Harbour porpoise, illustration by A. Francis. courtesy of Brighton Dolphin Project
The Harbour porpoise is one of seven species of porpoise. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries. This porpoise often ventures up rivers and has been seen hundreds of miles from the sea. It is one of the smallest marine mammals. Adults grow to 1.4 to 1.9 m (4.6 to 6.2 ft)
Did you know?
The name “porpoise” comes from the Latin for pig (porch). Harbour porpoises are therefore sometimes called “puffing pigs”, due to the sound they make as they breathe. Interestingly, when surfacing for air, these porpoises do not splash; instead they roll from their beak to their fluke and arch their back.
White-beaked dolphin, illustration by A. Francis, courtesy of Brighton Dolphin Project
The White-Beaked Dolphin is a robust species of dolphin with a short beak. Adults can reach 2.3 to 3.1 m (7 ft 7 in to 10 ft 2 in) long and weigh 180 to 354 kg (397 to 780 lb).
Did you know?
Each jaw of the White-beaked dolphin holds 22-28 pairs of small, conical-shaped teeth, which help the animal easily grasp prey. Fishermen in Canada call this dolphin ‘Squidhound’.
Common dolphin, illustration by A. Francis, courtesy of Brighton Dolphin Project
The Common Dolphin is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Adults range between 1.9 and 2.5 m (6.2 and 8.2 ft) long, and can weigh between 80–235 kg (176–518 lb).
Did you know?
Common Dolphins are one of the only tricolour dolphins – grey, white and yellow in a distinctive hourglass pattern.
Bottlenose dolphin, illustration by A. Francis, courtesy of Brighton Dolphin Project
Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin tursio (dolphin) and truncatus for their characteristic truncated teeth. Adults weigh an average of 300 kg (660 pounds) and can reach a length of just over 4 meters (13 feet).
Did you know?
Bottlenose dolphins can reach speeds over 30km per hour and dive as deep as 250m below the surface.
The Sussex Coastline is home to an abundance of marine wildlife including six species of marine mammals! The team at Brighton Dolphin Project gives us top tips on the mammals we should keep an eye out for.
Brighton dolphins
In Sussex, we are lucky enough to have not one not two, but three species of Dolphin that are regularly spotted in our waters!Bottlenose Dolphins that are here year round and regular visitors in the form of Common Dolphins and White-beaked Dolphins.
The world’s smallest marine mammal
Our coastline is also home to one of the smallest marine mammals, the Harbour Porpoise. We also have two seal species; the grey seal and the Harbour (or Common) Seal. Click on each species to find out more.
Brighton Dolphin Project research and study these Marine mammals. Part of our work is based on recording sightings, where we ask people to report any sightings and tell us about their experience. Here are a few of the most recent and exciting sightings! Find out how far we come with our project and how you can get involved here.
Just off the coast of Brighton, tucked away beneath the waves we have a huge variety of marine habitats including hidden chalk cliffs and reefs – with their rich and colourful diversity of life, they are as good as any tropical reef! When the tide is low, Rockpooling gives us a glimpse into this underwater world, and you don’t have to go far from Brighton to explore some of the best ones.
Rockpools near Brighton Marina along the Undercliff Walk
The Undercliff Walk
The closest pools to Brighton city centre are near Brighton Marina along the Undercliff walk. These pools are within the Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). Beachy Head West was one of the first MCZs to be established in the country. The chalk reef is among the best examples of marine chalk habitats in the south east, which supports so many species and when revealed, the Rockpools are full of hidden gems.
So…let’s get started!
First things first, check the tide times! Sometimes you only have a small window of time to search the Rockpools, so checking this is key. There have been a couple of times where I’ve made my friends come with me, only to find the tide is in and the rockpools are covered. Don’t make my mistake! Good sites to use are magic seaweed or tidetimes.
Undercliff rockpools covered by the sea around mid-tide
Equipment and footwear
Footwear with a good grip is essential – the rocks can get really slippery; wellies or waterproof trail shoes work well, but beach shoes are the best. Don’t forget sunscreen, a hat and take plenty of water to drink – you will be really exposed to the sun on the rocks. The Wildlife Trust’s top tips for rockpooling shows you the basic equipment you need to take with you to safely observe the animals.
The far end of the beach towards the sea is the best place to start your search as the deeper pools are here. You can then make your way back towards the beach to search the shallower pools. Animals like to keep cool and damp, so searching under rocks and overhangs will give you a better chance of spotting them. Turn rocks and seaweed over slowly and gently, the longer you look, the more chance you will see things. Listen out for the sounds of fish splashing and crabs clicking too.
Protecting wildlife
Turning over stones, Chitons hidden underneath
The animals in rockpools are quite vulnerable so ensure you turn rocks over and put them back as slowly as possible. Check constantly to see if anything has moved under where you are going to put the rock back. If you collect anything in a bucket don’t keep it in there for long as it will get stressed by the temperature. Return everything you find to the pools as close to where you found it as possible.
Always something new!
The best thing about rockpooling is you always spot something new each time you go. Here are some animals I have spotted during my time rockpooling this summer on the Undercliff pools.
Spiny spider crab
Camouflaged spiny spider crab
Chitons
Chitons
Cuttlefish eggs
Cuttlefish eggs
Shore crab
Shore crab
Strawberry anemone
Strawberry anemone
Reporting your finds
Reporting rare finds to wildlife charities can be really important as it helps be build up a more detailed picture of the wildlife that lives in specific habitats. If rare species are found their is a higher likelihood that the areas will be protected in the future. Find out how data reports helped towards creating Marine Conservation Zones here.
