Many thanks to all of you who took part in our beach clean on December 12th. On each side of the beach we took 3.5 kg rubbish, although the weight isn’t always the important part. We removed over 300 pieces of plastic of various sizes. This is so important for the protection of marine life and birds. Other items included 55 cotton bud sticks and several other sanitary items including a PPE mask. This is more than usual and may have something to do with the recent storms. I will put the full surveys on the MCS database.
Whatever we remove helps protect wildlife and make the beaches more pleasant to use, so thanks again and hope to see you on another beach clean.
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!
A big thanks to everyone who turned out on Sunday for the MCS Great British Beach Clean at Half Moon Bay, Heysham. Despite the downpour just before the event we had a good turn out – and the weather turned warm and sunny! Again the beach was pretty clean, allowing us to clean the entire length of the beach down to the high tide mark, collecting only 3.2kg of litter. This did, however, included some sanitary waste – wet-wipes, panty liners, ear cleaners and dog poo, so there is still room for improvement! National MCS will collect all of the data and publish it on their website.
Our next beach clean will be in early December, but we have a short set of winter talks planned starting before then, in November. If you would like to keep up to date with activities, please sign up for our Newsletter:
We do not share subscription details with anyone else without your prior permission; you can unsubscribe at any time through the link at the foot of the Newsletter, or through the subscribe/unsubscribe page above (and linked from all pages on our website).
Our first Roa Island shore walk this year took place on Saturday 24th July. Understandably, given the late decision to hold this, turnout was lower than normal but 5 of us had an interesting time scouring the shore for life. Sadly the first find of any interest was 30-40m of discarded fishing line tangled in the wrack under the walkway to lifeboat station. This took about 20 minutes of patient work to disentangle it so that it could be taken away for disposal. Thankfully the rest of the beach was relatively clear of litter!
Pacific oysters (Crassostrea Gigas)
We saw quite a large number of Pacific oysters Crassostrea Gigas (sometimes known as Portuguese Oyster). These are a non-native commercial species; it’s possible that they have originated from oyster farms in the Menai Straits, although there is an oyster hatchery on Walney Island that puts some immature stock in the Bay to grow on before selling them on to other farms to mature and this may be the source too.
Dislodged sponge
It was noticeable that there were quite a few large pieces of dislodged sponge and sea squirts, probably from deeper water, at the low water line. It wasn’t clear how these had been dislodged, whether it was manmade disturbance – we didn’t see a dredger while we were there for instance – or a natural process, but it did bring some species to view that we may not have seen otherwise. For instance these Oaten Pipe hydroids (Tubularia indivisa) living on one of the detached sponges.
Mysid shrimp captured in a shallow water trawl. Photo Lewis Bambury.
Barry tried some plankton trawls in the shallows where large numbers of mysid shrimp and small (juvenile) fish were swimming against the incomming tide, hoping for it to bring them supper! Microscopic examination revealed a phytoplankton community dominated by pennate diatoms (Proboscia alatum and Rhizosolenia sp.), though we did see one centric diatom Odontella mobiliensis. The trawl also contained some lanceolate Naviculacea (Pleurosigma sp. – probably angulatum), and one example of Bacillaria paxillifera; these are typically benthic/surface dwelling diatoms, but very commony found in shallow water trawls. There were also a number of periwinkle (Littorina littorea) eggs and newly hatched ‘velligers’. Juvenile periwinkles (the ‘velligers’) are planktonic, and use cillia covered extensions of their ‘foot’ (called a ‘vellum’) to swim. This mode of propulsion is very effective in the smaller juveniles, allowing them to make respectable swimming speeds (Olympic qualifiers – for ther size!) as they actively hunt for food, which is usually smaller zooplankton.
Periwinkle egg containing two velliger embryos – very close to hatching! Micrograph by Barry Kaye.
Lockdown has meant that the best tides for this have passed us by this year, but this was the first of two dates that we picked as having the chances of interesting finds. The timing of Spring tides around Morecambe Bay means that the very lowest tides – when we have the best chance of finding some of the creatures that are normally hidden – happen around 6 or 7 am, of 6 or 7 pm, so daylight times are a factor in choosing dates too.
Our next walk is on the calendar for Wednesday 8th September at 19:00 (Low water 0.95m at 19:42, just before sunset).
Report by Lewis Bambury with additions on microscopy by Barry Kaye.
The local group has been running regular beach cleans and litter surveys at Half Moon Bay for over ten years, but recently we have decided to take a wider view, and run some ‘guerilla’ beach cleans, to compare beaches more widely around the area, and see if there are areas that might benefit more from a regular clean.
Above: Morecambe Bay from the Venus and Child statue, with Spartina in the foreground, sea defence boulders and the Bay, and Lake District hills in the background.
Last night (July 21st) many of us took advantage of the good weather to cycle to the Venus and Child statue on Morecambe prom (clost to the golf course), to take a look at the beach there. The shore is composed of a steep bank of cobbles and shingle, the lower reaches of which provides a footing for common seaweeds like Ulva (sea lettuce) and Fucus, going to flat sand and mud further from the shore, with patches of Spartina or cord grass.
The beach clean focussed on the shingle slope, around the high water mark, where litter is most likely to be left as the tide goes out. Over a one hundred meter section we collected 1kg of litter – which is really pretty good, and indicates that this stretch of the coast (from Half Moon Bay to the Golf Course) is in good shape – at least as far as litter is concerned!
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!
Honeycomb worm reef on Bispham beech, by Toni Roethling
The honeycomb worm (Sabellaria alveolata) is a small filter feeding worm that, in common with many similar species, binds a layer of sand or shell fragments about itself for protection. Living close together the worm tubes take on a hexagonal shape, and a large group of worms form a reef that looks a lot like a honeycomb. The ‘reef’ can be upstanding, or grow over a boulder, but is equally often seen as low tussocky structure which may be partially hidden under seaweed, as found off the promontory below St Patrick’c Chapel, Lower Heysham.
Thanks to Toni Roethling for the photograph above, taken on Bispham beach. Toni reports that the reef was a great attraction for starfish and gulls.
Above: Spider crab (Inachus spp.) by Lewis Bambury, 31st October 2015 Loch Linhe, West Coast of Scotland
Animals looking like Crustaceans have been around for at least 500 million years, and in that time have evolved into many forms. We will try to help you identify some of the 2000 species of crustaceans that you may find in the UK, concentrating on those that may be encountered either on the shore or at recreational diving depths. Both the common and some more unusual species, and some that you may not have even thought of as being crustaceans before.
Our online ID course on Wednesday 20th January 2021 will look at some of the most common phytoplankton sampled from the Morecambe Bay area and the West Coast of Scotland. This is a basic introduction to sampling and identification.
