14 ACT FOR NATURE


Sampling Norfolk dunes


Dunes may look bare, but close-up research on the Norfolk Coast has revealed hundreds of species within them.


The investigations at Holme-Next- The-Sea, Holkham and Winterton-On- Sea, looked into how marram grass is linked to biodiversity and dune growth, and therefore a “healthy dune”. Researchers sampled the dunes through: a “swab” of a marram grass tussock using a butterfly net; a 5-minute manual check of all invertebrates at the base of the tussock; collecting 10 complete leaves from the marram; digging and collecting fresh roots and sand for further analysis and counting the presence of invasive species in a 5m radius of the sample location. 154 different species were


discovered, ranging from beetles to worms.Researchers from the University of Ghent in Belgium have been collaborating with Norfolk County Council on the work, as part of the ENDURE project, which looks to improve the resilience of coastal sand dunes to the impacts of climate change. The Terrestrial Ecology Department of


the University of Ghent has since worked to link the data collected on Norfolk’s marram grass to satellite imagery. Thanks to the sampling, they are now able to diagnose the health of the local marram grass population using the colour of the leaves, as seen from space. This innovative new approach developed in Norfolk, is now being applied to monitor sand dune resilience across France, Belgium and the Netherlands.


How you can help look after dunes: • Keep dogs on leads to help protect keystone species in dune growth. • Refrain from lighting barbecues as the sandy dunes are dry areas and can easily catch fire, causing widespread destruction of the ecosystem. • Keep to the designated paths, to prevent damage to delicate plants • And always follow the coastal code (see page 17) www.endure.eu.com


NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2021


Sea serves up a world first Norfolk dumplin


Ten years ago a new sponge species was identified in the North Norfolk chalk beds by Seasearch volunteer divers; it has a name at last


I a


n January, the Marine Conservation Society’s Agents of Change project invited children in the Norfolk area to name the purple sponge.


The panel of expert judges received fantastic


response with sugges-


tions including Norfolk Purplish Plum and Purple Stone Sticker. All entries were carefully considered by a panel of experts, looking at the creativity, suita- bility and usability of each name. It was unanimously agreed that the sponge should be named Parpal Dump- lin. The winning name was suggested by nine-year-old Sylvie from Langham Vil- lage School, “because the sponge is pur- ple and it looks like a dumpling”. The panel particularly liked that the spell- ing gives the sponge a strong connection to Norfolk.


New to science


The panel of experts deciding on the name included: Catherine Leigh, Edu- cation Adviser at Norfolk Coast Part- nership, Annabel Hill, Senior Education Officer at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Jenny Lumb, Teacher at The Coastal Federa- tion, Nick Acheson, President at Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists Society and Claire Goodwin, Research Scientist at Huntsman Marine Science Centre and internationally renowned sponge spe- cialist. At the meeting, the panel was supported by Seasearch East Coordina- tor, Dawn Watson, who recognised this sponge as special over a decade ago. Claire


Goodwin, internationally


renowned sponge specialist, said: “Dawn and Rob invited me to join a Seasearch survey of the east coast, including the Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds. Dawn intro- duced me to a purple sponge she had noticed on the chalk reefs. We took sam-


ples, and believe it to be a species new to science, in a sub-genus of sponges known as Hymedesmia (Stylopus).”


Marine conservation zone “We need to look at specimens depos- ited in museums to understand how many


different Hymedesmia (Stylo-


pus) species exist in the UK and how they differ from this new species. The Agents of Change naming project has given the sponge a common name that we can use until it has a scientific one. I loved seeing all the creative sugges- tions.”


Sponges help to keep seawater clean by filter feeding, consuming tiny parti- cles of food that float by. There are over 11,000 different species globally and our purple one is ‘encrusting’, meaning it adopts the shape of whatever it cov- ers. It lives in Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds Marine Conservation Zone, a precious area of local seabed that needs to be taken care of. You can find out more about the pur-


ple sponge, and the search for its name, by watching this animation: The sea- bed is a fun place to be! http://youtu. be/A_LUb8OSfn0


ARTS . HERITAGE . COMMUNITY


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