Our friends at Sussex Wildlife Trust have provided us with beautiful videos which explore what lives beneath the waters off the coast of Sussex.
What lives under the sea in Brighton & Hove?
There is a vast array of colourful and interesting wildlife and habitats living along the shores and off the coast of Brighton & Hove. Take an undersea journey to discover what lies beneath!
Film by BHEE, Brighton & Hove Environmental Education
Marine Conservation Zones aim is to protect our most vulnerable marine life and habitats. In Sussex, we have 9 Marine Conservation Zones which cover around 22% of our local seas.
Many organisms that live today have barely changed their body shape in millions of years and look extremely similar to their ancestors. With the help of Sussex Wildlife Trust we have compared some of our Sussex chalk fossils, which are around 100 million years old, with modern animals that live in UK seas today.
Fossil Sea Urchin, Stereocidaris sceptrifera
Like many modern types living on the seabed, these sea urchins had spines as protection against hungry fish. This fossil is lacking it’s spines but you can still see where they would have been held.
Fossil of Stereocidaris sceptrifera, an ancient species of sea-urchin (or Echinoid). Photo by Bob Foreman
Also known as the edible sea urchin. A large, round sea-urchin up to 15cm across with short, strong spines. Usually brick-orange in colour, with white bumps which the orange spines are attached to. Lives amongst seaweed and rocks, where it grazes on algae and small shellfish
Where:
Found on rocky shores, particularly around the north and west.
Fantastic facts:
An edible species, eaten particularly in Spain and Portugal.
Fossil fish,Ctenothrissa radians sp.
Fossil fish, Ctenothrissa radians sp., this is a rare complete example of this beautiful scaly fish which was found by Charles Potter in the late 19th Century.
Fossil fish, Ctenothrissa radians sp. Photo by Bob Foreman.
The black sea bream, also known as a Porgy, is an omnivorous fish, eating seaweeds and small invertebrates.
Black sea bream breed in the Kingmere Marine Conservation Zone in Sussex between April and May. The males excavate a small shallow in the seabed, moving the gravel or sand around the edge to create a sort of crater into which the female lays her eggs. The male then protects the eggs until they hatch. He will fan them with his tail to keep them clear of sand or debris and wards off hungry predators, including smaller bream, wrasse and even whelks!
How to identify:
A large silvery fish, with an oval shape. Shaded bands running along the length of the upper flanks. It has a long single dorsal and anal fin and a small mouth. The tail is large and forked displaying a black band on it, most obviously noticeable on juveniles.
Juveniles usually have numerous broken yellow stripes running along the body. Spawning males are nearly completely black in colour, except for vertical white bars.
Where:
Found off south west Britain the Irish Sea and the English Channel.
Fantastic facts:
All black sea breams are born female! They change to males when they reach 30cm. All fish over 40cm are male.
Lobster,Palaeastacus dixoni
This rare fossil lobster was found in the Lower Chalk, Clayton, East Sussex and is from the Upper Cretaceous era. It has been preserved in wonderful detail. First drawings of this fossil appeared in scientific journals in 1850. Collected by Henry Willet.
Lobster Palaeastacus dixoni Lower Chalk, Clayton, East Sussex.Photo by Bob Foreman.
A large crustacean, that grows up to 1 metre long, although more typically to about 50cm in lenght. Lobsters are a deep purplish-blue colour, with red antennae. They live in crevices and caves amongst rocks from the low tide mark and deeper. Their first pair of legs have massive grabbing pincers.
The birds have been preserved using a process known as taxidermy. First, the skin is removed and cleaned. Then the skin is mounted over a mannequin made from woodwool, tow (sack cloth material) and wire. The animal is posed in a standard or lifelike way and glass eyes are added.
How were the habitat scenes made?
The habitats for each case were made by the taxidermists Pratt and Sons, based at the clock tower in Brighton. They were built by referencing the paintings Booth made while observing the birds before he shot them. The foliage in the cases was made by female members of the Pratt family. They were highly skilled milliners (hat makers) who worked in a hat shop next to the taxidermist shop. The foliage was made from a mixture of materials including wax flowers painted by hand, leaves made from fabric. Real grass was also used, though this was prepared by the taxidermists by baking it in a sand oven to preserve the colour.
You can also learn about bird behavior through looking closely at the cases.
Written by John Cooper, Keeper Emeritus, The Booth Museum of Natural History
Sandwich tern, Edward Neale Illustration from Rough Notes on Birds in the British Islands Photo by Grace Brindle
Booth’s valuable library contains important illustrated works in 3 large volumes: Rough Notes on the birds observed during 25 years’ shooting and collecting in the British Islands. These expensive books contain descriptions of all the species he encountered, accompanied by beautiful hand-painted pictures of the birds he chose to illustrate. However, he was not the artist; instead, he chose to ask the painter Edward Neale to prepare paintings for reproduction. Until recently very little was known about Neale, but during the last few years John Cooper, Emeritus Keeper of Natural Sciences at the Booth Museum has been digging into Neale’s background and the results of his research were recently published1.
Neale’s abilities were at some point recognised by Edward Booth who asked him to take on the task of painting plates for his Rough Notes, modelled on the cases of stuffed birds that filled his Museum. Neale was tasked by Booth to illustrate the whole of his large work and in the end produced 114 hand-coloured lithographed folio-sized plates. Booth’s collection also contains 4 watercolours by Neale, all of eagles. Before working for Booth, Neale had mostly painted game birds such as ptarmigan, pheasants, quail and ruffs, so working on many more varied species must have been a very welcome opportunity for a change.
