The Glaucus 2001 CD-ROM has been sent out to Premier Members for last year. This information packed disc contains the British Marine Life Study Society web pages and other wildlife information (some not available through the web site). This was a limited distribution copy because of technical difficulties and the the next CD-ROM to be produced will be the Glaucus 2002 CD-ROM.

Details of the availability of the new disc will be available to British Marine Life Study Society members as soon as possible. 

MARINE WILDLIFE NEWS

12- 26 February 2002 After a few days of gales, Goose Barnacles, Lepas anatifera, have been washed ashore on the shores of Cornwall and south Wales and probably elsewhere. BMLSS Barnacle Page   22-23 February 2002 A Boar Fish, Capros aper, was brought up in a net set for Red Mullet, Mullus surmulatus, at 12 metres off the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. The Boar Fish is rarely caught because it is small (59 grams and a total length of 153 mm) and escapes the nets and because it usually lives at greater depths than most nets are set. The same fisherman caught a Tadpole Fish, Raniceps raninus, the day before. This latter fish is widely distributed but solitary for most of its life so again it is rarely caught.  Report by Richard Lord (Guernsey) In April 1991, a small Boar Fish was caught by a fisherman off south Cornwall and spent several years in Mevagissey Aquarium.  Previous Sussex Record of a Boar Fish 18 February 2002 A massive stranding of between 120 and 150 Common Dolphins, Delphinus delphis, occurred on the beach at Pleubian on the Côtes d'Armor, Bretagne (Britanny), on the English Channel (le Manche) coast of northern France.  This stranding occurred at 3:00 pm just before the low spring tide. According to people who witnessed the event on this sandy shore, the first dolphin beached itself followed by its congeners. This prompted a rescue by the Fire Brigade, the Police and the public who were able to help 20 of the unfortunate dolphins and actually lift them up and put them back into the water. Unfortunately despite strenuous efforts 48 dolphins perished, but about 90 survived. The reason for the stranding is not known but the topography of the bay and the large tidal range were probably contributory. Map Report by Gérard Mauger (Groupe d'Etude des Cétacés du Cotentin) Original notification by Liz Sandeman (Marine Connection) Stranded Dolphin Identification Notes Report Numbers for Stranded Cetaceans Mass Stranding Exercises in Scotland British Divers Marine Life Rescue Zoonosis (Marine Mammals) 9 February 2002 After a week of gales, the Mantis Shrimp illustrated  was discovered on the tideline at Calshot Spit, Hampshire. It is probably Rissoides desmaresti. Report by Tony (Ecological Planning & Research, Winchester) BMLSS Mantis Shrimp Page Crustacean Image Portfolio (Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Group - members only) Ivory Gull investigating a dead Harbour Porpoise as a food source on Blackrock Sounds, northern Cardigan Bay, north Wales Photograph by Kelvin Jones A Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, was washed up dead on Blackrock Sands near Morfa Bychan near Portmadoc in north Wales. This itself is not a particular unusual event in view of the hundreds of dolphins washed up dead on English Channel coasts. Porpoises are common in the north of Cardigan Bay and used to get caught up in fixed nets before the fishery was halted.  Ivory Gull feeding on the carcass on 10 February 2002 Photograph by Chris Galvin However, this porpoise was graced by a visit by an Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea, an nearly all-white Arctic species which may have been blown further south by the recent storms. This gull is a very rare vagrant to Wales and England.  Pictures on the Surfbirds News Page Bird species recorded in Great Britain 5 February 2002 Cetacean Deaths Large numbers of dolphins are washed up dead on the French coast with reports of about 300 deaths. The French newspapers showed the dolphin carcasses piled up high on the beach.  Report by Andrew Syvret (Pinnacle Marine Limited) The total reports of stranded cetaceans for Cornwall reached 45 this year. (In previous years the numbers have been recorded at 26.) Reports from Stella Turk on the Cornish Mailing List 1 February 2002 Gales batter the coasts of Britain, coinciding with exceptionally high tides, resulting in localised flooding, with the strongest winds across lowland Scotland.  Beaufort Scale (sea) Beaufort Scale (land)

The British Marine Life Study Society web pages are available for permanent reference on the CD-ROM. 
 

The Homepage can now be accessed by typing in:
http://www.glaucus.co.uk

Sub-directories cannot be accessed directly through this domain. 
 

