A talk by Alexandra and Jonathan Bujak (Azolla Foundation)
Above: Carp and ducks eating azolla in China. A fisherman is collecting azolla to feed his livestock. Image rendered by Victor Leshyk from the cover of ‘The Azolla Story’.
49 million years ago a plant called azolla covered the surface of the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Azolla Event lasted 1.2 million years, during which time azolla sequestered enormous quantities of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere, and moved our planet’s climate from a greenhouse world to the ice-age climate, with permanent ice and snow at both poles…
If you would like to know more, The Azolla Story: A message from the future by Jonathan Bujak and Alexandra Bujak is available from Amazon.
Alternative Zoom meeting details are available through our Newsletter – you can subscribe here.
All are welcome, we request a donation of £4 to cover costs of room hire and speaker expenses.
Wednesday 11th January 2023 at 19:30 at LancasterMaritime Museum.
Wednesday 12th October at 19:30 at the Maritime Museum Lancaster:
A talk by by Andy Richardson (Royal Society of Biology) examining the fascinating biology, sustainability challenges and innovations behind the offshore fishery for tuna and other pelagic species.
Please be aware that the meeting room is up four flights of stairs. The lift at the Maritime museum has been repaired. Alternative Zoom meeting details are available through our Newsletter – you can subscribe here.
All are welcome, we request a donation of £4 to cover costs of room hire and speaker expenses.
Wednesday 14th September at 19:30 at the Maritime Museum:
Above: The squat lobster Galathea strigosa stares back at me from his crevice between rocks. Due to the optical properties of seawater the blue patterns on his face will stand out to other animals, but reds fade quickly over distance, and will appear grey – providing camouflage until you are very close! Photo: Barry Kaye.
How crustacea sense their environment, and how an understanding of thesir senses might give us insights into their life. Crustaceans have been adapting to life at sea for 500 million years, and possess a suite of sensory capabilities that are astounding in their sensitivity and complexity. Some can see in the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum, and detect plane and circularly polarised light, extending their perception of colour far beyond that of the most accomplished painter! They smell with their legs, and while they are covered in armour, their sense of touch is the most sensitive in the animal kingdom…
We are pleased to announce our program of talks for 2022-23. Talks are usually on the second Wednesday of the month, and will be held at the Maritime Museum on the Quay in Lancaster starting at 19:30. Please subscribe to our Newsletter for further details and any changes to our program!
14th SeptMy Life as a Crustacean by Barry Kaye (Lancashire MCS) 12th OctFisheries for large pelagics by Andy Richardson, Royal Society of Biology 16th NovThe “Little Cucumber” Fish of Wyre, Osmerus Eperlanus by Tom Myerscough, Wyre Rivers Trust. 14th DecIt’s Not Christmas Yet – Christmas Quiz with Lewis Bambury, Lancashire MCS 11th JanThe Azolla story: How an amazing plant changed our climate 49 million years ago by Alexandra and Jonathan Bujak, The Azolla Foundation. 8th FebSeagrass – experience at Knoydart and Gigha, and discussion of its potential for carbon capture in the Bay by Mark Woombs and Barry Kaye, Lancashire MCS 8th MarThe ‘Tabarka’ and other blockships of Scapa Flow by Gordon Fletcher and Lewis Bambury, Lancashire MCS 12th AprPhytoplankton in the river Wyre 2022 by Barry Kaye, Lancashire MCS 10th MayMark’s Mini Monsters of Morecambe Bay by Mark Woombs, Lancashire MCS 14th JuneExposed shores by Gordon Fletcher, Lancashire MCS plusFighting phytoplankton (short talk) by Barry Kaye, Lancashire MCS
ALL WELCOME!
Talks will start at 19:30 at the Maritime Museum, the Quay, Lancaster (Facebook link). Please join us in person if you can, but note there are four flights of stairs up to the meeting room. Funding permitting we hope to broadcast meetings over Zoom for the benefit of those unable to negotiate the stairs – or who live ouside of the Lancaster area.
On the 23rd July 2022, Mark and Caitlin Woombs, Jean Wilson, Lewis and myself dived deep into our collections to present a course on Crustacea to the Royal Society of Biology as guests of the Wyre Estuary Country Park. The course started with a general introduction to marine crustacea – one of the most diverse groups of animals on the planet – by Mark. This was followed by a maze building experiment, overseen by Caitlin, to show how simple experiments demonstrate that shore crabs can learn quite complex tasks.
Above: Carapace widths of Carcinas maenas, showing the cut-off at 35mm, indicating the current maximum size of this year’s young shore crabs.
Jean had gathered large numbers of shore crab moults from the beach at Knott End, which were used to see how the population is developing through the early part of the year. The rough graph of carapace widths, produced during the practical session, is reproduced above.
I updated an old presentation on ‘Colour underwater’ to look more specifically at sensory perception in crustacea – a fascinating field that I think went down OK, and I hope I can revisit in our winter lecture series later this year. Finally, Lewis tied the afternoon off with a review of all things crustacean in the form of a quiz. How many legs has it got?
