Could this warm flow trigger increased polar melt resulting in a reverse effect on the gulf streem that has been speculated by scientists of late, with the possibility of the coastal regions freezing?
Worrying times
It has been a good winter for us so far plenty wind and the water is still unseasonally warm (if you still wear a wetsuit like a man),
but it's playing havoc with the creatures in our sea. As most of you know I get a bit excited poking through the flotsam on the beach
looking for the weird and wonderfull that may become stranded and the last couple of weekends after the big storms have excelled.
With having such a long period of west and south westerley winds some of the creatures that visit our coastal waters on the Gulf
stream and North Atlantic drift have struggled to return to the warmer waters from where they originated. On the last weekend of 2006
and the first of 2007 I have found and identified three Grey Triggerfish Balistes capriscus upto 330mm in length (some fresher than
others, sorry for making you put the stinky old one in your freezer Neil). They originate from as far as Mexico and are classed a warm
water species. They are reef fishes and not pelagic species (ocean going wanderers like Tuna) and therefore rely on strong currents to
bring them to our coastal waters.These are not extremely rare in our waters but are becoming more frequent visitors and have been found
as far as the Outer Hebrides. But unfortunately they happen upon our waters in warm summers but if they do leave early enough the cool
winter temperatures will kill them, with the strond SW's they are not strong enough swimmers to fight against the current to make it
back to warmer waters. What I find interesting is the fact they have only just succumbed to that drop in temperature.
I have recorded and added these records to the one of the marine research sites. If anyone finds anything interesting add it to this
post. I have attached a picture of the Grey Triggerfish found on Ynyslas on 6th Jan 2007.
[Edited on 8-1-2007 by Kitefish]
Grey Triggerfish Balistes capriscus
Large strandings of By the Wind Sailors Velella velella. These are of the Cnidaria family (stinging animals). By-the-wind sailors, unusually are also recognized throughout the world by their scientific name, Velella velella. They are tiny blue-coloured relatives of the Portuguese man-of-war Physalia physalia, but instead of the float having a bladder, it has a flat disc with a diagonal sail. Like the Portuguese man-of-war, each ‘individual’ is composed of groups of polyps, specialised for feeding, breeding and catching prey.They are mainly found in the warmer waters south of the Bay of Biscay but also have been washed to our shores by the stron south westerlies recently.
Another more recent more common visitor but no less facinating are the goose barnacles.
Off British coasts there are four species that always settle on drifting objects in this way, all in the genus Lepas. They may still be
alive on arrival, but soon perish in our comparatively low temperatures. The commonest is Lepas anatifera, the shelly plates (the
capitulum) of which can reach 50mm whilst the muscular stalk (peduncle) varies from 40 to 900mm. It is the peduncle that is cooked and
eaten. Mention must be made of a fifth species (Lepas fascicularis) which has very thin capitular plates. When juvenile, it will be
found attached to twigs and even feathers, but as it grows it secretes its own spongy float; sometimes it is cast up in large numbers,
especially on south-western shores. The picture of the barnacles I have attached had fastened themselves to a flourescent tube that had
been bobbing about in the sea for many years.
I hope some of you have found this interesting and not bored the pants of of you. Please add any intersting finds to this post with
pics if possible.
Good news for the kitesurfing...Bad news for the eco system eh
Could this warm flow trigger increased polar melt resulting in a reverse effect on the gulf streem that has been speculated by
scientists of late, with the possibility of the coastal regions freezing?
Worrying times
I found this creature a while ago, any ideas?
[Edited on 9-1-2007 by bucski]
Don't let those trigger fish bite you.... We used to have a large one in a tank and he was mean, he'd take a finger off your hand no
problem if you gave him half a chance.
Worrying Times??? I guess that depends on whether you are looking at it from an anthropological perspective and the small time scales
we are generally able to comprehend or a global perspective... Global warming may be happening and at quite a rate (and some of the
causes may be attributed to human activities), but the Earth has seen MUCH warmer average global temperatures than this in the past and
such things are in constant flux whatever we do...
We're destroying the Earth!!?? I doubt we could do that if we tried. We might not make it through these 'worrying times', but the Earth
and some of its inhabitants will and things will go on as normal in the grand scheme of things.
Al.
Good stuff Nick. I found loads of dead stuff when I used to work for the harbours, including loads of dolphins, and once a 2 tonne seal measuring over 9 foot in length! The trigger fish is much cooler though!!
quote:
Originally posted by bucski
I found this creature a while ago, any ideas?
[Edited on 9-1-2007 by bucski]
Your right AL, that bugger looks like its been going for decades!
That bluebeard Neilolas Sutherlandus keeps getting washed up on a regular basis, I,ve seen it picked up by anglers in the estuary and
the rescued by the RNLI. Not sure anyone can decide wether it prefers to stay in the water or on dry land.
You are on the ball Al, this years weather could be attributed to El Nino in the Pacific and these blips have appeared through
millennia. If we do lose the gulf stream, don't think we will around and the bow kite will be bizarre contraption of the past.
But if anyone does see anything strange on the beach post it here and I will pass the info onto GLAUCUS which is the British Marine
Life Study Societies Shorewatch Project.
kitefish,
at last an interesting post. cheers mate. will let you know if i find anything on the beach.
found a load of goose barnicles on the beach attached to a whiskey bottle! i was told they are called goose barnicles because the shell
is the same as the bill of a species of goose. and people thought they were the baby geese!
cheers
coooo - this site is gettin dead educashunal!!
Anyway prof Kitesfish, to ad my a'pennys worth, wot about this lot of flotsam that got washed up on Ynslas not so long ago...
I believe the species is 'Kitus Surficus', they are usually summer visitors, tho some of the hardier ones winter here the clever ones
migrate to warmer climes - Egypt being a favourite.
They are distinguished by their brightly coloured sails that they use to propel themselves across the surface of the water. They come
generally with a soft shell though there are hard shell varietys that are a little higher up the evolutionary scale - they can be
distinguished by the 'pyro pro' camouflage.
A sub-species is 'kitus inthe drinkus' which seems to use its sail as a sea anchor and spends more time relaxing in the surf and
filtering out micro-organisms and other detritus with huge gulps of its mouth.
Although generally harmless some of the bolder ones can give you a nasty nip and earfull of abuse if you happen to venture too close to
their sail when it is extended - the one in the picture looks particularly mean!!
pebbledashus, midlifecrisisus.
is its latin name
Not sure if this is another trigger fish or a leather jacket? Theres a key at the bottom of the photo to scale it. Found today at borth
Shem
Yes it is another triggerfish, that one is very similar to the first one I found (partailly desicated). What I think is intersting is
nothing appears to eat them, most other fishes that are washed up are usually quickly devoured by sea birds, crabs and sand hoppers.
Only the eyes seem to disappear quickly- strange