The Wildlife Trust's North Sea Wildlife Project

Shoresearch comes to Lincolnshire

Last week, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers gathered on the beach at Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve to learn about the Shoresearch programme.

With the help of neighbouring Yorkshire Wildlife Trust staff, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is keen to use Shoresearch surveys to discover more about the marine wildlife that lives off our coast.

Rachel Kirby, Head of the Wash Study Centre at Gibraltar Point said: “Shoresearch is perfect for anyone who likes beachcombing and exploring the strandline to see what has washed up. Often we’ll see evidence of what lives out to sea rather than the animals themselves such as empty shells, crabs claws and mermaid’s purses (the egg cases of skates and rays).”

Almost thirty different species were found and identified during the training event including:

•   the small, spherical sea gooseberry which has an almost transparent, shimmering appearance

•   evidence of three species of crab: edible, shore and spider (from claws and shells on the strandline)

•   three species of hydroid and hornwrack (a bryozoan) all of which look superficially like plants or seaweed but are actually colonies of     tiny animals

•   slipper limpets which are native to the eastern coast of North America and were introduced to Essex in 1887-90, with imported oysters.  They will compete with the can displace sea animals such as mussels and oysters. Slipper limpets are a recent arrival to Lincolnshire and have not yet spread as far as Yorkshire. Shoresearch surveys will help monitor their distribution.

“This simple survey illustrates the diversity of wildlife that lives off of coast, even though most of the time it is out of sight” continued Rachel. “We now plan to develop Shoresearch surveys for use by school groups visiting Gibraltar Point and at public events.”

For anyone interested in trying to identify seashore life, a range of identification guides are available from the gift shop in the Gibraltar Point visitor centre.

Volunteers and staff out on the shore

Ray eggcases

Slipper Limpet

All Photos Kirsten Smith