Victoria, BC

South End of Vancouver Island

Site Description:       

Victoria is at the southern tip of Vancouver Island.  The Ogden Point Breakwater is in Victoria Harbor and it is a popular dive site.  The breakwater is constructed of large rectangular blocks.  This and a nearby kelp forest support a diverse array of marine life.  Because of the sharp dropoff, normally subtidal species can sometimes be seen at very low tides.  Our list also includes species observed by divers on the wall at a shallow subtidal level.
Victoria has several rocky points of land at the south end of the city.  Some of these points have short stretches of sandy beaches above them.   We group all of these sites together.  These points also contain data from divers at a shallow subtidal level.
The bays between the rocky points, and the deeper water offshore of Victoria have been extensively studied by divers and science expeditions.  Our subtidal list groups all of these observations. 

Google Map

                                                                         

Species List:

     Following is a list of mollusk species observed at this location by members and associates of the club.  This is by no means a complete list of the species which may occur at this site.  Revisions and additions to the data are made as we acquire new information.   When a site contains more than one very distinctive type of habitat or if multiple sites were included in a single location, then a species list for each is included.
    We indicate frequency of occurrence based on our observations.  This is an indicator of how likely it is that you may be able to find this species yourself and is not a formal population survey.  

     Frequency Code:  (Based on the assumption that you are looking in the appropriate location where the species
                                          likes to live - on rocks, in sand, etc.  Some populations fluctuate seasonally.  Ours are based
                                          on the spring/summer seasons.)
     [4] - Rare - very difficult to find, maybe only a couple found after repeated visits to the site
     [3] - Uncommon - difficult to find, may not see on every trip but dedicated searching may turn up a few
     [2] - Common - easy to find, should locate a number of them on any given day
     [1] - Abundant - very easy to find, large numbers should be seen on every trip

Due to the nature of the data, these lists will not be rated for frequency of occurrence.  They are incomplete lists.

Intertidal - I
Subtidal - S          (lack of a symbol indicates it is unknown if observed intertidally or subtidally)