Thursday 20 June 2013

Hi,

We're a week and a bit past construction of the artificial rock pools. At this point it falls to me to check them periodically to ensure that they will hold water and not let it slowly seep away; it's something that we haven't confirmed yet because the high tides have been too low ( between 4.1m and 4.6m ) to cover the upper rock pools yet. However, there are high tides of up to 5.5 metres expected over the next few days which should cover them.

In the meantime, my time has been spent researching papers and articles to do with ecological engineering and trying to learn the scientific names of anything I find. This latter part is important since one person's Dog whelk is another person's Atlantic dogwinkle; scientists tend to use scientific names of latin or greek since these are fixed for any given organism.

 
For instance, what would you call this endearing Galway bay resident if you found it? If you think you know what it is or have a name suggestion why not drop me a comment.
With the first full survey of the concrete rock pools not due until one month after completion I made a start on the biodiversity survey of the Galway bay area.

Since it is part of an experiment to compare similar artificial and natural surfaces, the initial survey involves finding relatively flat and homogenous ( ie. no cracks or hollows ) rocks that are either part of a manmade structure or occur as a natural rock formation.

Once a suitable site is found it is surveyed using very high tech equipment indeed.......not!
High tech surveying kit :-)


Using a 25cm x 25cm quadrat placed on a suitable rock I determine the percentage of the area inside the quadrat which is covered by such organisms as barnacles, brown and green seaweeds or algae or bare rock along with the number of limpets, dog whelks or periwinkles and the like. At each site, which fixed by checking its GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates, 10 quadrats are surveyed to ensure a proper mix of data.

In essence, the information or data that is obtained in the survey must come from a certain type of location that we can compare with the concrete coastal defences whilst at the same time it must be as random as possible and include replication so as to ensure an even mix of information and avoid any form of bias. Easier said than done!

So, if you're walking along the prom at low tide and you see a couple of people off near the waters edge staring intently at some rocks that have been laid in a straight line out into the bay perpendicular to the prom, that's me plus one of the crew surveying an artificial habitat. If we're in amongst randomly placed boulders then it's a natural habitat survey.

Feel free to wave, we will wave back!


Our crew






Wednesday 12 June 2013

Getting the experiment started

Along the sides of the causeway connecting Mutton Island to the mainland there are coastal defence units called sheds. Click here to view on Google maps
A shed in this instance refers to a hollow concrete block designed to dissipate wave energy in order to protect the underlying rocks upon which the causeway is built, not somewhere to store your lawnmower.
                                                                                                  
The shed units along the side of the causeway
Since the sheds are hollow they allow the tide to drain away however, whilst some organisms will take refuge amongst the underlying rocks until the tide returns, there is little to hold onto the seawater and create rock pools.

The experiment, in a nutshell, involves creating artificial rock pools at the lower and higher levels of the defence sheds and comparing what organisms settles in these to those that have settled in comparable natural pools and exposed natural rock as well as comparing the lower and upper artificial pools and the seaward and leeward sides of the causeway. The aim is to enlighten ecological engineering of future coastal defences and allow for cost-efficient incorporation of artificial rock pools into these defences to allow for an increase in biodiversity compared to older defence constructions.

The sheds viewed from above


Well, work began in earnest over the last week to get this experiment up and running.

First, myself and Dr Louise Firth, who's my supervisor and the brains behind all this, spent a day rummaging in amongst the sheds to find suitable sites to place the concrete artificial pools. Some of the sites needed modification by removal of mud and slime covered rocks which had an attendant odour that made for very glamorous work.

Once we had identified 20 sites each side of the causeway, 10 lower and 10 upper in each case, it was time to bring in the heavy machinery. Many marine ecological experiments are descibed as bucket and spade experiments, this is not one of them!
Three man band






Following 2 days of intense activity wherein the future of the experiment lay in the hands of the three-man crew who had the unenviable task of realising Louise's vision of this straightforward but hopefully powerful experiment, we emerged triumphant having thwarted the fast approaching tides, with all our rock pools in place. There were worrying times at the beginning of the process as each party attempted to work out the requirements and limitations of the other but Bernard, Paddy and Peter, our three-man band, displayed efficient hard graft to secure our immense gratitude.

                                                  Newly formed artificial pools
 
New rock pools under their first tide






A shout out has to also go to Lisa and Amy from our shared summer lab for removing and replacing rocks as required to ensure the perfect shed sites for each rock pool despite the mud and stink.

Background information

First, some background.....

