TORPEDO

Marine Life News Bulletin

October 2009

ISSN  1464-8156

On-line connection to the British Marine Life Study Society web pages
Index for the Torpedo News Bulletins
Link to the forum for marine wildlife of the NE Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas
Link to the News web pages for 2009
LINKS
GATEWAY:  Links
GATEWAY:  Further European Links
New EMail address
BIOMAR
BRITISH MARINE LIFE ORGANISATIONS
Courses (Marine Life)
Discussion Groups
Link to the Fishbase web pages
MARIS
Marine Information Service
Netherlands
MARLIN
(Marine Life Information Network)
World Register of Marine Species
National Biodiversity Gateway
National Biodiversity Network
World Oceans Day
Link to Ray Dennis's Cornish Marine Life Reports for 2008
Link to Sealord Photography
FOR THE YOUNGER
AGE GROUP
Link to an on-line page for younger students of the seashore. Spider Crab and youngsters at Adur World Oceans Day 2002 (Photograph by Duncan Morrison)
7-14 years

Norwegian Marine***
LINKS FOR TALKS & ACTIVITIES

National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth
NATIONAL MARINE
AQUARIUM

Scottish Association for Marine Science

Silver Dolphin Centre, Helston, Cornwall
 

Link to the Porcupine Society web pages

Marine Life Society
of
South Australia ***


De Strandwerkgemeenschap

'Strandwerkgroep'
(Beachworkgroup)
Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
 

 
 
 
 

 

Monthly electronic news bulletin for the marine life of the NE Atlantic Oceans including the seas and seashore around the British Isles.
The bulletin is designed for Microsoft Explorer 4 and above using medium fonts at a resolution of 800 x 600 and can be viewed satisfactorily at a resolution of 1024 x 768.
Subscribe and unsubscribe options are at the foot of this page.
If you receive this bulletin as an EMail subscriber, you may find the best way to view the file is on your hard disc in your directory of Incoming EMails.

MARINE LIFE NEWS

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
 

18 October 2009
A recreational angler caught a 26.76 kg  (59 lb exactly) female Stingray, Dasyatis pastinaca, in shallow water near Vermerette off the west coast of the island of  Herm, Channel Islands, (about 400 metres from Herm harbour) from a boat. The ray had a total length of 124 cm and a disc width of 76 cm. 

The stomach of the fish contained about 20 well-digested Sandeels and some small shrimps (it is a bottom feeder.) The liver weighed 4859 grams (10.7 lb). This ray would have broken the British record of the fish had been caught from the shore. 

BMLSS Stingray
BMLSS Sharks & Rays
BMLSS Angling Records Links page

4 October 2009
The Northern Bottle-nosed Whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, that has been trapped in Loch Eil near Fort William, south-western Scotland, was finally coaxed out of the narrow sea-loch trap, through the Corpach Narrows and into more open water and a better chance of making it out to the open sea and food. As the light faded towards the end of the afternoon the whale dived and was not seen again, swimming only a few miles from the open sea.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue Report
Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society Report & Image
BBC News Report

Whales and Dolphins in British Seas (by Steve Savage)
BMLSS Cetacea News Index
 

27 September 2009
On a dive out of John o' Groats (the most northerly settlement of mainland Scotland) I discovered the rarely reported free swimming tunicate Thetys vagina as well as the Mauve Stinger Jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca,  both seen in shallow (10 metres deep) water, within two or three metres of the surface. Thetys was observed swimming by opening and closing its mouth and propelling itself along under the cliffs at Skirza Head (eastern coast). 

Thetys vagina has been rarely recorded in Irish waters. The species was reported for the first time in Irish waters during November 1988 when hundreds of specimens were taken in trawls at offshore. A few specimens were also found stranded on Ventry Beach, near Dingle, County Kerry during July 1987 & 1988

BMLSS Tunicata
BMLSS Jellyfish
 
 

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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

With the closure of Smart Groups at the end of November 2006 most of the 7500+ messages have been filed at:

Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Jiglu
http://www.Jiglu.com/spaces/glaucus/

However, in November 2009, all these messages were deleted without warning. Sorry. This was out of my control. 

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

Wet Thumb (Marine Aquariology) Forum Link
 
 

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All reports by Andy Horton unless the credits are given 
to other observers or reporters.

Cornish Marine Wildlife (Ray Dennis Records) 2008


PICTURE GALLERY

Each month, at least one special marine image will be published from images sent to the BMLSS. This can be of the seashore, undersea world or any aspect of the marine natural world, especially the underwater life, but not restricted to life beneath the waves. Topical inclusions may be included instead of the most meritorious, and images will be limited to the NE Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas, marine and seashore species and land and seascapes.
 

Sea Gooseberry, Pleurobrachia pileus, at Zetland Pier, Bantry Bay, S W Ireland. These gooseberry-sized ctenophores were flashing all sorts of colours as we entered or left the water. 

Photograph by Joe Bater

The comb-jelly Sea Gooseberry, Pleurobrachia pileus, is both ubiquitous and superabundant pelagically in the NE Atlantic Ocean. It appears as transparent globules in the prawn net. The two long tentacles tangle underneath and the swimming combs of this tiny ovoid predator appear to shimmer. At night it is phosphorescent. 

flickr
BRITISH MARINE LIFE GALLERY

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Shore Topography Series

The name of the particular coast should be included and the grid reference, if known. Print photographs can be included in Exhibitions and on the BMLSS Web Sites and electronic publications. Electronic images in *.jpg format can also be considered for the web site. They should not exceed 250K in size.

