Reports of marine wildlife from all around the British Isles, with pollution incidents and conservation initiatives as they affect the flora and fauna of the NE Atlantic Ocean

December 2012

A massive colony of the Gaping File Shell, Limaria hians, has been discovered in Loch Alsh, a sea inlet between the Isle of Skye and the western Scottish mainland. The reef habitat covers an astonishing  4.6 sq. miles (7.5 sq. km) and was discovered during a survey commissioned by Marine Scotland. It is the largest known colony of Gaping File Shells in seas around the British Isles and possibly the world. Numbers of the bivalve mollusc exceed 100 million and they create their own specialised habitat with unique fauna.

A bed of Horse Mussels (or Clabachdubh), Modiolus modiolus, at Noss Head off the north-eastern tip of Scotland covers an area of 4 sq. km.

30 December 2012
A Minke Whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, was seen swimming with Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in the Irish Sea and observed from the Isle of Man shore with binoculars by Becca Crow and Sarah Kaye. This association is known to occur but is seldom observed. It is debatable whether it could be considered temporary mutualism or an opportunistic encounter? Herring was believed to be the prey and the question is whether the two species of cetacean were actively co-operating? 
"It is also possible the dolphins were taking advantage of the commotion the Minke Whale would have been creating and were in fact stealing the fish." (Dr Peter Evans).  The Bottle-nosed Dolphins normally visit Manx waters between October and March to feed on herring, mackerel and whiting. 

11 December 2012
Hundreds of Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaengliae, gathered to feed off Tromsø, Arctic Norway, for the third year in succession. 
"Humpback Whales hunt by encircling a group of fish then diving underwater. You have no clue where the whales are before you see hundreds of scared Herrings jumping out of the water, followed by Humpbacks with wide open mouths." (Espen Bergersen) 

28 November 2012
Five Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaengliae, were spotted bubble-net feeding for small fishes in seas off  southern Ireland near Baltimore, County Cork. The Irish Whale & Dolphin Group (IWDG) recognised most of the individual whales from previous visits in 2001 and 2008. 
Full IWDG Report

FORUM NEWS

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Mailing Groups

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean 
Yahoo Group
New Group: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Glaucus

British Marine Life Study Society
facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/glaucus/

This Wall is now working properly and members can now post on it. This is designed for quick less important chatty news items. Photographs can be uploaded quickly which is only possible on the Yahoo Group by going to the web page. 

Images can be uploaded to flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/glaucus/

Wet Thumb (Marine Aquariology) Forum Link
 
 
 

Lots of marine wildlife reports from Shetland on facebook Photographs include undersea, sea mammals and birds.  Click on the image to connect

The largest one is from a male Ballan Wrasse, Labrus bergylta. The two medium sized crosses are from male Cuckoo Wrasse, Labrus mixtus, and the tiniest cross is from a female Cuckoo Wrasse. The shape and structure of each species is more or less the same. The other structures with white bobbles on are the plates in their upper throat that grind together with the cross in the lower throat when eating shellfish (molluscs and crustaceans). The two opaque pear shaped structures and accompanying blobs are from the throat of Tadpole Fish, Raniceps raninus   They are hard bony structures and presumably do the same job of crushing food. 

14 December 2012
The south-east storm threw up at least six species of fish into the boat noust at Frustigarth on the east side of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands. There were at least 30 fish of various sizes. Species identified were Tadpole Fish, Ling, young Cod, Saithe, and both Cuckoo and Ballan Wrasse. Similar wrecks occurred on other coasts. 

All wrasse have thick protruding lips, and there are strong teeth, both in the jaws (for biting and rasping) and on the pharyngeal bones in the throat (for gripping and crushing). With these teeth they are able to enjoy a mixed menu of shelled animals including barnacles, other crustaceans, and molluscs.

For a few brief days in January 2013 a large part of of the British Isles suffered a blanket of snow. Wales were the first to bear the brunt of the spell of snowy weather. This study sums up the inclement conditions on the extreme north-west of  Anglesey. 
"My wife Gaynor considers South Stack to be her 'favourite place in all the world."  (Peter Williams)

This spectacular coastal area is noted for its biological, botanical and ornithological value and its superb scenery.. The folded rocks around South Stack lighthouse - visible from the long steps down to the footbridge - are a revelation and provide nesting ledges for a colonies of Guillemots, Razorbills and a few Puffins. Two pairs of Peregrine Falcons and Cloughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, nest on the cliff. 
Holyhead Coast SSSI
Map of Anglesey
South Stack on facebook

About four thousand birds nest on the primarily sandstone cliffs of South Stack.
RSPB South Stack Cliffs Reserve

The rock formations of Anglesey and South Stack Island are diverse and very complicated and there is plenty to interest the geologist. The cliffs also contain some of the oldest rocks in Wales, dating back nearly 600 million years to the Precambrian. The rocks of a hundred different types span 4 eras and 12 geological periods. 
South Stack (Craven & Pendle Geological Society)
Anglesey Geology
Old Red Sandstone
Geopark Status
.
The Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path is a long distance route that follows most of the island's coastline.
 