Above: The light hearted crustaceans quiz, presented by Lewis (right) with Mark dressed as a lobster!
Thanks to Jean for organising, and to Alison Boden and the staff at the Wyre Estuary Country Park for making us very welcome!
From the start of 2022 Mark Woombs, Jean Wilson and myself have been sampling plankton every fortnight from the river Wyre estuary at Knott End. The intention of this study is to refresh our understanding of plankton diversity and dynamics in the Bay area, and contribute to studies on the health of the River Wyre. Phytoplankton – microscopic marine plants – are the base of the marine food web, and contribute approximately 50% of the oxygen we breathe, whilst quietly sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide. Zooplankton are (generally microscopic) animals that convert phytoplankton biomass into food that is accessible to the rest of the animals in the world’s oceans.
In estuarine systems there is never really a shortage of plant neutrients. As a consequence there is the opportunity for phytoplankton to be present in high numbers from early spring, as light levels and surface water temperatures rise, through to late autumn, when grazing combined with lowered growth rates (due to reduced light and temperature) finally cut the poulations back.
Above: Preliminary analysis of phytoplankton results from the river Wyre 2022. Increased daylight triggers a massive, but very short, bloom in Odentella mobiliensis. This is followed by a smaller bloom in Coscinodiscus spp.
This does not mean, however, that the same phytoplankton species dominate our samples throughout the year. In fact, our study to date has revealed a dynamic interplay between phytoplankton species, with different species commming to dominate the total population in succession. The most likely cause of the species population collapses is disease, rather than grazing, though we only have direct evidence for this in one of our phytoplankton families, the Coscinodiscus, where the appearance of the fungal disease Lagenisma coscinodisci in late May coincided with a decline in the numbers, particularly of C. wailesii, which had been the dominant member of the Coscinodiscus to that point.
Plankton species taken during the sampling program were used to illustrate our talk to the Royal Society of Biology on 21st May, but we will have a more complete picture of plankton activity in the Wyre at the end of the year, and hope to present this work in more detail then.
Views along the Morecambe Bay Cycle Path. Photos by Lewis Bambury
The Bay Cycle Way will take you on a 130km (80 mile) journey from Glasson Dock, around Morecambe Bay, as far as Barrow in Furness. The route along one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Britain, gives the cyclist the opportunity to explore its natural history, transport, industry, landscape and art.
Over the last year Lewis Bambury has cycled the length of the Morecambe Bay Cycle Path in stages, as part of his recuperation from long COVID. His talk to the group in February opened a great deal of interested discussion from those present.
Our next talk is at the George and Dragon, Lancaster, on 9th March 2022. Presented by Mark Woombs (Lancashire MCS/CAOLAS), it will look at the marine life in Loch Tarbert (Isle of Jura). Subscribe to our Newsletter to keep up to date with what is going on at Lancashire MCS!
At the George and Dragon, Wednesday November 10th at 19:30. Donations requested to Lancashire MCS.
Photograph above: Designated a Marine Protected area to protect (bottom images from left to right) flame shells, Northern feather stars and serpulid worms; the protection of Loch Sunart has allowed the recovery of species such as the spur dog, a relative of the catshark (top). All photos by Mark Woombs
Join marine biologist Mark Woombs as he explores the underwater life of Loch Sunart; from the Sound of Mull to the sheltered waters at the head of the Loch by Strontian (the only town in the world to have a chemical element named after it!). Loch Sunart has been designated as a ‘Scottish Marine Protected Area’, and features a wide range of habitats that are home to some of the most interesting and colourful marine life in British waters.
Please help prevent the spread of COVID by taking a Lateral Flow Test on the morning before joining us!
Above: Photo of Loch Creran, on the West Coast of Scotland, by Gordon Fletcher, Summer 2016.
Sea Lochs contain a great diversity of habitats that can be exploited by marine wildlife – from fast flowing tidal narrows to sheltered muddy head waters; and pretty much everything in between! Many sea lochs are also readily accessible to divers, providing insights into these uniquely rich marine environments…
Invitations have been sent out in our May Newsletter – if you are not signed up (or have not received your newsletter) but would like to attend, please contact us.
Our annual AGM will be on Wednesday the 21st April 2021, at the start of our regular Zoom meeting entitled ‘There’s something swimming in my soup…’. The meeting will look at Zooplankton from around the West Coast of the UK. These tiny animals form a vital part of the marine ecosystem, eating the even tinier phytoplankton, and in turn being eaten by a whole range of larger marine predators.
Many animals start life in the zooplankton – this is a juvenile velvet swimming crab (photo BK, 2008)
A note for the AGM – we welcome input from everyone; but you must be a member of National MCS to vote on financial matters!
Zoom connection details have been sent out in this month’s newsletter, please contact me if you have not received your invitation, and would like to be included in our mailing list!
