Falklands’ Shallow Marine Survey Group shares beauty of South Georgia waters
The Shallow Marine surveys Group, which normally operates around the Falkland Islands, completed what they described as a, “highly productive expedition,” to South Georgia earlier this year, exploring the sub-tidal and inter-tidal habitats along the island’s north coast.
Great weather, fantastic support aboard the MV Pharos and at King Edward Point research station, and an enthusiastic team of divers resulted in many exiting findings and valuable baseline biodiversity data collected.
Although there have been various localised studies in the past not since the Discovery Expeditions of 1925 has the South Georgia’s marine habitats been explored in such detail and over such a wide geographic extent.
The team surveyed 25 sites between Bird Island in the northwest and Cooper Bay in the southeast, and three depth zones at each site, totalling over 64 hours spent in the zero degree Celsius waters.
4,347 specimens of marine invertebrates were collected including 120 sponge samples and 160 seaweed samples.
They gathered quantitative photos for species and habitat diversity analyses, macro-photographs for future guidebooks, and could not resist taking some amazing photos of the playful and inquisitive fur seals that accompanied he team on every dive.
At most sites, forests of bladder kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and the large, trailing Himantothallus grandifolius algae dominated the seabed, providing multi-storied habitats for a huge array of striped topshells, giant red sea spiders, giant isopods, limpets, sea cucumbers, colourful sea slugs, and a variety of starfish.
Beautiful overhangs and rock walls were also encountered, covered in a vibrant array of sea squirts, anemones and sponges. Inter-tidal surveys of seaweeds and animals also proved interesting, recording many previously unreported species.
A spokesperson for the groups said: “These data will greatly improve our understanding of the South Georgia marine habitats; they will aid in future planning, managing, and monitoring of South Georgia’s natural resources, and have already generated interesting questions for future research in the region.”
Visiting scientist Dr Emma Wells (algae, Wells Marine) and Dr Claire Goodwin (sponges, National Museums Northern Ireland) joined the group for the expedition, and noted many interesting new and potentially endemic species of seaweeds and sponges.
Claire was particularly excited to encounter the ‘volcano sponge’ Rosella sp. in shallow waters, belonging to a group of sponges called glass sponges that are normally encountered only in depths over 200m, but due to the fjord nature of the South Georgia environments were found in only eight metres of water.
The Shallow Marine Surveys Group exists to coordinate and conduct assessments of the status of inshore resources around the Falkland Islands.
Headed by a core group of experienced biologists and divers and assisted by volunteers from the local community they have been collecting, identifying and photographing marine animals since June 2006.
The scope of the work includes the splash zone, inter-tidal and sub-tidal environments on sandy, pebble and rock beaches of Falkland Islands’ shores. (Penguin News).
The group’s activities can be followed at http://smsg-falklands.org/
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I presume that this is on Argentina's “wish list” from Santa Claus.
For my own interest I checked up on Google Earth.
The distance from Arg. to S.GEORGIA is 1700km and to the S.SANDWICH archipelago is 2400km. How much of the S.Atlantic do you claim ? All the way to S.Africa ?
FYPI,
South Georgia has NEVER belonged to Argentina & NEVER will.
Lets hear your reasons for your ridiculous “claims”.
Don't be shy, we're waiting.
Remember that “we want the island” is not a valid reason.
How much of South Atlantic do you miltarly and by force and illegaly do you want to usurpate?? all the way to Europe??
Important here in the region, is that nobody supports you.
I'll bet that you think that Obama referring to the Argentine claim to the Maldives was an accidental misquote rather than an accurate prophecy of the future...
'u·surp/yo͞oˈsərp/
Verb:
Take (a position of power or importance) illegally or by force.
Take the place of (someone in a position of power) illegally; supplant.'
Explain to us how you can 'Usurp' an uninhabited island?
The S.Atlantic does not go all the way to Europe !
The only bits we want are those we legally hold. S.Georgia and the S. Sandwich Islands.
The Falkland Islands are owned by the current population living there.
From whom did we forcibly take the islands of S.Georgia and the Sandwich Islands. They were discovered long before the existence of Argentina so how come you own them ? Also notice -the names are English - could this indicate they were discovered and claimed by the UK
The distance from Argentina to Spain, Germany and Italy, where your colonial population mainly came from is about the same as the UK.
