Above from left: Christian Thompson, Ellis Barton, Austin Kitching and Jess Norris, who will be presenting their research.
Ellis Barton: Evaluating the effects of dissolved organic carbon enrichment on scleractinian coral physiology.
Austin Kitching: Evaluating the effectiveness of bioremediation techniques in regulating the nutrient levels in the Main Lake, Williamson Park, Lancaster.
Jess Norris: The distribution of elasmobranch egg cases at five beaches on the Fylde Coast during the height of the spawning season.
Christian Thompson: Ecology and Habitat Use of the Velvet Crab (Necora puber): A Survey Across Intertidal Coastal Sites of the Fylde Coast.
Date: Wednesday 10th June 2026 Time: 19:30 to 21:00 Location: Lancaster Maritime Museum £4 donation to Lancashire MCS requested Everybody Welcome
The North West Marine Ecosystems (NWME) Conference 2026 will be held at the University of Liverpool on 24th June. (Registration closes 17th June 2026). Use the QR code above to register, or follow the link below:
Our Christmas beach clean (like a beach clean, but usually with worse weather;-) will be on the 6th December at 14:00. Meet as usual at the Half Moon Bay Cafe car park.
This is followed by our Christmas quiz at the Maritime Museum on Wednesday 10th December.
Our annual brain-teaser returns to run a census on the old grey cells before the festive season takes its toll…
MCS Christmas Quiz at Lancaster Maritime Museum on Wednesday 10th December at 19:30 £4 donation to Lancashire MCS requested Everybody Welcome!
Above: 2024 MCS Christmas quiz, background photo SS Carnatic by Lewis Bambury.
Pit your wits against our quizmaster over a range of general knowledge topics – a chance to unwind from Christmas Shopping and other seasonal stresses!
Our third annual visit to Conger Rock was on Saturday 21st September, the early morning start being made very much more bearable by the rare appearance of some sunshine! Our walks are nice social occasions, but also allow us to check on the state of the honeycomb worm reefs which can grow to be substantial structures close to extreme low water.
The photo above by Lewis shows one of the honeycomb worm reefs with Conger Rock, and other members of the group, in the background. The reefs close to Conger Rock were rather smaller than on previous years, few being more than 10cm tall. More substantial reefs, up to 40cm tall were present closer to the the extreme low water mark.
The reefs are relatively short-lived structures – probably reaching a maximum size, with a height over half a meter, and extending for many tens of meters, after four or five years growth. After this time the rate of erosion from winter storms starts to dominate over the slow growth of the reef, perhaps as the founding worm population gets older, or simply that the larger reef size becomes unstable in the face of winter storms.
The Bioblitz allows many disciplines to work together to identify and document the various wildlife species present in the Wyre Estuary Country Park and wider district, running for 24 hours from 12:00 on the Friday to 12:00 on Saturday; this year’s event was run over the 14th and 15th of June. In addition to the identification activity this year there was a marquee tent open to the public on the Saturday for local wildlife and environmental organisations to have stands, and Lancashire MCS were invited to use one of these as well as helping with some of the identification. So on the Saturday Kathy, Hilary and Lewis managed the stand and, after helping set things up, Barry helped with some of the microscopy.
As well as the usual leaflets, information and pin badges we had a range of craft activities prepared for the kids (and us bigger kids). These were well received and we had steady flow of people visiting the stand, at least until the weather took an extreme turn with a heavy thunder storm that seemed to drive a lot of people home and slow things down. It was an enjoyable day and I think that we would love to do it all again, preferably without the storm, not that we would have any control over that.
A talk by Trevor Lund on Wednesday 13th March 2024 at 19:30
Above: Artist’s impression of the Bay 350 MYA – spot the mistakes! Image by Mark Woombs/Adobe AI.
The area that is now Morecambe Bay was covered in sea once before during the Carboniferous geological period. In this talk we look at the evidence for this in the rocks and fossils of the Bay area. We look at how geologists have used modern marine environments to work out the ecosystems and environments of the past. It is surprising how these marine creatures were adapted in a similar way to their modern equivalents, to survive and flourish in the same kind of environment.
A talk by Joseph Earl (Morecambe Bay Partnership) on Wednesday 14th February 2024 at 19:30:
Above: Restoring our salt marshes is an initiative of the Our Future Coast project.
Driven by climate change, coastal areas globally are facing increased risks of flooding and erosion. We’ll explore the crucial role that natural coastal environments like saltmarshes, found extensively around Morecambe Bay, could play in protecting people and places from climate change into the future.
Joseph’s talk will highlight the unique ecological and coastal defence value of saltmarshes and discover how we can better support and manage them. He will introduce a series of case studies around Morecambe Bay where saltmarsh is being restored through the Our Future Coast project, part of DEFRA’s national flood and coastal resilience innovation programme.
Does the Isle of Muck have the best tearoom in the Hebrides? Come along to Wednesday’s’ talk to find out and look at the amazing marine wildlife that lives around the the Small Isles and the surrounding area.
At Lancaster Maritime Museum on Wednesday 10th January 2024 at 19:30
Snow on the iconic Midland Hotel in Morecambe, by Lewis Bambury November 2021.
The return of our annual Christmas quiz, with more fiendish and fun questions prepared by Lewis to test your knowledge of current, local and maritime trivia…
