marine conservation society facebook marine conservation society website home news meetings courses contacts seasearch calendar newsletter marine science education sitemap marine based activities

Have You Seen These Species?

 

Alien Invasion

Need more help or spotted something not shown. Look at the Marlin guide to alien species.
Most wanted Aliens.
Alien species guide.

 
carpet sea squirt marine
   
crawfish marine
   
seahorses marine
   
  moon jellyfish marine ecology
   
fanshell marine
 
You are here: Home > News > Have you seen

Information on the following species is required:

Carpet Sea Squirt (Didemnum vexillum)

A filter feeding marine invertebrate that forms large colonies carpetting hard structures on which it grows.  Its fast growth could threaten our fishing industry, shellfish growers and the conservation of our native marine habitats.

The carpet sea squirt was only confirmed in British waters in 2008. However, there are strong concerns that it will quickly colonise a much wider area as it has been found to do in other countries such as New Zealand and the USA.

Along with other problems, based on current predictions this species could cost mussel farming between £1.3 and £6.8 million over the next ten years. Other impacts include potentially clogging fishing equipment, biofouling boats and smothering native reef habitats. It grows at a phenomenal rate smothering all other native life forms.

It was found in Holyhead Harbour in North Wales in 2008 and more recently in marinas of the Clyde and on the Argyll coast. In March this year it was found at marinas in Gosport, Lymington and Cowes.

Crawfish

Recreational divers in Wales are being asked for help monitoring crawfish levels following concern over a "dramatic" fall in numbers.

Crawfish - also known as crayfish, spiny or rock lobster - have a vital role in marine ecosystems, according to the Wales Biodiversity Partnership.

Latest species to look out for: the, Any sightings, past and present are required and there is a survey form on the ‘Seasearch’ website. BBC Wales report.


Seahorses

Seahorses are charismatic, fascinating and engaging. Their quirky features attract interest and make them one of the most iconic of fishes. Their reproductive strategy – including pair bonding and male pregnancy – is extraordinary in the animal kingdom. Most importantly, seahorses are representative of global threats to marine life: overfishing, bycatch (non-target fisheries) and habitat degradation and loss.

The Seasearch project is calling on all divers to look out for and record sightings of all pipefish and seahorses they see on their dives around the UK. In the last couple of years there has been a large increase in diver sightings of the snake pipefish and both species of seahorses.

Pipefish

Formerly rarely seen, the snake pipefish has become abundant at certain times of year, especially on North Sea coasts, but unusual numbers of juveniles have been seen in the Atlantic as well. A recording form can be downloaded from the Seasearch website. For extra info visit RECOGNISING PIPEFISH
Jellyfish
Common Jellyfish (also called Moon Jellyfish), Aurelia aurita, which do not sting humans. The threadlike tentacles around the edge of the bell can sting, and may occasionally catch small swimming animals for food,

but their stings - like minute harpoons fired by springs - are not powerful enough to pierce our thick skin. They feed mostly by trapping microscopic plankton in a film of mucus which flows over the surface of the bell and is picked off as it reaches the edges by the thick mouth tentacles underneath. They swim by pulsing the bell, pushing themselves slowly forwards through the water.

A UK jellyfish survey has been set up by the MCS.
Survey forms are obtainable from head office as well as an A4, colour indentification sheet. Jellyfish are vital food sources to turtles, of which a number of species are being sighted around the British Isles; see ‘Basking Sharks and Turtles’ below.

   marine conservation jellyfish survey
 
 

Fanshell

The fanshell or fan mussel (Atrina fragilis) is one of the rarest molluscs in the UK. It is thought to occur in waters from the surface down to at least 400m. It is distributed throughout all UK waters, in continental shelf waters, and in the Mediterranean, where it can be significantly abundant in shallow seagrass beds.

MCS are conducting surveys into sightings of the large Fanshell (Atrina fragilis). Location, size, numbers and damage are required. A leaflet is available from head office. The fanshell lives partially buried in soft mud and sand around the coasts of Britain, the Mediterranean and the east Atlantic. These shells, related to mussels and clams, can reach up 480mm in length.

Basking Sharks and Turtles

Very little is known about these magnificent animals, so should you be out and about, on and under British waters during the year, ‘Basking Shark and Turtle Watch’ Sighting Report Cards are available from MCS, along with a report on the findings so far.
 
     
basking shark
   
leatherback turtle
  
       
Home  |   News  |   Meetings  | Courses  |  Contacts | Marine Science | Things to do | Marine World News | Sitemap |