Which are you?
Don't forget, you can always...
Dr Roger Herbert is interviewed by ITV Meridian about his research into biodiversity on Boscombe's artificial reef.
Martin Dowse from ITV Meridian visited Bournemouth this week to interview Dr Roger Herbert about his research into the growing biodiversity on the artificial surf reef at Boscombe.
You can find out more details about the research by viewing the news story here.
So far the Bournemouth University research team have found over 60 species on the Boscombe Surf Reef, including algae, molluscs, crustaceans and fish, all of which have been recorded since the structure was completed last autumn.
Dr Herbert is Senior Lecturer in Marine and Coastal Biology at BU. He said: “Marine life can colonise structures quite quickly, whether they be wrecks or piers. This is often dependent on the substrate that the reef is made from. In the case of the surf reef, the outer substrate is a geotextile, which covers the sandbags. After one year, the reef has been colonised by a wealth of marine life.”
The research forms part of an on going three year project supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which aims to quantify the colonisation of marine organisms on the reef structure and compare the results with nearby natural rocky outcrops in Poole Bay and the artificial Boscombe and Bournemouth Pier structures.
The project, which is in association with URBANE (Urban Research on Biodiversity in Artificial & Natural Coastal Environments), should influence design guidelines for future construction in the sea. Dr Herbert explained: “We are used to smooth surfaces on many structures; however, working with engineers, we may be able to include new features, such as differently shaped holes, crevices and variations in surface roughness that will benefit fish and other wildlife. These may sound obvious, but can present significant challenges in design and engineering.”
Like what you see?
