Sometimes, it’s good to do nothing, sometimes it just good to walk in water.
During the Christmas it can be often the most strenuous time of our lives, getting things ready, shopping, did I send a card.....the eternal loop of 'do I send another emoji, we said goodbye.....but they sent a laughing face…..' cooking dinner….eating and rest! It can sometimes feel like you just want to enjoy the outdoors and do nothing at all!
A Rockpool Idea
I checked the tide tables, and there was a low tide planned for Sunday, so I wrapped up really well and headed out. I always love the rawness of the Wild Atlantic Way on these windy, cold days…..something so refreshing about the wind blowing up from the Atlantic.
I walked onto Grattan beach, and made my way to the rockpools. The ‘suns legs’ were settling well onto the waves of Galway Bay. 

​I will often stop for a time just to watch the sun settle and shine through the clouds, a mental ‘prep’ before I foray into the rockpools. Have a look at the video below and LISTEN to the sound of the waves. I did find some species on the day, so not a bad day for doing nothing and walking in water.

I think the theme today was just to be mindful and 'be in the moment'. It is a hectic life and so, we deserve time to ourselves every now and again. The experience of the rockpool is not about 'finding species' per se, but more about discovering your own balance and part of the Wild Atlantic Way that you enjoy. So, keep discovering these wonderful spaces along the coastline, there are over 2000 km to enjoy! 
The Wild Atlantic Way has some really idyllic places where you can just sit and watch the beauty of our coast, reflect on what you have, give yourself a break and also improve your health and wellbeing.
So if you are walking along the prom, please take in that 30 seconds of relaxation and enjoy your Wild Atlantic Way. 

Many species of fish are also adapted to live in rock pools, one of the most common species that can be found, is ironically the common blenny!
It is known as the ‘Shanny’, but in Galway it has the loveable ‘connemara clownfish’ title. 

​The common blenny is protected by a layer of slime (it has no scales) which helps it to slide amongst rocks, and helps to stop it drying out if stranded between tides on a rocky shore. It has a broad head with large eyes, and a dorsal fin which stretches almost from head to tail.  

It is common in rock pools but is quite hard to spot when lying still as its mottled colouration provides excellent camouflage. Blennies have tough little teeth which allow them to crack open barnacles and even limpets.
They are not fished commercially and are instead used as an indicator species for pollution. Due to the fact that they are sensitive to contaminants and never leave their local area.
The adult stays in the same area for their entire life after settling there as a juvenile, It matures at two years of age
The males change in colour to being all black with a contrasting white mouth and a pale blue margin to the dorsal fin when in breeding condition
The male and female mate in pairs, the male mates with several females and guards all of their eggs. Each female spawns three times in a season. The eggs are laid under rocks in the intertidal zone and the larvae are young can be common on shorelines in the autumn

I think we as humans will use anthropomorphism with fish quite a lot, and while this might be 'fun' to see the fish smile.....it can also have very negative effects. In the age of memes and animal welfare there has been many cruel actions on rays, especially. So, while we can see 'human' features, we must treat them better!

Blenny 'walking'

After sharing this post in 2013, I was always fasinated by how it kept being discussed many years later. I never really considered 'the red blob' as important either. I thought they were useless things too....Seamas Mac an Iomaire, chronicling the shores of Connemara a century ago, sea anemones were "useless things". "The crabs don't even like them, and very little else can be said about them." So, lets see why they are so popular?

The red blobs of jelly are actually the Beadlet Anemone (Actinia equina)
Beadlet anemone is probably the most familiar anemone found on Ireland's shores. It is extremely well adapted to life on the shore. It catches its prey with the stinging tentacles and passes it to its mouth. The name Cnidaria comes from the Latin cnidae which means ‘nettle’. All of the animals within this group have stinging cells which they use for the capture of prey and to protect themselves against predators. 
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Did you know that they are able to move by sliding the base along the substratum? They have even been shown to slowly move away from predators such as sea-slugs when facing attack. They are also aggressive to neighbouring Beadlet Anemones. When the tentacles of two adjacent anemones come into contact, one will sting the other, leading to the other individual being forced to move away!

