2018 at a glance... Photo: Barbara Shaw. Quadrat survey at Pett Level. Photo: Sam Roberts Photo: Nikki Hills

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1 Photo: Sam Roberts Photo: Nikki Hills Photo: Barbara Shaw 2018 at a glance... In 2018 we: surveyed nine sites conducted three timed species searches and two biodiversity transect surveys were joined by a total of 92 individual volunteers accumulated 383 hours of volunteer time made 696 recordings across the sites recorded a total of 178 different taxa beat the number of taxa recorded last year by 36! Quadrat survey at Pett Level Surveying at Bexhill Spotting a cuttlefish at The Pound

2 Photo: Erin Pettifer Where did we go? Contains Ordinance Survey Data Crown copyright and database right 2018 This site is a part of the Selsey Bill & The Hounds recommended Marine Conservation Zone. The beach is shingle in the upper part and reveals an area of clay exposures at low tide. The beach also has a large, manmade sea defence which was hugely interesting to survey. Sadly we were unable to carry out the scheduled survey at Worthing Pipe this year due to it being removed as part of the construction of the Rampion Wind Farm.

3 What did we find? With a total of 83 species, Saltdean had the highest number of species identified by far, however this was also the site with the most volunteers - and also benefitted from the expertise of Lin Baldock, who ran the seaweeds course the following day, identifying a number of obscure specimens collected at this site! Peacehaven was the second most diverse site, with 61 species, and The Pound was a close third, with 57 species. Most taxonomic groupings were each represented at all sites, with the exception of porifera (sponges), which were not present at Bexhill or Pett Level, tunicata (sea squirts), which were not present at Pett Level or Peacehaven, pisces (fish), which were not found at Thornham Point, and echinodermata, which were only noted at half of the sites - Saltdean, Bexhill, Selsey, Pett Level and Peacehaven.

4 What did we find? Algae: Annelida: seaweeds: reds, browns and greens worms: burrowing, free-living, tube-dwelling Bryozoa: bryozoans ( moss animals ) Cnideria: anemones, hydroids, jellyfish Crustacea: crabs, lobsters, shrimps, prawns, amphipods, barnacles Echinodermata: starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins Mollusca: snails, bivalves, sea slugs, cephalopods A total of 178 species were identified during Shoresearch this year. This pie charts shows the proportion of each taxonomic grouping. Pisces: fish: bony and cartilaginous Porifera: sponges Tunicata: sea squirts Algae: 47 species. Irish moss (Chondrus crispus) was identified at all sites; sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) and gut weed (Ulva sp.) were also commonly found. Mollusca: 35 species. Limpets (Patella sp.) were seen at all sites; grey and purple top shells (Steromphala cineraria, S. umbilicalis) were found at most sites. Crustacea: 32 species. Acorn barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides) and green shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) were identified at all sites. Annelida: 19 species. Most commonly found was the tube worm, Spirobranchus triqueter, and the sand mason worm, Lanice conchilega. Cnideria: 13 species. The beadlet anemone, Actinia equina, was found at most sites; the elegant anemone, Sagartia troglodytes, was also identified at a number of sites. Tunicata: 12 species. No one species was found across many sites; most common was the orange-tipped sea squirt (Corella eumyota), identified at four sites, and sea grapes (Molgula sp.), identified at three sites. Pisces: 7 species. Seen most commonly were shannies (Lipophrys pholis) and gobies (Pomatoschistus sp.). Porifera: 6 species. The breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria panacea) was seen most frequently - at six sites. Bryozoa: 4 species. Sea mat (Membranipora membranacea) was identified at seven sites. Echinodermata: 3 species. The small brittle star (Amphipholis squamata) was the only species identified at more than one site.

5 Photo: Liz Lumb Nudibranch, Aeolidia alderi Thornham Point Montagu s sea snail, Liparis montagui Selsey Photo: Evan Jones Hermit crab, Diogenes pugilator Selsey Colonial sea squirt, Botrylloides leachii Thornham Point Photo: Chris Glanfield Nudibranch, Facelina auriculata The Pound Photo: Chris Glanfield Green sponge fingers, Codium fragile Bognor Rocks Common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis The Pound Photo: Nikki Hills Photo: Jim Howell New Kids on the Block... Spider crab, Pisa tetraodon Elmer Rocks Snapping prawn, Alpheus macrocheles The Pound

6 Frosted sea mat Electra pilosa Beadlet anemone Actinia equina Photo: Nick Philips Broad-clawed porcelain crab Porcellana platycheles Grey top shell Steromphala cinerarea Green shore crab Carcinus maenas Irish Moss Chondrus crispus Favourite Returning Characters... Sand mason worms Lanice conchilega Common limpet Patella sp. Shanny Lipophrys pholis

7 Shoresearch Date Time Location Wednesday 15th May 13:30 Saltdean Friday 31st May 14:30 Bexhill Monday 3rd June 15:00 The Pound, Eastbourne Thursday 13th June 13:00 Selsey Tuesday 2nd July 16:00 Peacehaven Monday 8th July 09:00 Pett Level Tuesday 9th July 09:45 Goring Pipe Wednesday 31st July 15:30 Elmer Rocks Shoresearch training / refresher afternoon - Wednesday 1st May - 12:00 classroom session - 14:30 beach session - Birling Gap - Booking essential! Wednesday 28th August 14:00 Seven Sisters Thursday 29th August 14:00 Chichester Harbour Friday 13th September 16:00 Bognor Rocks Many thanks to all volunteers who participated on Shoresearch this year..: Keith Alexander, Julie Ashdown, Allison Atterbury, Diana Benton, Chris Bohea, Chris Browning, Katie Bye, Mark Clayton, Ros Clayton, Deb Cotter, George Curd, Dan Davies, Andy Dinsdale, Uwe Dornbush, Hannah Elms, Jenny Etienne, Des Farrow, Jacquie Farrow, Charlotte Fordham, Sarah Fordham, Andy Fordyce, Julie Fordyce, Helen Frost, Brittney Francis, Christopher Glanfield, Mike Goff, John Gray, Polly Gray, Carole Green, Eric Green, Tom Green, Rich Gurr, Steve Hall, Paula Harrington, Jackie Harvey, Dom Henly, David Hill, Nick Hollington, Carol Holt, Janet Howell, Jim Howell, Pete Hughes, Peter Hunnisett, Val Hunnisett, Rebecca Jennings, Sue Johnson, Evan Jones, Louise Kenward, Nicola Knight, Ed Lim, Liz Lumb, Alexander Lee, Jo Matthews, Clare Mayers, Sarah McKenzie, Bev Miller, Penny Murray, Kat Nelson, Glyn Nicholson-Ross, Jocelyn Owen, Nick Philips, Haz Purcell, Nick Redman, Sarah Roberts, Nick Rogers, Daniel Riva, Stephen Salmon, Claire Saxby, Tom Scott, Sarah Seal, Barbara Shaw, Sharon Sheffield, Frances Smith, Peter Smith, Oliver Sterno, Alice Tebb, Simone Thorn, David Thomas, Julian Thompson, Colin Toovey, J. Turner, M. Turner, Keith Viney, Ian Walker, Rob Walker, Jules Watts, Paul Watts, Elaine Welsh, M. Yates, Simon Young. Special thanks to Gerald Legg for his continued support and valuable expertise. Get in touch... Sarah Ward - Living Seas Officer sarahward@sussexwt.org.uk Sussex Wildlife Trust Woods Mill Henfield West Sussex BN5 9SD Registered Charity No: