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sea-nature.bsky.social
Peter Barfield
@sea-nature.bsky.social
11 followers 46 following 28 posts
Jelly jelly jelly jelly / Jelly jelly jelly / Jelly jelly jelly jelly / Jelly jelly…
-fish? [Ode to a Scyphozoan]
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sea-nature.bsky.social
"A SCOTTISH Government investigation into alleged illegal dredging incident caught on camera in Wester Ross last year has concluded, with “no further enforcement action to be taken”.”

www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/news/no-furt...
‘No further action’ on Loch Alsh alleged illegal dredging incident
‘No further action’ is set to be taken regarding the incident, which was caught on camera in Wester Ross.
www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk
February 3, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by Peter Barfield
gloinatur.bsky.social
🐌🎉 One year ago this week, the Pyrenean Semi-slug (Semilimax pyrenaicus) was discovered new to Britain — found on Cwmaman Tip, near Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

A small species, but a big moment for British wildlife.

(1/7)
January 15, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Peter Barfield
andymus.bsky.social
Great to see the paper by @ecology-digest.bsky.social and I on the new British woodlouse (Chaetophiloscia elongata) now available. Check it (and other great material) out at bmig.org.uk/view/resourc...
November 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
😎"arachnid megacity"! Had no idea Tegenaria domestica (aka the domestic house spider) could be so 'colonial'; AND it shares the space with Prinerigone vagans, a small 'sheet-weaver' spider and is the first record of a cooperative web woven by these two species
phys.org/news/2025-11...?
Sulfur cave spiders build an arachnid megacity and possibly the largest-ever spider web
Researchers may have discovered the world's biggest spider web, a massive subterranean structure spanning over 100 square meters in a sulfur cave on the Albania–Greece border. The multilayered web alo...
phys.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:30 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Would you be surprised that a fish once so prized that grown men wept at their loss and was "sought after by all the lovers of good eating in ancient Rome", is now simply feared, ignored or forgotten?
#Mediterranean #MorayEel #Muraena #helena #FishNursery #Sicilia
www.seanature.co.uk/pmnhs_muraen...
Notes, observations and questions concerning Mediterranean moray eel, Muraena helena Linnaeus, 1758
If you’re not looking, you might think the stony seabed just north of Santa Marina’s busy little ferry port a barren place, harbouring little but rocks and the occasional crab, echinoderm, bearded fir...
www.seanature.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by Peter Barfield
npr.org
To help a loved one with cancer, think about what you're good at — and what they need. Are you organized? Plan their meals. Detail-oriented? Go with them to appointments. Survivors share ideas.
Not sure how to support a friend with cancer? Survivors have advice
To help a loved one with cancer, think about what you're good at — and what they need. Are you organized? Plan their meals. Detail-oriented? Go with them to appointments. Survivors share ideas.
n.pr
October 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
"Researchers studying the effects of climate change on freshwater wildlife have published the world’s largest database of how river, lake and stream species respond to rising temperatures." www.stir.ac.uk/news/2025/oc...
Development of largest ever freshwater wildlife database | About | University of Stirling
www.stir.ac.uk
October 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Notes, observations and questions concerning Mediterranean moray eel, Muraena helena Linnaeus, 1758.

