Head's Newsletter 9 July 2021

BIOLOGY FIELD TRIP - SLAPTON LEA

Wednesday began with our now staple English breakfast and a short walk down the hill, nets and identification keys in hand, to Slapton Ley. As the largest freshwater lake in the South-West, it was unsurprisingly the dominating feature of the landscape. Despite the scorching heat, the protected status of the site meant that swimming was a swans-only activity. Our fieldwork for the morning involved taking sweeping figure-of-eight samples from a platform on the ley and identifying the invertebrates we caught. The species were categorised in a bid to determine the water quality based on their tolerance of pollution. The result? Poor - the consequence of agricultural runoff, and a pervasive problem in the UK, with only 36% of surface water bodies classified as “Good”. In the afternoon, we took a bus along the coast to investigate rock pools. We first stopped on a steep hill overlooking the coast, with sweeping views in all directions, then clambered down a narrow lane to our site for the day. Starfish and Beadlet anemones hid in every crevice, hidden by thick carpets of seaweed. We began by surveying the species present and setting up our equipment. Wave action had created bands of microhabitats, which formed a gradient of differently adapted species from the crumbling cliffs all the way to the very edge of the lower shore. We investigated these microhabitats by observing the change in distribution of seaweed and molluscs. Each species had fascinating adaptations, enabling survival in the harsh heat of the upper shore, the rolling waves of the middle shore or the darker depths of the lower shore. After a few hours of collecting data and getting only slightly distracted by hermit crabs, it was time to get back. We just had to climb up that hill again first...

Thursday, we were planning and carrying out our own individual ecological investigations analysing the effect of a named environmental factor on the distribution or morphology of a species of our own choice. Using our independent thinking skills, research skills as well as the use of sampling techniques in field work, which we developed over the course of the week, we had to arrive at a hypothesis that we could investigate. We had the opportunity to choose where our planned investigation was going to be carried out, at the shingle ridge or the ley and also had the choice of picking from numerous bits of equipment including nets, quadrats, choice chambers, as well as hygrometers. We spent most of midday collecting data at our chosen locations, then upon coming back later in the afternoon we logged our results and observations in suitable tables and began our analysis, calculations and evaluation. This day in particular, gave us experience like no other, as rather than being limited to only certain fields of study, like we are in the classroom, it gave us the opportunity to explore a far wider range of areas in ecology which interest us. Overall, the trip allowed us to get a taste of life as an ecologist, and to explore some of the methods we may use at university and beyond. The range of habitats we investigated not only showed the huge variety of life present in the UK, but allowed us to learn about the importance of conservation techniques and their uses. Biologist or not, a visit to Slapton Ley illustrates exactly why we must do our utmost to protect the fragile habitats we coexist with. Not only for their natural beauty, but for the millions of inhabitants, big or small, which make those very ecosystems a possibility. Very many thanks to Mr Leeves for organising and leading the trip, and to Mr Gibbs and Miss Dharmawardhane for accompanying us and supporting our learning.