The eutrophication of coastal waters has led to disturbing phenomenon of ‘green tides’ across the Channel in Brittany. We are all now aware of the nitrate pollution in our rivers, estuaries and inland seas and the resulting build-up of green algae. What we in the UK are less aware of is that decomposing green algae … Continue reading Brittany’s ‘Green Tides’ – a future threat to the Solent?
Category: Ecology
Impact of untreated sewage spills on marine life in Langstone Harbour – Channel 4 News
Langstone Harbour and the Southern Water Budds Farm wastewater treatment works made a national appearance on Friday 2nd September, when Channel 4 News carried 'an exclusive report' Minnie Stevenson on work being carried out jointly by Portsmouth and Brunel Universities. https://youtu.be/ntNGN9X6gEc Film credits to Channel 4 television and Chris Pearsall Photography.
Planktonic Monsters of the Solent
The waters of the Solent and Southampton Water hold a rich planktonic flora and fauna. Plankton comprise a wide range of organisms which live at least part of their lives drifting in the water column. Their size ranges from that of a single bacterium to a huge jelly fish the size of a dustbin lid … Continue reading Planktonic Monsters of the Solent
Seagrass and Recreational Yachting
The Solent is now centre-stage in an important new initiative, led by Natural England, to find ways to protect critically endangered Seagrass Meadows. The Life Recreation ReMEDIES project (Reducing and Mitigating Erosion and Disturbance Impacts (E) affecting the Seabed) will particularly focus on the threats raised by the mooring and anchoring of recreational boats. Five … Continue reading Seagrass and Recreational Yachting
Pollution in its many forms
During the past year the Solent Protection Society (SPS) has been investigating the impact of pollution on the Solent. This is a huge subject covering everything from shipping to plastic, sewerage to chemicals, noise to pleasure craft disturbance. We have looked particularly at how pollution gets into the Solent and what action is being taken … Continue reading Pollution in its many forms
Seagrass in the Solent
I can still remember as a young teenager my amazement when told that there were flowering plants living completely submerged in the sea. Our sea grasses or eelgrasses, Zostera spp, form an important inshore plant community in the Solent and surrounding areas. There are 3 eelgrass species in British waters and all are considered vulnerable … Continue reading Seagrass in the Solent
News on new and recently introduced species to the Solent area
Because of the extensive shipping movements and numerous marinas welcoming boats from overseas, the Solent receives a large number of new species from other parts of the world, often attached to hulls or in ballast water. This has long been the case and many, often termed invasive species, are far from welcome. DNA analysis of … Continue reading News on new and recently introduced species to the Solent area
Solent Habitat – Spartina Saltmarsh
Cordgrasses, known scientifically as Spartina Anglica, occupy the lower shore areas of the coast at depths which are regularly covered at high tide. They offer coastal protection and create intertidal land; by trapping sediments they also increase the elevation of these land areas and stabilise sediment, thus aiding in the creation of new saltmarsh areas. … Continue reading Solent Habitat – Spartina Saltmarsh
The secret’s out!
Hampshire & Isle of Wight wildlife Trust has been awarded a £640,300 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant through the National Lottery to deliver a new programme called ‘Secrets of the Solent’ (SOTS) over the next four years. Thousands of people live and work along the coast of the Solent, which supports important industries, fisheries and … Continue reading The secret’s out!
SPS and the Blue Marine Foundation
Solent Protection Society are associated with the Blue Marine Foundation, see the SPS Autumn 2017 Newsletter, and maintain a close interest in their activities. The Foundation have recently published their 2017 Annual Review which can be found here.