The first unusual event was a common sea star (Asterias vulgaris) spawning. This species of sea star reproduces by releasing the gametes into the water to be fertilized externally. The sexes are separate. The tippy-toe stance that you see is common during spawning. This particular sea star was hanging upside down from a piece of floating seaweed.
The second fascinating behaviour that the students noticed was an acadian hermit crab (Pagurus acadianus) eating the mud worms (Polydora sp.) that are burrowed in the scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) shell.
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