What more could anyone want?
The ant lions in my driveway are emerging - and some of the adult lacewings are finding their way inside the house. They flutter about the ceiling, and I open wide the doors hoping they find their way outside to the garden, where there are plenty of white flies on the vegies for them to polish off.
December 31, 2024 at 10:01 PM
The ant lions in my driveway are emerging - and some of the adult lacewings are finding their way inside the house. They flutter about the ceiling, and I open wide the doors hoping they find their way outside to the garden, where there are plenty of white flies on the vegies for them to polish off.
It’s Christmas by the bay in St Kilda, South Australia. The day is hot and the sky is burning blue. The garden a mass of tough and resilient flowers. The frog in the pond calling, the birds lining up to take their turns in the birdbaths.
December 25, 2024 at 2:37 AM
It’s Christmas by the bay in St Kilda, South Australia. The day is hot and the sky is burning blue. The garden a mass of tough and resilient flowers. The frog in the pond calling, the birds lining up to take their turns in the birdbaths.
Day 17
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
December 25, 2024 at 2:32 AM
Day 17
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
Day 16
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
December 23, 2024 at 1:20 AM
Day 16
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