 

Photographers submitting pictures should indicate if they wish them to be considered for inclusion as confirming permission takes work and time and can delay publication of the news bulletins. 
 

Click on the album for more links (On-line link)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 

This is a book about an ocean that vanished six million years ago: the ocean of Tethys, named after a Greek sea nymph.  The oceans are important to climate and environment, and therefore to life on Earth. The story of Tethys is also a story of extinctions, and floods, and extraordinary episodes such as the virtual drying up of the Mediterranean, before being filled again by a dramatic cascade of water over the straits of Gibraltar. 
Click on the image for a review of this book

Dorrik Stow
300 pages, 15 b/w illustrations and maps.
Oxford University Press
ISBN-13: 9780199214297
 
 

by Paul Kay & Frances Dipper 
£19.95 incl. p&p
Soft cover

With 256 pages and numerous photographs supported by drawings, this book is the most comprehensive photographic guide to marine fish currently available in the UK. Published for the Marine Conservation Society with support from the Countryside Council for Wales. 

Click on the image to order this book through the Marine Conservation Society

RECOMMENDED PURCHASE *****

July 2010

PS: A second revised edition of the book has been published. 

SEASHORE SAFARIS
 
 
 

Publisher: Graffeg
Publisher's Review (click on this text)
Review by the City and County of Swansea

This is the book I should have written (and I dare say a few others as well) and is a much needed introduction to the world of the seashore and the hobby of rockpooling. It is a photographic guide to most of the common species encountered which is much appreciated as newcomers and even experienced rockpoolers will try and match up what they have seen to a visual image (and photographs work better than line drawings) and this will usually get them the correct species, (unless there are two very alike species and then you will need a specialist identification guide like the Collins Guide to the Seashore).

However, the seashore is a rich and interesting habitat with a myriad of species and 225 pages of this large pocket guide are comprehensively covered to suit the enthusiast.

Extract from the foreword by Keith Hiscock:
"Being able to names to what you see and, better still, to use your observations to add to our knowledge about the natural world is what this book is about."

But the book for a popular audience is more than this. It starts from the assumption that the parents and teachers and older children are unfamiliar with the seashore environment.

RECOMMENDED PURCHASE *****

Not just a cookery book: you have to go down to the shore and catch or collect the food yourself. The 240 page hardback book (with an index) is exceptionally well produced in quality of the binding, paper as well as the quality of writing, information and clear useful colour photographs. It is well organised into nine chapters:
 
 

Sharks in British Seas Richard Peirce 138 pages, colour illustrations, line drawings, colour & b/w photos. Lots of newspaper reports. Publisher:  Shark Cornwall Softcover | 2008 | £9.99 ISBN: 978-0-955869402

Seashore by Lucy Beckett-Bowman Consultant: Andy Horton Usborne Publishing   £3.99 Usborne Beginners Series Level One (very young children) ISBN 978-0-7460-8864-7 BMLSS Notes for a Primary School Teacher

Whales & Dolphins
of the European Atlantic
The Bay of Biscay, English Channel, Celtic Sea and coastal SW Ireland
by Dylan Walker and Graeme Cresswell
with the illustrations by Robert Still
WILDGuides  2008
£ 12.00 (includes standard UK P&P)
ISBN:  978-1-903657-31-7

This is the second fully revised and updated edition of this comprehensive guide to the identification of whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) in the European Atlantic. Until very recently, most researchers and whale-watchers were unaware of the great variety of cetaceans that can be seen so close to the shores of western Europe. Indeed, it is only during the last decade, when detailed cetacean surveys have been carried out in earnest, that we have discovered how important this area is for cetacean biodiversity.

This field guide describes all of the 31 species of whale, dolphin and porpoise that have occurred in the European Atlantic.
 

BMLSS Cetacean Book Reviews

 
 
 

Seashore (Collins New Naturalist) (Paperback) by Peter Hayward Collins 2004 ISBN:  0-00-220031-7 Amazon Web Site

Paperback. Pp 288. Colour & b/w photographs, illustrations, charts, maps and bibliography. Fine copy. "New Naturalist" Seashore is a comprehensive, authoritative account of the natural history of the seashore.
 

BMLSS General Guides
BMLSS Advanced Guides