If you keep up
with the Skomer Island Blog, you'll have already been
introduced to one of the Long Term Volunteers, Thom. I am the other LTV for the
April-July period, I'm a 21 year-old Marine Biology graduate from the
University of Liverpool and my name is Ruby Temple-Long. Having the amazing
opportunity to gain experience working on the high profile nature reserve of
Skomer Island coincides with my year out from study, before I head off to
Scotland and the University of Edinburgh to complete an MSc in Marine Systems
and Policies.
I have volunteered
with a wide range of organisations before the Wildlife Trust of South and West
Wales including; Greenpeace EU Unit, Wildlife Sense Kefalonia and
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (Snows Farm Nature Reserve and Stroud Wildlife
Surveys).
The
experiences mentioned above have all been extremely interesting
but they aren't comparable to the unique four weeks I've already
spent on Skomer. I was attracted to the island by so many things, but the
parts that stood out the most were the vast array of species that can be found
here and the numerous elements of practical research you can get involved with.
Having a passion for marine species, my interest was sparked when I discovered
the diverse range of seabirds and marine mammals that you may encounter on the
island. I had been told that Atlantic puffins could be an almost everyday
occurrence in the right season (and weather), and that nearly half the
world’s population of Manx shearwaters come here to breed!
I arrived with little knowledge of birds but would like
to think that I am learning more about the species we see passing
through each day, and by the end of my three months may even be a budding
amateur ornithologist! Already I have seen (or been shown) the common
species on Skomer such as; Puffin, Chough, Kittiwake, Fulmar, Peregrine
falcon, Short-eared owl and Swallow. In addition to the more
unusual species such as Black redstart, Cuckoo, Snipe and Common sandpiper.
 |
| Black redstart at the Farm |
The island is starting to get a little busier now with
more researchers arriving and therefore more surveys to complete, but a few
highlights from the past week were as follows. Each year the Trust undertakes a
whole island Puffin count and on our first survey we found a record number of
individuals, an astonishing 25,000! Thom and I were really pleased to be
treated to a trip out to The Smalls with one of the trustees and on our voyage
were greeted by a pod of Common dolphin that rode the bow of our rib for a
while, with a small calf leading the way! Recently we were able to help some
PhD students from Oxford University collect data for their study of Manx
shearwaters which they return to Skomer each year to continue. The
students are looking at the changes in the bird's body condition over the
breeding season which includes monitoring a number of the same burrows each
year and weighing certain individuals. They are particularly interested in
those with geolocators as they are able to track their movements at sea and can
learn more about how parents coordinate their foraging trips to feed the
chicks.
With my main
interest being ocean dwelling species, I often spend my time around the coastal
cliffs and get down to North Haven beach wherever possible. Those who have visited
Skomer will be familiar with the seals of North Haven beach that cover the
rocky shore and the one particularly cheeky male that often commandeers our
Zodiac! They are likely to have even been one of the first
animals you saw as you pulled into the landing! Because of the dense seal
population on North Haven, access to the beach is restricted to avoid
disturbing a visitor favourite! However, from the short periods time
I have been able to explore the intertidal zone I have found
a variety of exciting coastal British species which I thought I would tell you
a little more about...
 |
| North Haven beach |
An impressive 62
species of crab have been recorded in waters surrounding the British
Isles. To be called a crab, an animal has to have ten legs, two of
which have evolved to form to powerful pincer-like claws (or chela)
for feeding and fighting! and all but one species (Chinese mitten crab) are
marine. Unlike us, crabs have an
exoskeleton and therefore don't have bones, they grow by forming
a soft shell beneath their current 'skeleton' which causes their hard shell to
shed and when this happens they are much more vulnerable, so tend to stay under
the cover of rocks and thick clumps of seaweed. I've come across the following
species of crab on my rocky shore explorations; spider, broad-clawed porcelain,
edible and shore.
 |
| Edible Crab |
 |
| Strawberry Anemone |
Another animal
that has been particularly abundant on my rocky shore visits is the Shore
clingfish, which is the focal species for my personal project that I
will undertake during my stay. The Marine Conservation Zone team from Natural
Resources Wales suggested that I look at this fish as it is particularly
abundant across the Pembrokeshire coast however, little is known about its
seasonality and breeding cycle here. All of the team has been helpful, answering
any questions that I have had about the important work they do
collecting data in the surrounding waters of the Skomer Marine Conservation
Zone (MCZ) and have given me some really useful guidance for my
research project.
 |
| Shore clingfish |
The clingfish is
cryptobenthic, meaning it hides in crevices on the seafloor (beneath and
between rocks). It's easily identifiable by its duck-like mouth and two blue
spots (which remind me of opals) on the top of its head, on the bottom side it
has specially adapted pelvic fins that form a sucker which is incredibly strong
and anchors the fish to the surface of the rocks it inhabits. I will be
looking at where the fish can be found across the shore and what time of year
they are observed as well as life history traits such as spawning and egg
development which has not been looked at on the shores around Skomer before.
 |
| Shore clingfish eggs |
 |
| Shore clingfish and eggs |
It has taken no
time at all to settle in on Skomer with such lovely staff and so many people to
learn from, in addition to the masses of wildlife that we are lucky enough
to see there is never a dull moment. I'm looking forward to getting
stuck into my personal project and Razorbill productivity survey now that Julie
the Seabird Field Worker has arrived and hopefully I'll be able to give you
more of an update on everything soon!
Ruby (LTV)