Why pick on the UK for settling an insignificant group of islands.
If nobody in the region supports us, it is something we will have to live with.
When will Argentina be making a submission to the UN to claim the Antarctic continent ? You seem to think that everything else belongs to you.
#3
The Americans are possibly the most parochial nation on Earth. Geography is not their strong point.
@7 Where will Argentina's colonialism end... FI? SSI&SG? Bouvet Island? Antarctica? New Zealand? Australia? the Moon?
Now you are being absolutely ridiculous.
l don't think anyone lives on Bear lsland either(to the north of Norway)or even Palmyra Atoll(south of Hawaii).
Maybe they are Argentine by right, also....
You've convinced me now, Scotty(sic!), you are not Scottish but you are an Argentine.
If you are indeed a Brit, then you are a traitor & l will not converse with you anymore.
A traitor is lower than a malvinista.
You deserve to be shot right between the eyes.
A colonialist is a country that invades and takes over a country whose people born there don't want the colonist there.
Ie; Britain colonised India and had to leave because the Indians wanted Independence.
So the UK left as with other territories where the local inhabitants (ie born there and indigenous) wanted to run their own country.
The Falkland Islanders wish the UK to assist them, and the UK do not run the Islands, in the same manner that they do not have total control over Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland. Since 1982, the Islanders have had more devolution and run themselves as a country.
This would be colonialism if the Falkland Islanders did not want UK involvement in the Islands .
However the Argentines wish to subjugate the Falkland Islanders (ie the people that were born and raised in that land , in the South Atlantic, not 8,000 miles away ) against their will.
That, is colonialism.
I thought you didn't believe in that kind of thing, from your good position on Assange. And how is it “treason” to advoate talks with a country that isn't even a current enemy?!
They are despicable.
Don't have any doubts, don't have any illusions.
Argentina is a deadly enemy.
They want my home, they want my future & they'll lie & steal to get it.
My tolerance of your views today could lead to my children's children being thrown out of the back of an aircraft tomorrow.
Do you know that in the 1920s Polish Jews emigrated to Germany to escape persecution in Poland.
They could not forsee the worse persecution in the 1940s in Germany.
So it is if l am tolerant of traitors in the Falklands.
My descendents will pay for it.
l am not prepared to take that chance.
A traitor deserves nothing,
Prove that you are not a traitor.
Support our just cause in the Falklands.
PS, There is absolutely no connection between Argentina's ridiculous “claims” & JAssange.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
l revel in being part of Argentina's stumbling block on their bid to possess an Antarctic Empire.
Support our just cause in the Falklands”
One of the reasons I support negotiations is that I think the Brits will get a better deal now, with the anti-junta Cristina in power, with Britain not as weak and South America not as strong in the world yet as we both shall become, and by showing some goodwill from our position of relative strength, than if we stonewall now and pay no kind to what happens later. I dount thats the unconditional support you were looking for but it is honest friendship. Don't be taken in by the Argie oligarchy, the very people who backed Galtieri, when they spread horror stories about Cristina; she is the friend of the Argentine people and would be your great friend, too
Why should we “negotiate” our nation with anyone?
lf you are a Scot, would you “negotiate” the hand over of Scotland to a foreign power?
( l have asked you this before but you never replied. )
(Now is your chance).
To a nation that has shown absolutely no morals, no trustworthyness, has a violent & bloody past(& will do it again if given the chance), who continues to try to apply pressure because they cannot get what they want & who spreads lies all around the world about us?
Cristina is in the vanguard of this campaign.
ln her position, with access to all records, she knows the truth, but still persists with the lies.
l hold her in utter contempt & would NEVER “negotiate” ANYTHING with her.
l also think that she is evil.
You may lust after her as much as you like, but to me, shes oogly.
( l have asked you this before but you never replied. )
(Now is your chance)”
I've always been clear I support our union with our neighbour England =)
As for your other points, yes Argentina has a bloody past, what country doesn't? But its Cristina and the left who are in the vanguard of making amends for that and making sure it never happens again. Its not really about “lust”, and you can think she's “oogly” if you like, but what possible grouds do you have for seeing her as “evil”?
It seems that we have no common ground.
lt is therefore pointless to continue this discussion.
Argentina & Cristina have shown they are our enemy.
So be it. No quarter.
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