Galway bay is subject to diurnal tides resulting in the shoreline being exposed twice in roughly each 24 hour period. Every time the tide goes out mobile organisms such as fish, crabs, amphipods and polychaete worms move to places of shelter. Some fish can swim out with the water however others, along with the likes of the common shore crab and various amphipods, simply entrench themselves under rocks and in crevices. Almost anywhere damp will suffice for these animals as they wait and mull over their saltationary existance until the next incoming tide entices them out to continue their particular day to day activities.  Polychaete worms can burrow into the mud and there are some which build shelters from sand and shell fragments.


What it's all about. Galway bay from the sea to the coast


In contrast to those animals that can move to an under-rock sanctuary or the like there are slow moving animals along with non-mobile or sessile organisms which includes limpets, periwinkles, sea anenomes, barnacles, bryozoans, various bivalves, seaweeds and other algae which have to come up with another strategy to survive the twice-daily exposure. Limpets and perwinkles simply clamp down to a suitable substrate and wait for submergence. Fixed organisms such as bryozoans are often found on the underside of rocks where it remains damp the longest. Seaweeds and other algae have evolved physiological adaptations to dessication or are simply not able to live in the intertidal zone because they need constant water cover.

This is a really simple view of the life of intertidal flora and fauna however I hope that you appreciate that water is the main deciding factor in the existence of all involved. So, bearing this in mind, if there was a way for an organism to exist happily between each low tide rather than having to wait out the hours until the tide comes in again, this would become the preferred mode of lifestyle. This is why rock pools are hot property in the indertidal world.

More rock pools equals a better standard of living in our scenario, the equivalent of a human moving from the desert along Africa's Skeleton coast to a small well-stocked town in a prosperous country. As a consequence of an increased abundance of rock pools, animal and plant species can become more abundant and live in greater densities.
This increase in the variation of the environment, or in other words, the increased heterogeneity, allows for a greater number of niches which can be filled by a greater number of species; hey presto, more biodiversity!

This quick overview will hopefully help when reading about the experiment itself.



Keith                                         Me inside my plush workspace



Thursday 6 June 2013

LINKS TO RELATED ITEMS

1. This is an Irish Times article which talks about the experiment.

2. The DELOS project is conducting research into the design of Low Crested defence Structures.|As it is overtopped by seawater a number of times per year the causeway could be considered one such structure.

3. The Urbane project is conducting research into biodiversity on artificial and natural coastal environments

4. To find out more about biodiversity in Galway city try-  Galwaybiodiversity

5. There is an EU-wide study into the current state of play with coastal defences and proposed responses to sea level rise
    resulting from climate change. read a bit about Ireland's position at climateadaptation.eu

6.The BBC have a fantastic programme called The secret life of rock pools, hosted by  Professor Richard Fortey, which gives wonderful insight into the biodiversity of the pools. If you are lucky enough to be in an area that allows you the use of the BBC iPlayer click here and there is access to various clips and possibly even the entire programme.

Learn how limpets stamp on the toes of marauding starfish like a seasoned exponent of krav maga self defence!

If you don't have access to iPlayer, keep a weather eye open for repeats on the BBC and the documentary channels.

7. The University of Exeter are also conducting research into biodiverity and coastal defences.

8. Some other studies I've done in the past about plant hormones.

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Starter note

Hi,

A quick note to get you and me started........

If you've found this blog it's possibly because of the biodiversity tag and your interest in the subject. If so, then I'm hoping that the next 10 or so weeks of my witterings will be worth your while following :-)

Ireland, the United Kingdom and much of the rest of Europe has coastal defences consisting of engineered concrete structures designed to hold back seas or absorb their energy as they crash against the coast. It's understandable, we have homes and industrial property on coastal areas for many reasons and we would like to keep them if at all possible.

In producing structures such as piers, jetties, causeways, harbour walls and breakwaters there is considerable disturbance caused to the marine flora and fauna that inhabit not only the area that is built on but also the immediate surroundings. Following this, what is normally left behind is a smooth, concrete ediface on which much marine life doesn't want to live.

Marine ecological engineering is a burgeoning branch of science that combines the research of marine scientists with the expertise of marine engineers. The aim is to produce new forms of artificial coastal defences that are designed in a manner that encourages recolonisation by the disturbed community of organisms that inhabit the area and in doing so increase the level of biodiversity that currently encompasses these structures.

I'm a part of the marine science research protion of the equation. For the next ten weeks I'll be involved as an intern in the zoology dept. of the National University of Ireland, Galway whilst a new experiment is born on the causeway to Mutton Island in Galway Bay, Ireland to determine part of the best way to incorporate artificial concrete rock pools into new defence structures and so provide space for life to proliferate. In order to compare the results with existing artificial and natural substrates in the local area I will also be conducting biodiversity surveys along the Galway Bay coast.

May I be up to the task and may you enjoy the journey.

Keith