Full article available now in the Bulletin of the Porcupine Marine Natural History Society, Autumn 2025 edition.
Image of Muraena helena, the Mediterranean moray eel. With its gaping mouth and defiant, languid posturing the signalling from one animal to another held an unclouded depth of clarity, that didn’t jump the species barrier so much as completely ignore it, lighting-up my amygdala and manifesting this thought within the primal depths of my brain, “Don’t go any closer”. I went closer. How can you not?
October 18, 2025 at 4:31 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
"The Scottish government is investigating after two boats were filmed allegedly scallop dredging in a marine protected area (MPA) in the north-west Highlands". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reef concerns after dredgers filmed in protected seas
Scottish government says it's investigating but concerned locals fear enormous damage has been caused
www.bbc.co.uk
October 4, 2025 at 3:27 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Wondering if any entomologists out there might know what this is? I think it may be a ?beetle larva? Found in the topsoil of a grassy upland area in the UK @royentsoc.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 4:25 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
"Methane-powered sea spiders: Diverse, epibiotic methanotrophs serve as a source of nutrition for deep-sea methane seep Sericosura"
phys.org/news/2025-06...?
Sea spiders found farming methane-eating microbes in cultivated biofilm
A research team led by Occidental College has identified a previously unknown symbiosis; deep sea spiders that cultivate and feed on bacteria that oxidize methane.
phys.org
June 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
29/4/2025 - To be or not to be. You're a microscopic planktonic larva adrift in the ocean, looking for a place to settle. "Audentes fortuna iuvat"? Maybe. But here your chances are slim. Unless fortune intervenes with cuttlefish bone; pumice stone; or, a fragment of hard foam #SmallGoose #Lepas
May 3, 2025 at 2:01 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Congressman "Ed Case of Hawaii in January introduced the American Seabed Protection Act, which would prohibit NOAA from issuing licenses or permits for seafloor mining activities"
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/c...
Trump Takes a Major Step Toward Seabed Mining in International Waters
A new executive order pits the United States against the rest of the world over the question of who can exploit mineral resources in shared waters.
www.nytimes.com
April 25, 2025 at 6:12 AM
sea-nature.bsky.social
"This is a gift to industrial fishing fleets and a slap in the face to science and the generations of Pacific Islanders who have long called for greater protection of these sacred waters...”
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/c...
Trump Opens Marine National Monument to Commercial Fisheries
The president said the move was aimed at making the United States the world’s “dominant seafood leader.”
www.nytimes.com
April 18, 2025 at 8:54 AM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Lithognathus mormyrus
12 April 2025, north-east Sicily
#CommonBastardfish #SandSteenbras #Lithognathus #hermaphrodite #protandry #Sicily
The image shows a solitary Sand steenbras. The Wikipedia page on the species provides a good description of its form. This is an image of text which reads as follows: A solitary Sand steenbras, Lithognathus mormyrus. At its margin the sandy beach here gives way to a narrow band of gravel sorted by the breaking waves. In turn this quickly transitions to extensive rippled sand habitat holed by burrowing fauna below and the occasional fish above. This particular little fish is also known, more colourfully, as the Common bastardfish as it can at times, try to take a quick bite out of a passing bathers leg (though its usual prey are small benthic invertebrate fauna of various shapes including molluscs, worms, crustaceans and urchins). Undeterred by my neoprene wrapping and wave-induced instability it remained in close proximity, watchful perhaps for any snacks I might disturb with my blundering presence. Like Clownfish, Sand steenbras are protandric hermaphrodites, which just means they start life as males and then change to females when large enough. This has implications for fishery impacts given that in general size matters to fishermen who want the bigger fish (Vitale et al 2011). Fished throughout its wide range, though not targeted and hence categorised as 'Least Concern' by the IUCN. References Vitale, S., Arkhipkin, A. Cannizzaro, L. and Scalisi, M. (2011). Life history traits of the striped seabream Lithognathus mormyrus (Pisces, Sparidae) from two coastal fishing grounds in the Strait of Sicily. Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 27. 1086-1084. 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2011.01775.x. Websites Sand steenbras (2025). Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_steenbras (Accessed: 16/4/2025). World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=tax details&id=127055
April 16, 2025 at 6:54 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
"Say hello to my little friend..."
12th April 2025
#Spinx #Blenny #Aidablennius #Sicilia #territorial #behaviour #ArtificialSubstrate #CombTooth #ecology #grazing #algae
April 14, 2025 at 11:22 AM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Venerdi 11 Aprile
38°16'21.0"N, 15°28'49.2"E
#GhostNet
#ReteFantasma
#Sicilia
#GuardiaCostiera
The ghost net was anchored to a barriera di scogli, one of the rock structures that help protect beaches. As this image shows, dead fish could be seen caught in net. The ghost net was anchored to a barriera di scogli, one of the rock structures that help protect beaches. This image shows another dead fish caught in net. View from the shore. The lost net had become tangled in the rocks to the left and from here spread to the right, eastwards, for an unknown distance.
April 12, 2025 at 5:57 AM
sea-nature.bsky.social
