Survey data
Diver's records are a valuable source of information about the wildlife close to the British coast line. Over the years the Lancashire group has surveyed numerous sites, and collected records of the types of plant and animal they found, and in what physical environment they found them. A small number of these records have been collected below:
- Camas Torsa, Loch Sunart, West Coast of Scotland.
- Calve Island, Tobermory Bay, Isle of Mull.
- Lochaline Hotel wall, Lochaline, Sound of Mull.
- The Piel Channel, Barrow in Furness.
- Isle of Gigha, South End, west coast of Kintyre.
- Plankton surveys at Knott End updated periodically.
Please feel free to compare and contrast the records here with any you have taken. Many species are seasonal, so the date of the survey is as important as the depth and substrate!
Right: A key to some of the common organisms found on Seasearch dives.
Shallow waters (to 10m) tend to be dominated by seaweeds (as long as there is a firm substrate for them to hold onto). Beneath this depth lie a range of filter feeding animals - scallops, bristle worms and sea pens on soft sediments, anemones and dead men's fingers on hard substrates.
If you would like to learn how to recognise common marine species, please see our events diary for the next planned course or beach walk: