1. Devon’s Special Species Under the sea
Keith Hiscock Marine Biological Association, Plymouth
Yellow staghorn sponge Axinella dissimilis
Antler sponge, Adreus fascicularis
Sunset cup coral, Leptopsammia pruvoti
Pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa
European spiny lobster (crawfish), Palinurus elephas
Plymouth Sound ‘Dropoff’ (submerged cliffline at 35 m)

2. Yellow staghorn sponge, Axinella dissimilis
An indicator of high quality habitats which support many other rare or threatened species.
Long-lived and slow growing (< 1 mm a year).
Probably reduced abundance where mobile fishing gear has impinged on rock reefs.
Battery, Lundy, 15 June 2014
Blackstone Point east of Wembury, 17 July 2013

3. Antler sponge, Adreus fascicularis
Nationally scarce (occurs in km squares)
Occurs east of Plymouth and at Lundy
Previously believed ‘rare’ but recent Seasearch surveys identify many more locations than, say, five years ago
Characteristic species of an (undescribed and unusual) biotope that occurs on bedrock covered by coarse sediment
Stoke Point, east of Wembury, 22 December 2009

4. Pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa
Charismatic: an iconic species much used in public engagement (but not ‘rare’ and ranks as ‘nationally uncommon’)
Abundant , thriving and in good condition off the south coast of Devon
Sparse off the North Devon mainland
Previously (1960s) common at Lundy but collecting and disease have adversely affected abundance with little recovery
Brazen Ward, Lundy 2010
Eddystone reefs

5. A key importance of Eunicella verrucosa lies in its role as host to species only or mainly associated with it
The sea fan anemone Amphianthus dohrnii
The sea slug Tritonia nilsohdneri
The false cowrie Simnia hiscocki was described as new to science in 2011
The warm-water barnacle Hesperibalanus fallax

6. Sunset cup coral Leptopsammia pruvoti
Charismatic: a ‘who would have thought it’ species
First recorded in Britain at Lundy in 1969
Nationally rare (occurs in 8 or less 10 km squares)
An indicator of high quality or rare habitats which support many other rare or threatened species
‘Healthy’ populations off Plymouth
Lundy populations have declined by c. 70% since the mid 1980s
Knoll Pins, Lundy, 3 August 2008
Plymouth Sound ‘Dropoff’, 30 October 2016

7. European spiny lobster or crawfish Palinurus elephas
Charismatic and tasty
Extirpated from most of Devon’s shallow seas in the 60’s and 70s by overfishing
Persisted at Lundy in reduced numbers
Recovery of populations from about 2014 (40+ years after loss)
A ‘Species of Conservation Importance’ in MCZ-speak and listed as a designated feature at ‘Lundy’, ‘Skerries Bank and surrounds and Bideford to Foreland Point’ MCZs (in Devon waters) where bye-laws are now in place that prohibit the removal of crawfish both recreationally and commercially
Recruit off Plymouth Sound, 11 April 2015
Needle Rock, Lundy, 22 July 2012
Needle Rock, Lundy, 22 July 2015

8. The ‘Special species’ are ‘ambassadors’ for a rich variety of often rare or scarce and charismatic species that occur in the shallow seas off Devon.
Thankyou
Wembury Bay