Marine Plankton
Milford Haven
Pembrokeshire UK
Aims of the Site
-
To share marine plankton information
-
Display photos of plankton biodiversity
-
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. Before looking at the details of The Species check the specimens chosen each month in the Previous Photo of the Month. The monthly Blog is full of photos of the latest species found. You may want to have a look at the Biodiversity page that gives a plankton overview while Methods looks specifically at how the samples are taken and photographed. More below.
Photo of the Month
The first stage larva of a starfish is called a bipinnaria and is quite common in Dale plankton. Development is fairly slow to then become a brachiolaria also known as an anchor larva. This is a photo of a mature brachiolaria photographed from a sample collected off Skomer Island at the end of July and shows where part of the larva has grown the young starfish (about a millimetre or two across). It is attached to the brachiolaria by an "umbilical cord" like structure, visible stretching down the left side here of the juvenile. Eventually this juvenile will separate and settle on the sea bed. From a different angle the juvenile is quite dome or pyramidal in shape. (More on echinoderms see here - opens in new window)