The whole-site management of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) can increase the total abundance of reef species within its borders by up to 95%, according to new research. This is in contrast to regions where only known features are conserved, with species abundance increasing by just 15% in those areas compared to others where human […]
Since 2013 various proposals have been mooted to create the first ‘Marine Park’ in the Plymouth area with Martin Attrill leading this thinking. In June a conference was organised by the Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) – the UK-based marine conservation charity to develop this idea. A useful report of a meeting held in June has […]
Foraging seabirds use oceanic fronts as an efficient means to forage for food, according to an international study that could help safeguard the future of protected species. A team of scientists led by Plymouth University and the University of Exeter examined the feeding behaviours of breeding northern gannets (Morus bassanus) in the Celtic Sea. They […]
South-west beach & offshore sediment dynamics study – NERC – Gerd Masselink Cornishman ‘The beaches of the Westcountry have still not fully recovered after they were battered by the ferocious storms of 2013 and 2014. Now a new research project is setting out to discover why much of the sand on Devon and Cornwall’s chief […]