Marine Plankton in Milford Haven
Pembrokeshire UK
Aims of the Site
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To share marine plankton information
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Display photos of plankton biodiversity
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Provide an educational resource
Welcome. This site covers coastal plankton washing on to the stunning shores of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. There is an amazing biodiversity of microscopic life living in every drop of seawater. Collections are made around Milford Haven, part of the Special Area of Conservation, with the most regular ones made in Dale. Other locations. Before looking at the details of The Species you may want to have quick look at the Biodiversity page while Methods looks specifically at how the samples are taken and photographed.
Photo of the Month
There has been an abundance of "jelly" this autumn, what with Muggiaea in September and currently a huge number of Obelia medusae. All examples of hydroids. On 18th October I was delighted to find and photograph for the very first time this medusa with a "top-knot" extension, a feature that I have never seen before. This aided ID using Schuchert's 2007 paper on European medusae. The hydroid species is Amphinema dinema and is about 2mm tall. By his account they are not often seen but are distributed across the eastern Atlantic from Finland to South Africa. So often medusae are colourless and transparent but this one is especially photogenic with the pinky -purple tentacles and yellow-green core. The gonads near the top are well developed too.