It's Time to Spring into Action.....
.....now, is the view of old friend of Coastwise, Dr Keith Hiscock.
Keith is now an Associate Fellow of the Marine Biological Association, who is a native of Ilfracombe and although he now lives in Plymouth, still dives with the Ilfracombe sub-aqua club and has extensive knowledge of the marine scene in North Devon and Lundy.
He outlined the way in which life emerges through the year; for example, dog whelk eggs appear in November to February, with crawl-away young emerging after that.
Tompot Blennies are breeding now, with the males, astonishingly, keeping the eggs clean by brushing them with an anal gland. In April, hydroids such as Tubularia, indivisa arrive.
By late-April to May, cuttlefish start arriving, and laying eggs on sea fans. At about the same time, the seaweed nests of corkring wrasse can be see on the sides of gullies.
By May, plankton are arriving in huge numbers, and just about visible in the water.
So Spring is the time to get out, with increasing day length and warmer water....there's lots to see, and Dr Hiscock threw in some surprising facts and bits of recent research.
You can watch and listen to Keith's talk by following the YouTube link below......
Copyright Coastwise