6 April 2025, north east Sicily. The increasingly uncommon Common stingray, Dasyatis pastinaca. Classified as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List. Yes, this immature specimen had its spine removed before it was dumped. 'Accidental by-catch'? Maybe that phrase is part of the problem #Dasyatis #stingray
The image provides a dorsal view of a dead Common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca) laying on the sandy gravel of a beach in north-east Sicily. The image provides a ventral view of a dead Common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca) laying on the sandy gravel of a beach in north-east Sicily. The image provides a dorsal view of part of the posterior area and tail of a Common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca) laying on the sandy gravel of a beach in north-east Sicily. An arrow indicates the missing spine and torn tissue on the tail. The image shows a Common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca), dorsal view, laying on the sandy gravel of a beach in north-east Sicily. The hand of a child can be seen in the image indicating the small size of the ray.
April 9, 2025 at 10:48 AM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Tuesday 8th April 2025 - meanwhile 10 years ago... www.seanature.co.uk/pmnhs_velell...
The image shows a lone by-the-wind-sailor (Velella velella), stranded on the shore in north-east Sicily.
April 8, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Peter Barfield
npr.org
Colon cancer is on the rise in younger people in the U.S. New research shows regular exercise can help survivors live longer — in some cases even longer than people who didn't have cancer.
Colon cancer survivors who exercise regularly live longer
Colon cancer is on the rise in younger people in the U.S. New research shows regular exercise can help survivors live longer — in some cases even longer than people who didn't have cancer.
www.npr.org
April 7, 2025 at 10:06 AM
sea-nature.bsky.social
In fading light I see thin patches of dwarf seagrass, un-scythed by weather or goose, the hidden network of anchoring rhizome beneath, waiting for better days. Foraging oystercatchers work the beach; a solitary anemone flowers; and the rare curled cast of a black lug with its brief tidy sculpture.
A small mosaic of 6 tiled photos taken on the Bronwich Foreshore, Southampton Water, January 11th 2017. Clockwise from top-left the images show, the anemone Cylista troglodytes just covered by a ripple of water; the foreshore at low water with a few foraging oystercatchers; the cast of what is likely to be the Black lugworm as indicated by the neat spiral of its shape; sunset, with Fawley power station small in the distance; a thin patch of dwarf seagrass; and moon-rise above the shoreline sketchily reflected in the un-drained veneer of water covering parts of the sandflats in the foreground.
April 2, 2025 at 10:46 AM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Who can resist such silvered, intertidal coinage?
The image shows the left valve of the European saddle oyster, Anomia ephippium, laying on sand in the intertidal area of the Bronwich Foreshore on Southampton Water (January 2017).
April 1, 2025 at 5:23 PM
sea-nature.bsky.social
Thinking about a fly larva, feeding on a Chthamalus barnacle, April 2003 (Tregardock Beach, North Cornwall)... @flygirlnhm.bsky.social
I took this photo 22 years ago (!) in April 2003 on an exposed shore in North Cornwall. I remember thinking it looked like it was really tucking into that barnacle and as such there was no shortage of food for it in the local area. So, what group of flies might this larva belong to, after all, there can't be too many that exploit this sort of habitat and predate barnacles? How about the Dolichopodidae, or Long legged flies, the larvae of which are understood to be largely predatory and "probably ‘amphibious’"? Some Dolichopodidae, such as those in the Genera Aphrosylus and Machaerium, are also noted as littoral species and tolerant of high salinities. Machaerium has only one UK species, Machaerium maritimae and this species is mainly an inhabitant of estuarine or saltmarsh habitats so I'm going to focus on the Genus, Aphrosylus. There are 4 UK species in the Genus, Aphrosylus, according to the Natural History Museums UK Species Inventory: Aphrosylus celtiber Haliday, 1855 Aphrosylus ferox Haliday in Walker, 1851 Aphrosylus mitis Verrall, 1912 Aphrosylus raptor Haliday in Walker, 1851 Drake (2018) notes that two of these species, "probably feed on barnacles". These are A. mitis and A. raptor. Both are noted specifically, as maritime species and in terms of distribution, both can occur in Cornwall. A. raptor was considered Nationally Rare (NR), that is occurring in 15 or fewer 10km x 10km grid squares (hectads) but, has since been assessed as Nationally Scarce (NS) i.e. found in between 16 and 100 hectads; A. mitis is NS. Both are listed by the IUCN as Least Concern. Worth noting here that the other two, A. celtiber and A. ferox, are widespread British species and both may occur in Cornwall. Not only that but it seems the following is also a more general cautionary note, "Almost nothing is known about the larval stages of dolichopodids" (Drake, 2018). The image shows four separate photos of a small fly larva feeding on a barnacle in the intertidal area of an exposed shore in North Cornwall.
March 27, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Peter Barfield
scifri.bsky.social
Pancreatic cancer is notoriously hard to treat, with a mortality rate of about 90%.

In today’s episode,  we talk with a scientist  who is fighting the cancer with an mRNA vaccine.

Listen here 🎧:
https://buff.ly/3ES4ndw
February 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Peter Barfield
biographic.bsky.social
Our fearless executive editor @judeisabella.bsky.social talked with bsky.app/profile/tomm... about how a Soviet-era experiment from the 1950s continues to impact Norwegian rivers today, and what happens when Pacific salmon invade Atlantic waters. Listen here:
194: Pink Salmon Invasion on Norwegian Rivers with Jude Isabella
What happens when Pacific salmon invade Atlantic waters? How does a Soviet-era experiment from the 1950s continue to impact Norwegian rivers today? We’re answering these questions in conversation w…
tommysoutdoors.com
January 28, 2025 at 7:56 PM