Marine Plankton in Milford Haven
Pembrokeshire UK
Aims of the Site
-
To share marine plankton information
-
Display photos of plankton biodiversity
-
Provide an educational resource
Welcome. This site covers coastal plankton washing on to the stunning shores of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. There is an amazing biodiversity of microscopic life living in every drop of seawater. Collections are made around Milford Haven, part of the Special Area of Conservation, with the most regular ones made in Dale. Other locations. Before looking at the details of The Species check the species chosen each month in the Previous Photo of the Month. You may want to have quick look at the Biodiversity page while Methods looks specifically at how the samples are taken and photographed.
Photo of the Month
Photographed on 12th May this was the first Monstrillid copepod I have seen in the Haven. I think the species is Cymbasoma rigidum, and a female with eggs that are attached to hairs rather than in a sac. Complete with eggs it is 5mm long and the pair of eyes are distinct. The tube that can be seen behind these, passing through the lower carapace wall, is the oral tube but it does not feed (there is no gut). In fact, adults are rare as they live for a short time in the plankton. Once the eggs hatch into nauplii larvae they search for a polychaete worm or gastropod snail on the shore to internally parasitise. Only when they metamorphose to become adult do they leave the host. Strangely, a second species was found in the same sample. More in this month's blog.