UK Seahorse tagging project at Studland Bay in Dorset
12/05/2009 11:48:56
Spiney Seahorse with tag in Studland Bay. Credit Steve Trewhella/Seahorse Trust
Studland Bay is an internationally important site for Seahorses
Courtesy of the Seahorse Trust
The Seahorse Trust has been surveying British Seahorses since 1994 through its British Seahorse Survey and in early 2008 we achieved the full named protection of both native species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981 schedule 5). This monumental break through took six years to obtain and it also included the protection of the habitat Seahorses are found in, which was a major bonus to the legislation.
Two species of Seahorse in British waters- Short Snouted & the Spiny Seahorse
The British Seahorse Survey would not be possible without the community involvement we receive through the hundreds of sightings per annum from divers, fishermen and the general public. Its this very community involvement that made it possible to get the two species; the Short Snouted Seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) and the Spiny Seahorse (H.guttulatus) protected under the wildlife and Countryside Act as named species and has meant that hundreds of people have given up their time and energy to go out looking for Seahorses and reporting them into us. This amazing influx of information has allowed us to build up a picture of the unique lives these two species we have in our coastal waters.
British Seahorse Survey
The British Seahorse Survey was set up in 1994 and is the longest running continuous survey of its kind in the world; it's this longevity that has allowed us to gain a greater insight into the world of two of the British Isles most enigmatic fish species.
Short snout seahorse in Studland Bay. Credit Steve Trewhella/Seahorse Trust.
The Seahorse Tust has been monitoring a number of sites around the UK, one of which is in Studland Bay in Dorset which has turned out to be a site of International importance. Our coordinators for Dorset, Steve Trewhella and Julie Hatcher, discovered Seahorses on the site in 2005 and since then we have made a number of amazing discoveries about British Seahorses and particularly this site.
Despite the longevity of the survey and the amount of knowledge we have already gained we need to know more about these very elusive animals and their secretive lives and Studland Bay gives us a unique opportunity to do this.
Habitat under threat
It is vital to learn more about Seahorses and their ecology in the wild so that we can put management plans into place for their protection and to preserve the habitat they live in, which is under imminent threat from development and overuse; to do this we need to identify individual Seahorses over long periods of time which is quite difficult to do underwater
Anchor is the seagrass in Studland Bay. Credit Steve Trewhella/Seahorse Trust.
Over several we have learned to tag Seahorses with a small ‘floy' tag that is non intrusive and does not affect the lives of the seahorses. We now propose to tag the Seahorses at Studland Bay so that we are able to identify individual Seahorses. During the tagging process we will take notes of measurements, identifying marks, GPS location, sex and photographs to allow us to build up a database of individuals on the site, all of which will be updated as and when these individuals are spotted and recorded again.
Weekly dives
Our aim is to dive at least once a week on the site every week throughout the year to gather ongoing data and information allowing us to know more about the unique residents of the bay and by diving throughout the year we will begin to understand a great deal more about their seasonal movements, ecology and habits.
These dives will allow us to check on existing tagged Seahorses and to tag new ones, as part of this tagging process the exact location of each animal will be taken by GPS, ascertaining if they do in fact set up territories, which has been previously thought.
Seagrass atatched to anchor chain in Studland Bay. Credit Steve Trewhella/Seahorse Trust.
The tagging project is expected to be ongoing for a number of years (a minimum of three), allowing us to build a greater picture of what is going on in the wild; as Studland is very unique in having a large population of Seahorses and it is easily accessible for diving it is ideal for doing this sort of research. We are hoping that the study of the Seahorses in Studland will be ongoing and will include the local community in helping us with our work; this we hope will instil local pride in this very special area.
The data we gather will allow us to put together with interested parties such as Natural England, The National Trust, Crown estates, a large number of concerned individuals and Dorset Wildlife Trust a management plan to protect the site which will include public information schemes seagrass bed regeneration plans and offset areas.
Studland Bay - Highest density of Seahorses in the world!
Since the discovery of Seahorses at Studland Bay, the site has proven to be internationally important and has thrown up some amazing surprises. The bay has a surprising concentration of Seahorses; with more than 40 in recorded in 2008. This density has made it a site of international importance as nowhere else in the British Isles, or indeed for that matter in the world; except the Rio Formosa in Portugal is there this concentration of Seahorses.
Pleasure craft in Studland Bay. Credit Steve Trewhella/Seahorse Trust.
The bay is under major threat of damage due the large number of pleasure craft that use it, particularly during the summer months. The pleasure craft anchor in the seagrass meadow, causing serious damage, as well the seemingly endless amount of litter and rubbish they dump into the bay. We need to gather as much data as we can in as short a time as possible to allow us to put together a management plan.
Studland Bay is made up of a large Seagrass meadow that has a number of species resident in it and is a major nursery site for commercial species such as Bass and Mullet, as well as being a unique site for Seahorses.
Seagrass meadows
Seagrass meadows are a crucial undersea habitat and one that takes a long time to establish but a very short time to destroy, and once it has gone it is very difficult for it to recover.
The erosion of the Seagrass meadow will have a negative impact on the area; not only will it destabilise the seabed leading to coastal erosion, but it will also lead to the loss of this important nursery area for these commercial species, leading to further loses in fish stocks and loss of employment in the local fishing industry. Seagrass meadows also trap CO2 helping to alleviate global warming, making Seagrass beds as valuable as Rain Forests.