Please send any reports of missing links and images to: Glaucus@hotmail.com

FORUM

MARINE WILDLIFE of the NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC OCEAN EFORUM PAGE   (LINK TO) Forum for discussion about the marine life of the North-east Atlantic Ocean, including the North Sea, English Channel and all the seas around the British Isles including Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal. This page can be used by members to report finds, ask questions, queries over identification, concerns about environmental issues etc. This eForum is participated in by members of many groups studying the marine environment. Go to menu bar above and click on Database and then on Marine Life Organisations to find a list of web sites.  Photographs and illustrations are best uploaded to the Document Vault and should not exceed 75K in size (*.JPG). Andy Horton (Manager) During the month of January all Smart Groups were disrupted by a "Denial of Service" attack but by the beginning of February all services seem to be back to normal.

DIARY

In chronological order, the most recent events are at the top of the page. Events open to the public, free or for a nominal charge only are included. Most Seminars need to be booked in advance

BIOSIS  Conference Calendar for Zoology
(Major Link of all biological conferences around the world)

 

COELENTERATE SOCIETY MEETING MENAI BRIDGE, ANGLESEY.   SATURDAY 13th APRIL 2002 After nearly 10 years, the Coelenterate Society returns to the shores of the Menai Strait and the School of Ocean Sciences at Menai Bridge, Anglesey.  You are warmly invited to attend and to present your current Coelenterate research interests, however broad.  New postgraduate students are especially invited to come along and give posters and papers at this varied, friendly and informal meeting.  We intend to offer a one day meeting of 20 or 30 minute verbal presentations on Saturday 13th April 2002, and space will be provided for poster presentations for viewing over tea and coffee.  Proceedings will probably begin at 10.30 am. The Ocean Science Lecture Theatre is medium sized and has facilities for 35 mm slides, overhead projection, video projection and Powerpoint.  A pub lunch will be available in the quayside Liverpool Arms.  Reasonably priced accommodation is available in Menai Bridge within walking distance of the School of Ocean Sciences, at either the Liverpool Arms (Tel 01248 712453), The Victoria Hotel (01248 712309), Anglesey Arms Hotel (01248 712305) or at a variety of bed and breakfast which can be booked through the North Wales Tourist Board (Tel  01248 713177).  Anglesey is easily reached from the M6 by the A55 (car parking is no problem), and by rail from Crewe.  The London - Euston rail service should take under 3.5 hours, and Menai Bridge is a short taxi ride from the station.  Full details of the School of Ocean Sciences at the University of Wales Bangor, and how to find us are available from the World Wide Web at  http://www.bangor.ac.uk/visitors.php and http://www.sos.bangor.ac.uk We would be grateful if you could return the attached response slip by email or post by 15th March 2002 to indicate your interest.  Please feel free to pass on this invitation to your colleagues.  We look forward to seeing you in Menai Bridge! John Turner, Simon Davy, and Leonie Salmon. EMail: ospa14@bangor.ac.uk

 
 

Royal Irish Academy

National Committee for Biology Conference 2002 21 & 22 March  The Intertidal System The objective of the Seminar is to bring together the knowledge in Ireland on the functions and value of the intertidal region. Particular emphasis will be placed on our uses of the system and its economic and scientific potential. The Seminar, while establishing the extent of our present knowledge, also seeks to identify the gaps in our understanding and the critical research areas for the future. We will tie this in with a workshop bringing together the Seminar participants, including experts from USA and Europe. The Seminar is aimed at managers, economists and educationalists as well as the scientific community.

Poster submissions are especially welcome. Contributions will be considered for publication in Proceedings (500 word limit). Please send an abstract by 15 February to jwilson@tcd.ie Academy House 19  Dawson Street  Dublin 2  Phone: (01) 6762570 Fax: (01) 6762346  Email: d.mcentee@ria.ie

Programme For the full programme of events , please visit the web pages (on-line) by clicking on this text Download registration forms herepdf format For help, see "what is a PDF file?".