Portnadoran Beach near Arisaig looking towards the islands of Eigg and Rum. Arisaig is situated on the the road to the isles in south-west Scotland

Photograph by Carmen Mardiros
Scotland Flavour: Pictures of Aristaig

Stretching for eight miles or so north of Arisaig there is a string of stunning white-sand beaches backed by flowery machair, with barren granite hills and moorland rising up behind and wonderful seaward views of Eigg and Rùm.

The white sands are comprised of a mixture of ground maerl and seashells.

Granite Rocks at Portnadoran

Photograph by Lynn M Reid

Geograph
 
 

flick
British Coastal Topography
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First enquiry by EMail to Glaucus@hotmail.com

New EMail address

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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. 
 

Link to more marine life photographs

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

 



 

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.

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BIOSIS  Conference Calendar for Zoology

(Major Link of all biological conferences around the world)

 


PUBLIC AQUARIA NEWS
 Public Aquaria List
CETACEAN NEWS
?  What to do if you find a stranded whale or dolphin  ?

If you find a LIVE stranded or injured whale or dolphin on the beach you must send for help QUICKLY. A whale or dolphin stranding is an emergency and the speed of response by a professional rescue team is perhaps the most crucial factor in determining whether or not an animal can be returned to the sea alive.


ENGLAND
WALES
SCOTLAND
0300 1234 999
0300 1234 999
0131 339 0111
CORNWALL
JERSEY
GUERNSEY
0845 201 2626
01534 724331
00 44 1481 257261

 
 
01825  765546

LINK TO THE STRANDINGS PAGE


 
 
 PUBLICATIONS & WEB PAGES
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BOOKS

PUBLICATIONS

NEW BOOKS:

Two new interesting publications were received this month:
 

VIVARIUM
by Peter Stiles
Publisher: Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

Philip Henry Gosse was a popular naturalist who moved to Victorian Ilfracombe and wrote his natural science book ‘A Naturalist’s Rambles on the Devonshire Coast’. He later designed the first public aquarium, which opened in London. His activities also attracted other naturalists, including Charles Darwin and novelist George Eliot.

This book celebrates the link between Philip Henry Gosse and his rockpool adventures in Devon and contains lots of information about the life of this self-taught Victorian scientist and writer.

in conjunction with an Exhibition that finished on 25 April 2009.
 

Marine Fisheries Science Yearbook  2008/2009

Publisher:  defra

href="http://archive.defra.gov.uk/search/results.htm?cx=014361324438485032053%3Aljunwq2pe_y&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=Marine+Fisheries+Science+">To obtain a copy from the defra web site, click on this text
 
 
 

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

 
The Gulf Stream
by Bruno Voituriez
Publisher:  UNESCO 
ISBN:  92-3-103995-4 
222 pages, figures, glossary, bibliography

The Gulf Stream
Amid contemporary scenarios of potential climatic catastrophes and global warming that might be imagined to bring a new ice age, the powerful image of the Gulf Stream rising from the Florida Straits and flowing to the north Atlantic inevitably provokes questions about its ecological significance and whether it might ever stop.
 

Coastal Plankton
Photo Guide for European Seas

by Otto Larink & Wilfried Westheide
reviewed by Wim van Egmond
 
 
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

.
JOURNALS:

SAVE OUR SEABIRDS NETWORK
Working to reduce Marine Pollution and to help the birds caught in it
Quarterly Newsletter
Registered Charity  803473

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WEB SITES

Decision-making in Marine Mammal
Rescue and Rehabilitation

Eastern English Channel Habitat Atlas for Marine Resource Management
is available for download from
http://charm.canterbury.ac.uk/atlas/pge.htm
 

Encyclopaedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland
http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/index.html?item=about

Marine Fauna of Norway
http://www.seawater.no/fauna/e_index.htm


WET THUMB (Marine Aquariology)
EFORUM PAGE

BMLSS: Marine Life Articles in Publications (Link)


SOCIETY INFORMATION
 
The British Marine Life Study Society are responsible for producing the journal GLAUCUS, which is the first publication exploring the marine life of the seas surrounding the British Isles available to the general public. In future, I expect the publication to be in an electronic format. 
    We also publish the SHOREWATCH Newsletter and
    the TORPEDO Electronic News Bulletin.

    The Glaucus 2002 CD-ROM was sent out to Premier BMLSS members in January 2003.


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EMail Address
 

New EMail addressEMail address for messages to the British Marine Life Study Society 


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Membership 2009
Plans have not yet been finalised for the publications and subscriptions for year 2009. Back copies of previous issues are still available. 
 


Bulletin Details

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Recipients can only unsubscribe if the Bulletin is received directly from the BMLSS.
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Printing the two column version of Torpedo (from issue 28)

These pages are not designed for the default settings on the Page Set-ups of your browser. I recommend viewing in Microscope Internet Explorer 7 and altering the right and left hand columns in the Page Set-up menu to 9 mm (from 19 mm).
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Torpedo compiled by Andy Horton
Background design by Andy Horton and other contributors

    23 October 2009

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Compiled on Netscape Composer 4.7 and other programs
Boar Fish, Capros aperLen NevellMarc AbrahamJohn KnightUrchin fossil (out of scale) dating the pebbles at 85 million years oldMermaid's PursesPeter Talbot-ElsdenCharlie DimmickAndy HortonSamanthaThe crab was called Rooney because of its missing leg. Nobody asked about the brain cells of a crab?