Damage to seagrass caused by anchor in Studland Bay. Credit Steve Trewhella/Seahorse Trust.
The British Seahorse Survey, and more importantly the protection of both British Seahorses, would not be possible without the help and devotion of volunteers, not just divers but fishermen and members of the public out walking on beaches and rockpooling and crabbing as well. This involvement of the public has not only allowed us to survey a much larger area but we have also received more information than could have been achieved with an in house survey.
We plan to use volunteers further in the Tagging project; they will be taught and trained to survey the area with us, how to measure and photograph the Seahorses and also as time goes on trained to tag the Seahorses. Without them this project would not be as successful as we envisage and we estimate to have on average 3 volunteers a week working with us.
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Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment
Try contacting the Seahorse Trust, info@theseahorsetrust.org
Posted by: Powell Ettinger | 31 Jan 2011 23:31:52
Could i ask if it is possible to join the volunteer programme and if so how?
Posted by: Aaron Keers | 29 Jan 2011 01:32:16
I really had forgotten the news about Seahorses at Studland Bay when I anchored my 26 ft sailing boat there a few weeks ago.
I agree with some earlier comments (above) that you need some posters up on the beach to inform sailors about the dangers they pose to the sea-horse.
Sailors should note that even if they select a large sandy spot (as I did) for an anchor, the further letting out of cahin to 2 boat lengths mean that between boat and anchor weed can be badly 'scoured' as the boat swings to an fro over weed ,someway behind the anchor.
Can't you also put a quadrant of special marker buoys out within which anchoring can be prohibited.
None said anything to me during a 3 day stay and there were plentey of people and boats around during that time.
In futurre I shall more or less 'run up the beach' before aanchoring so that even with chain length the weed cannot be harmed ( I have a lift keel boat that will float in less than 15 inches. Deeper keeled boats would definately have to anchor much further from the shore. But how far should that be?
I am prepared to write an article on this for sailing magazines if you can send me a draft of a possible leaflet with all your ideal suggestions on.
I for one, would circulate them to sailing clubs in the area as well as in the solenet area. I would also be in a position to approach anyone who is venturing within an area (to be ddefined by you) for anchoring puroses when I next visit Studland.
I'd be grateful if you would reply to these comments - I'm sure you would find most sailors would be only too happy to oblige if they only knew about the problem in Studland.
Russ Fleming
Posted by: Russ Fleming | 25 Aug 2010 12:34:51
I do not believe that boating activity in Studland bay is putting sea horses at risk.
The current sea horse population has grown despite the site having been used as anchorage for many years.
Although anchors look like Steve's first picture, they do not cause the damage shown in his second. Neither in size nor shape. Boats also do not anchor in the exact same spot every time. From diving there myself, I know that the picture is used in a misleading way - which makes me question the argument it is being used to support.
The same applies to the sea grass shown on an anchor chain. There is lots of sea grass floating in that area and some areas are even marked on charts for that. Do the other boats on the other pictures have seagrass too? No. Is sea grass thrown up on the beach? No. In my view, using that picture to support a claim that anchoring causes damage to sea grass, is again misleading.
If you want to stop anchoring at the site, provide buoys for the boats to tie up to. Then, focus on getting people on boats there to support your efforst e.g. put up signs about the sea horses and teach people how to reduce the impact of their activities on them, or ask donations for using the buoys - you would get >£1k a day during the season. This would go a long way to supporting more good work in this area.
Posted by: anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 17:37:12
I'm astounded that 40 seahorses make this one of the world's largest populations; I had no idea how close to the brink this species is, and we surely must be very careful not to invoke unintended consequences.
On that note, although I share the aims, I do have some concerns about the way this project is being carried out:
Firstly, is tagging the best way to identify individuals? In the picture above, it appears the tag is held on with a thin wire around the creature's neck. Presumably it is possible that this damages, or at least traps, the creature if it catches on something. At the very least, the tagging procedure must be stressful. From what I understand from Wikpedia, each Seahorse has a coronet on it's head, as unique to each individual as a fingerprint, and surely, with photography, identifying the coronet could monitor them in an unobtrusive way.
Secondly, Studland bay has been a popular anchorage for many years, and it is possible (though counter intuitive) that this ploughing of the seabed is beneficial. It may be that seahorses fair better than their predators, parasites, or rivals for food. Would it be possible to compare populations adjacent to areas which have been damaged by anchoring, with those in other areas?
Finally, seahorses are desired as both pets and in Chinese medicine. It may be that the publicity of this campaign is self defeating in this way.
With a population of only 40, it is vital that action taken does not rapidly and permanently disrupt the status quo in which they are thriving.
Posted by: Simon | 06 Jul 2009 09:36:44
Hi , i am a second year student at bournemouth uni studying ecology and wildlife conservation. I am wondering how i can get involved in the protection of the seahorses in poole.
Regards
Michelle Hughes
Posted by: michelle hughes | 22 Jun 2009 21:55:28
Thank you so much to let me know this information.
I love animal more than human.
I wish i can help on protect our animals!!
Posted by: elzahy | 24 May 2009 10:34:46
Posted by: steve trewhella | 19 May 2009 08:04:45