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Southampton Oceanography Centre

Marine Life Talks 2002	Southampton Oceanography Centre
3rd January	Dorset marine life - Ken Collins
7th February	Rocky shores - Roger Herbert
7th March	Experiments with salt water - Ken Collins
4th April	Artificial reefs - Antony Jensen
2nd May	Biscay whales & dolphins - Andy Williams
6th June	Human history underwater - Nick Flemming

7.30pm first Thursday of every month   http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/PR/NEWS

National Science Week 2002 Oceans Deep to Mountains High	Southampton Oceanography Centre
7 March (Thursday)	Experiments with salt water  Dr Ken Collins, School of Ocean and Earth Science
8 March (Friday)	Electromagnetics and the ocean floor   Professor Martin Sinha, School of Ocean and Earth Science
11 March (Monday)	Some like it lukewarm: the private life of animals at Deepsea Vents   Dr Jon Copley, School of Ocean and Earth Science
12 March (Tuesday)	Oceans and Climate   Steve Hall, James Rennell Division
13 March (Wednesday)	From Rennell to robots revisited   Professor Gwyn Griffiths, Ocean Engineering Division
14 March (Thursday)	The bustling life on a coral reef   Dr Alexander Mustard, George Deacon Division
15 March (Friday)	The Mid Palaeozoic: climatic extremes and life crises   Dr John Marshall, School of Ocean and Earth Science

All welcome, entry by free ticket only. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Please send s.a.e. to:   Daphne Woods at SOES, Southampton Oceanography Centre, Southampton SO14 3ZH. Stating the DATE, TITLE of the TALK, and NUMBER of tickets required. Entrance to Southampton Oceanography Centre is through Dock Gate 4, please ask for a map if required. Free parking on site, wheelchair access and facilities for those with disabilities.  For further information contact Daphne on 023 8059 5075 or email dw1@soc.soton.ac.uk

9 March (Saturday)

4:00 pm Volvo Ocean Adventure: science, education and yacht racing   Dr Simon Boxall, School of Ocean and Earth Science

This event is at Southampton Oceanography Centre, Dockside Campus of Southampton University.  Simon is going to give a talk on his research which is essentially sampling the world oceans done in association with the Volvo Ocean Yacht Race.  The talk is at 2:00 pm and repeated at 3:00 pm.  At the same time we are giving tours of the SOC and a chance for the public to talk to scientists and look at some of the work going on here.

For more information, contact: Jenny Mallinson Tel:  023 80 596299 More Information Link Map to Southampton Oceanography Centre

Diary Page (Link)

GATEWAY:  LINKS TO OTHER SITES

The British Marine Life Study Society Web Site has been included as an Encyclopaedia Britannica Recommended Site and included on the BBC On-line Internet Guide.

There are more entries on the GATEWAY pages of the BMLSS Web Site. The logos for the various organisations have been removed to reduce the size of this file. 

Quick reference links:
 
 
 

GATEWAY:  Links

GATEWAY:  Further European Links

BIOMAR

BRITISH MARINE LIFE ORGANISATIONS

Courses (Marine Life)

FISHBASE

MARIS Marine Information Service Netherlands

MARLIN (Marine Life Information Network)

MERMAID Marine Nature Conservation Review Survey Database

National Biodiversity Network

World Oceans Day

PUBLICATIONS

NEW BOOK

Creatures of the Deep
by Erich Hoyt
Firefly Books 2001
ISBN  1-55209-340-9 
 

THE SPECIES DIRECTORY OF THE MARINE FAUNA AND FLORA OF THE BRITISH ISLES AND SURROUNDING SEAS.
Edited by C. Howson and B. Picton
Ulster Museum & the Marine Conservation Society 1997.
About £27.50 (including CD-ROM 1999)

The project to collate the species that live in the seas off Britain is an ongoing project. The Directory is a list of all the species grouped systematically according to their scientific names, with a comprehensive bibliography. The 1997 edition, not available until 1998, is the latest list and is useful on the rare occasions (about once a week for me) that I have to look up a vagrant, unusual species that is not listed in the usual identification books.

Now available with the CD-ROM, this proves useful list of all the species for professionals, but it could be improved to make it more useful, e.g. facilities for biological recording and an interchange with Recorder 2000.

MCS books On-Line

 
BMLSS: Marine Life Articles in Publications (Link)

PHOTOGRAPHS

FULL MEMBERS 2002

British Marine Life Study Society membership information was sent out with the Shorewatch newsletter in January 2002.

If you are unable to view this file with all its images through your EMail software, one way around this is to go to your directory for incoming email, where this file should be stored, and open the file Torped69.html in your favourite browser. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and above is recommended. 

 
Some of the images may not display if you have changed your directory for downloaded files. The images may also not display properly if your settings on your EMail software do not allow you do this automatically. Unfortunately, I am unable to cater for all the Email software in use nowadays. I am looking into this problem.

Torpedo  compiled by Andy Horton
Background design by Nicolas Jouault

 28 February 2002