2005 - Whitby Naturalists

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THE SEA AND StrIORE RECORDER'S REPORT This year again has seen somc cxr-itemcnr on thc shore. trn February we had the spectacle of part of thc Abbcy Headiand giving way, with something cf the order of 500 tonnes of rock and rutrble falling to the beach. Reportediy, rhis was rhc biggest clifT fall in <strong>Whitby</strong> for overr five years. March rcvealed thc grucsunie rrmaitrs o[:r nrutilatcJ propp,,fuc corpsc at Sandsend. A large chunk had been bitten fron thc anirnai's throat. Thcrc havc becn nlany other reports of sirnilar grisLy discoverics all along tl-re east coast. It scems clear they are the victims of attack by large predators, thoughr by s.rme to be sharks. Since falling numbers are being reported for many shark populations in the North Sea, it is rather baffling that there should be so many more apparent attacks than usual over iecent months. The jury is stiil out on this and more work needs to l-',e done to solve the problem definitively. I have received only tirrcc rcports frorn menrbers on.sea and shore life. Brian Nellis noted l"arge numbcrs of dcad salrnon on the banks of the Esk in a dozen places through Arncliffc.\{zoods in December; possihly tirey had bcen washed up after spawning. Masses of Dead lv{en's Fingcrs wcre seen by Mavis Readrnan krw down on the beach at Skinningrove whilst she was on a geological cxcursion witir 'Iees Vaiiey \)ilitdli{b Trust in July. So handlike werc thcsc cre:]Lures that Mavis at {iist mistook them for rubber gloves. They are, in {hct, colonial cnidarians, distarrt relatives of sea anemone s, and more distantly jellyfish. They would have been thrown onto thc shore from cleeper water after heavy $/eather. The English name for this animarl is rather more apt than ttre officiai zordogical name of Alcyonium. This is derived from the Greek Halkuon and refcrs to the mythical kingfishcrlikc Halcyon whicir reputediy nested on the sea and while doing so
magically calmed the weather and the waves-hence the term haicyon days. The zoologists of two hundred years ago who namcd the genus were steeped in classical lore, and thought the colonial masses of ,\Icyonium rcsemhled the descriptions of the tangled nest of the fabled bird, and in fond conceit namcd the genus so. They did redeem themseives, however, in providing the apt digitatum as the trivial epitlret, so that thc speciesl name in f'rll is Alcyaniwn diEtatu"tn. Deacl Men's Fingers form cpntinuous mats with their colonial lobes projecring from rocks, or any hard substrates, including man-made structures such as piers or drllllng rigs. They can accclerate corrosicn on metal structures, and as fouling organisms they increase drag in moving vessels. The colonies are found from just bclow the lowest tide leve1s to depths clf 50 metres ot morc. The colonies arc usually pale veilow or white, and as th"ey waft and sway in the currents look for all the world like fore sts of cadaverous hands. Each colony consists of sea anemone-like polyps, called zooids, linked togcther in a gelatinous mass supported by a loose skclcton of lirnestone spicules. Each zooid has eight feathery tentacles, which collect detritus falling through the sea. Alcyonium is a soft coral allicd to the sea pens and sea fans. Unlike the tropical corals it does ltc)t folm reefs since it is unable to concfetc its spicuies together to form a massive, rocky skeleton. Alryonirnn colonics are an important part of the marine fauna as they form a large part of the biomass of suspension ' feeding cornnunitics' They play a role in trapping carbon, by cxtracting carbonic acid (dissolved carbon dioxidc) from the watcf and using it in reaction with calcium to build up their skeleton, In this way they contribute to reducing levels of frcc carbon dioxide, and reducc *re acidity of the se a water. They are sensitive to high temperatures, and die away if the water becomes too warm. This is, of course, a "double whammy" since their loss io the environment meatls that less carbon dioxide is trappcd and the greenhotrse effcct of the increased carbon dioxide leads to further global warming which in turn reduces the populations of the 50
Page 1 and 2:
Whitby I{aturalists' Club @-btthy s
Page 3 and 4: President Vice President Chairman V
Page 5 and 6: THE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT I find it ver
Page 7 and 8: The Annual Report relies on the rec
Page 9 and 10: 2404 Ocrober 9d October i6'l' Octob
Page 11 and 12: SUMMER PROGRAMME 2OO5 Malr /'h Full
Page 13 and 14: THE COACH ORGANISER'S REPORT The su
Page 15 and 16: we could see out to sea, whcrc some
Page 17 and 18: WHITBY NATURALISTS' CLUB INCOME ACC
Page 19 and 20: THE TREASURERS REPORT As rhis is my
Page 21 and 22: undisturbed or unridy parts of the
Page 23 and 24: GENERAL INFORMATION ON AMPHIBIA' On
Page 25 and 26: In late August during an evening of
Page 27 and 28: THE GEOLOGICAL RECORDER'S REPORT No
Page 29 and 30: Preparations for a successful relca
Page 31 and 32: FIELD VOIE (Microtus dgresris) one
Page 33 and 34: Mavis Rei-rdman took the club to 6n
Page 35 and 36: n \< Xio 6-l -o
Page 37 and 38: Dryad's Saddle fungus - polyporus s
Page 39 and 40: THE BOTANICAL RECORDER'S REPORT Spr
Page 41 and 42: ENTOMOLOGY RECORDER'S REPORT This y
Page 43 and 44: It rnay be illustrated in this repo
Page 45 and 46: BEETLES Early this year I had a few
Page 47 and 48: from June 5.h some slimy black larv
Page 49 and 50: ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDERS R'EPORT So
Page 51 and 52: o l8th May, Bullfinches at Upper Es
Page 53: Nightjar Our evening visit to Harwo
Page 57 and 58: The researchers fear that ecosystem
Page 59 and 60: which so many sea bird coionies rel
Page 61 and 62: It is not crften possible to meet u
Page 63 and 64: ASCS|ltYCCr'FtA HEMIASCOMYCETES Tap
Page 65 and 66: I COb{I}LG ATTRACTIONS ANNUAL LLINC
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2005 - Whitby Naturalists

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