A fantastic sunny day and no swell combined with a massive spring low tide gave our team of eight enthusiastic shoresearchers a great view of a rarely explored shore at Porthgwrarra last week. This shore was targeted as one of the few easy to access points within the lands end rMCZ. We were treated to an incredibly diverse site with so much colour that, due to its geology is really different to other areas we have surveyed. Huge granite boulders dwarfed the volunteers and scrambling around was great fun- in shallow sandy pools between the rocks micro-climates have formed in pockets of shelter that are seething with red seaweed species and a good diversity of invertebrates! A great time was had by all but sdly we found no stalked barnacles Pocilipes pocilipes. And no stalked jellies at this site. I am sure a snorkel survey there would yield some records though! We will keep searching and I encourage all of you to go out surveying within this rugged and beautiful rMCZ!
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| Montagu's blenny in a pool - (posing for the camera) Matt Slater |
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| Three spotted Cowrie Trivia monacha |
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| Risso's crab Xantho pilipes note the hairy back legs that make it different to a Montagu's crab! |
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| Jake and a nice peice of Dabberlocks Alaria esculenta - tasted nice too! |
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| Codium , 'Velvet fingers' seaweed among fresh new thongweed (Himenthalia elongata) and red seaweeds |
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| False pepper dulse Osmundia hybrida growing epiphytically on fucus |
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| A beautiful sea spider Nymphon gracile that was found swimming along in a pool by Stephanie! |
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| Shoresearch in rock scramble mode! |
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| Tiny Corralina clumps found all over the large granite boulders |
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| Strange sponge found under a ledge - still identifying this! |
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