Amazingly, this is the only species of anemone to brood their young (viviparous reproduction). The anemone begins as a planktonic larval stage where it crawls out of its parent and is free in the ocean for a short period of time. After that, it enters the cavity of another sea anemone and further develops. Once the juvenile anemone is ready to be "born", the "parent" anemone catapults the new individual through the water where it lands and secures itself on solid substrate!

You can find these amazing creatures in rockpools near you. When exposed at low tide, they appear as bright red blobs of jelly, but when feeding up to 192 beautiful stinging tentacles emerge, arranged in 6 circles around the mouth. Although it uses poison to sting their prey, its toxin is not dangerous to people.

Introduction kindly produced by Dave Wall
Citizen Science Officer
National Biodiversity Data Centre
Explore Your Shore!
Ireland has over 3,000 km of coastline and in excess of 1,000 coastal marine species, and yet the conservation status of many of these species is unknown. For years, we have largely ignored our intertidal habitats, despite our shorelines being some of the richest habitats we have in terms of biodiversity. In 2018, less than 4% of the 100,000 records submitted to the National Biodiversity Data Centre were of coastal marine species. Explore Your Shore! is looking to change this and we are working hard to engage the public in Marine Biodiversity Citizen Science recording and to promote new and existing Irish Marine Biodiversity Citizen Science initiatives.
Recording our marine biodiversity is just as vital as recording terrestrial plants and animals. Our coastal species are indicators of the health of our seas and unfortunately, due to the lack of baseline data, we struggle to realise the extent of biodiversity loss in our marine ecosystems due to human actions. Explore Your Shore! has been funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to promote Marine Biodiversity Citizen Science recording in Ireland, to gather a new baseline for Ireland’s intertidal species and to assess our coastal species as indicators of Climate Change and Water Quality.
By taking part in our Rocky Shore Safari (or indeed any of the surveys run by Explore Your Shore! or our partner organisations) you can help contribute to our understanding of our coastal species and habitats, help monitor the impacts of Climate Change and Water Quality on our marine life, and empower the public, through Citizen Science, to contribute to Irish and EU monitoring of the health of our ocean. So why not join our growing movement of Irish Marine Citizen Scientists by discovering what you can do to help Explore Your Shore! today? Visit www.exploreyourshore.ie for more information or visit us on Facebook @ExploreYourShore.

Citizen Science while on the shore
After the last few blog posts, we though it was time to share something really important for science. As you are on the way into the rockpool it’s important to record what you see.
There are a number of #CitizenScience activities that you can join in and help researchers along the way, here is our favourite one!
EGG CASE HUNTS BY THE SHORE
During the seasons many rays and sharks will swim into the Bay to lay eggs. They find a suitable area and will anchor the egg cases until they hatch. 
Once the juvenile ray or skate has hatched the tide, currents will 'pick' up the empty eggcase and it will end up on a local shore.
Once empty, the eggcases (or mermaid’s purses) often wash up on the beach. One of the best places to find them is among the strandline, where the seaweed washes up. The eggcases of different species vary. So, by looking at the size, shape and features, we can tell which species laid it. 

Purse Search Ireland is an exciting fisheries conservation project that involves public participation, so that means you can take part! The project is basically a massive nationwide search for mermaids’ purses, the egg cases of sharks, skates, and rays. We’re hunting for these egg cases because they can provide valuable information on the location of nursery areas for Ireland’s egg laying sharks, skates and rays.
Information on nursery areas is crucial for effective conservation management and protection of vulnerable species. It’s also important for the sustainable development of our fisheries.
Learn more about Marine Dimensions

The Aquarium will organise a number of these workshops during the summer time, so check out our social media and website for new information. 

Once you have completed your egg hunt and are hungry for more Citizen Science, have a look at these opportunities...they get a little more advanced but there are lots of simple ones to complete too. 
exploreyourshore.ie/ 
They include many, many citizen science opportunities, like:
​SEASHORE SPOTTER 
SEASHORE SNAPSHOTS 

Join us for the next blog as we look a little deeper into the species and stories of life in the rockpools.