Salcombe Seagrass Beds Leaflet
Salcombe Seagrass Beds Leaflet
Salcombe Seagrass Beds Leaflet
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Find out about these wonderful coastal jungles and how we can all protect and enjoy them. Includes special information for boat users.
Seagrass conservation
We have two species of seagrass locally; the dwarf eelgrass with its very narrow leaves found on the upper estuary mudats towards Kingsbridge and the larger eelgrass found on either side of the main harbour channel. In Salcombe, the seagrass has leaves reaching almost 2m in places and also unusually, grows higher up the shore than most places. Despite their apparent healthiness locally, seagrass beds are rare. They have declined to just 10% of their former extent after a wasting disease in the 1930s thought to be water quality related. Monitoring the health of our seagrass beds is also helpful as an indicator for our other coastal habitats. Good water quality is vital for the health of seagrass communities. Coastal development, dredging and excess nutrients from waste may all directly impact on their health. Any decrease in water clarity will also restrict seagrasses to shallower water. Direct physical disturbances on seagrass beds are increasingly resulting in fragmentation of many beds (see section on recreational boating).
Always take extreme care when snorkeling amongst seagrass, keep in shallow water and make sure that you are highly visible to boat trac
Martin Attrill
The seagrass beds in the Salcombe Kingsbridge estuary cover an area of over 122,000 m2.
Nigel Mortimer
500m
Cuttlesh
Each spring cuttlesh migrate inshore to mate. The females attach clutches of black eggs seagrapes to the base of seagrass shoots. The shelter and food available for the tiny hatchlings (the size of a nger nail) may improve their chances of survival.
Stalked jellysh
Stalked jellysh live permanently attached to the blades of seagrass. Like their close cousins the anemones, stalked jellysh capture their prey using stinging cells in their tentacles, helped by the movement of the seagrass leaves through the water.
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Fan mussel
These impressive clams can reach almost half a metre long! They embed themselves in the sediment with only a small portion of the shell protruding. Whilst not 6 only found in seagrass beds the stability of the sediment in this habitat may oer some advantages to the animal.
Sediment stability
The roots bind the sediment and can prevent erosion of the sea bed and adjacent shore.
A diverse habitat
The structure of the seagrass leaves and root system creates nooks and crannies for animals to hide in and surfaces for them to attach to, which results in a high diversity of wildlife.
Image credits: 1 Keith Hiscock; 2 David Nicholson / Marine Biological Association; 3 Malcolm Nimmo; 4 Jack Sewell; 5, 6 & 7 Steve Trewhella - http://ukcoastalwildlife.co.uk/
Q: How many different plants and animals can you find on the big picture? For the full list, visit: www.marlin.ac.uk/seagrass
I s! gras sea
Recording marine life Recording marine life helps scientists and managers to protect and conserve special places in the sea. For more information about marine life recording and to report all marine life sightings, please visit: Please tell us what you saw, and where and when you saw it. www.marlin.ac.uk/rml
(Scan the QR code with your phone camera for a link to the website)
Beneath the water in many sheltered parts of our coast lie lush green meadows of seagrass; marine owering plants with stems and leaves, roots and owers. Seagrasses can grow from a single seed, but meadows normally form by the spread of roots and rhizomes much like the couch grass found in many gardens. At low spring tides exposed seagrass beds look limp and lifeless. But as the tide returns and the leaves oat up, an underwater jungle rich in marine life comes alive. As well as providing vital food and shelter, this jungle is a spawning and nursery area for many other species; some of these, e.g. bass and bream, are commercially important too.
Further information For more information about seagrass in the Salcombe Kingsbridge estuary, or about conserving our marine resources, please contact: The South Devon AONB Estuaries Ocer Follaton House Plymouth Road Totnes TQ9 5NE www.SouthDevonAONB.org.uk
(Scan the QR code with your phone camera for a link to the website)
THE MA
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Image credits: Cover: Main image Keith Hiscock; Lr left Nigel Mortimer; Lr right Malcolm Nimmo. Inside cover: Guy Baker.