Rockpooling at Gylly

At university I'm part of a group called EcoSoc. This is a uni society dedicated to wildlife, and I managed to get on the committee last year. It's been great fun so far, planning events, meeting people, discovering new species I'd never heard off. But a couple of weeks ago, I found out that for our Freshers timetable, I was in charge of a rockpooling session. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't have a problem with this, it's just my knowledge of the intertidal zone is not that good. In fact, it's actually pretty rubbish! Nevertheless, I went along with it, and we had a good day (trying) to ID some wildlife in the rockpools on Gyllyngvase Beach (Gylly for short!).

Gylly Beach , with a very tiny Oystercatcher!

We got to the beach at about low tide, and we started having a look around for what we could find. My first spot was Beadlet Anemones (Actinia equina), which is nearly the extent of my knowledge of wildlife on the shore!

Beadlet Anemones

It was a nice, quick start and was some knowledge I could impart on the first years! The next species we spotted was Purple Topshell (Gibbula umbilicalis), followed by Grey Topshell (Gibbula cineraria). I think Purple Topshell are absolutely incredible; they look like some kind of boiled sweet from a Victorian confectionary shop! Unfortunately my picture doesn't really do it justice (I think I need an actual macro lens, rather than just using the macro setting!). I'll also attach some general rockpool habitat photos in another post which have some more topshells of both species that we found.

A very blurry Purple Topshell

Now, I'm going to attempt some algaes, but I'm not 100% sure on them! So, my first one is the ID I'm more confident of! I believe that this seaweed on the right of the picture is Bladder Wrack (Fucus vesiculosus):

Bladder Wrack, with Grey and Purple Topshells and Common Limpets

On the picture above, there are also some Common Limpets (Patella vulgata). My second algae I'm going to give an ID on is Coral Weed (Corallina officinalis), and I'm less sure, but I've had a couple of knowledgeable friends confirm this for me!:

Coral Weed, or so I'm told!

I'm going to scuttle on to the one live crab we found, which I believe is a Common Shore Crab (Carcinus maenas), but it's only a baby at that:

Shore Crab

And we found the carapace of a crab as well, and the inside is beautiful!

I'm going to finish with what some would say are the more exciting finds: Starfish! First off, a very tiny Common Brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis) hanging on to a bit of Coral Weed in the dead centre of the photo.

Common Brittlestar

And the second starfish, again rather small, is the Cushion Star (Asterina gibbosa).

Cushion Star

I was a little overwhelmed on the day, but I really enjoyed finding all the different species, and writing and researching this post has really interested me in the species we found. I'll definitely be going back to the shore to improve my algae ID, brush-up on barnacles and to try and (ethically) catch some different species of crabs!

I really encourage people to go down to their nearest beach with rockpools and have a search for the life that inhabits such a difficult place to live; the intertidal zone. For those in Cornwall, definitely try Gylly if you are nearby, and for those in my home county of Dorset, you really cannot beat Kimmeridge Bay. The Dorset Wildlife Trust runs some great events there, such as their 'Welly Zone Walks'.

Essential equipment?

• Field Study Council's Rocky Shore Name Trail or Key - absolutely brilliant, handy chart for common species to be found in rockpools
• A good pocket guide on the British Shore
• A bucket for closer inspection of species
• A camera - remember the whole 'take only pictures, leave only footprint' quote?!