Liebster Blog Award

Liebster Blog

Seabed habitats is pleased to announce that the Pipettes and paintbrushes blog has nominated this blog for a LIEBSTER blog award. Here is a link to the LIEBSTER blog award nomination.

This is an exciting new award for networking bloggers who are starting up or continuing a blog. A big thank you to Pipettes and paintbrushes and I hope I can help build the network. Some information about the award from Norfolk girl:

I love to write and I love writing this blog. But I felt I’d reached a point where it wasn’t getting any better or going anywhere. I didn’t want to stop writing, but I was considering branching out and trying to write elsewhere.

Then a comment popped up on my blog; “congratulations, you’ve been nominated for a Liebster Blog Award…” and that just made my day. I’ve seen these awards cropping up on several of the blogs I admire and so it’s a huge honour to be included in this award. Liebster is a German word that means “dearest” and the Liebster Awards celebrate up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The aim is to spread the word about exceptional blogs that deserve more readership, by having each recipient of the Liebster Award highlight five blogs that he or she feels stands out in a crowd.

via A Liebster Blog Award and sharing the love | pipettes and paintbrushes.

The rules of recieving a Liebster are as follows:

1. Show thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Bask in the love from some of the most supportive people on the internet—other writers and artists.
5. And best of all – have fun and spread the karma.
via A Liebster Blog Award and sharing the love | pipettes and paintbrushes.

 

In turn, here are my 5 nominations for this Liebster blog award:

This is one of the best marine blogs I have seen, based in Vancouver Island- blogging for education and for conservation and contains posts about algae, biodiversity, the environment and different marine organisms. They also have an active Facebook page and photographs page.

A wonderful introduction to the the world of sand collection, with microphotography of sand grains and maps of the global distribution and photos, books and links to this eccentric hobby.

A blogsite with multibeam imagery from Australia and is also the homepage for the team of ocean mapping scientists. It contains lots of useful links, conference references and tips on visualizing multibeam data including using the Fledermaus software for 3D/4D seafloor visualizations and fly-throughs.

A blogsite devoted to cold water coral Lophelia petrusa. A key resource for new cold water coral enthusiasts, with an introductory video by Sir David Attenborough, deep sea facts, the science, real- life case studies and games such as CWC jigsaws puzzles.

A biology blog by a high school class is a really useful way of teaching more practical ideas and I believe help to consolidate learning. Not only encouraging the pupils to participate in a group blog, teachers also have a wider range of audio-visual tools for communication.

Hence, check these out and award a few of your own!

Maërl

What is Maërl?

ResearchBlogging.org

Maërl refers to a group of free-living coralline red algae belonging to the Class Rhodophyta. The term “Maërl” is a Breton term with there even being a festival about maerl in Brittany. Maërl beds form a complex three-dimensional habitat and have been found to harbour greater diversity of life in comparison to surrounding habitats. As a result they are protected under the EU Habitats Directive, with two maërl forming species, Phymatolithon calcareum (Pallas) W.H.Adey & D.L.McKibbin, 1970., Lithothamnion corallioides (P.L.Crouan & H.M.Crouan) P.L.Crouan & H.M.Crouan, 1867, found in under Annex V. In many cases, maërl is also given protection under Annex 1 of the EU Habitats directive as a sub-feature habitat and as an indicator of a biodiversity hotspot.

Distribution of maërl in the British Isles- NBN Map- Phymatolithon calcareum Common Maërl

UK Marine SACs Document

Maërl Beds in the Fal Estuary with Harbour crab - Liocarcinus depurator

Biogenic Beach Sediments

Biogenic gravel beaches made of dead or fossil maërl deposits can be found adjacent to live maërl habitats.
Trá an Doilín, Ireland

Many different growth forms result in different grain shapes of the thalli.
Phymatolithon calcareum

Intertidal Maërl

Muckinish Bay in County Clare has maerl beds which are only exposed during the low spring tide.

Subtidal Maërl

Subtidally, maërl free living and forms branches

 

Maërl megaripples

Where currents are strong enough, or due to disturbance due storm-waves, maërl megaripples can form (asymmetric for currents-formed ripples and symmetric wave-formed ripples) Here is some rare footage of maerl mega ripples in Northern Ireland:

Image credits

(1) Maërl beds in the Fal Estuary with harbour crab – Liocarcinus depurator: Image credit to Ross Bullimore
(2) Trá an Doilín, Ireland Seabed Habitats
(3) Phymatolithon calcareum, Image credit to Malcolm Storey www.bioimages.org.uk
(4) Muckinish Bay, County Clare, Image credit to Seabed Habitats
(5) Maërl Megaripples, Diver footage courtesy of Joe Breen of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)

Results of First Poll

A big thank you to those of you who voted in the Seabed Habitats opening poll! As a first time blogger, it has really helped me to get a better idea of the audience. And the results are:

In first place: Maerl Beds (with 41.67%)
Joint second: Rocky Shores, Mangroves and Extreme Environments (all with 16.67%)
Third place: Cold water Corals (with 8.33%)

Results of poll

Hence, I am currently preparing the post on maerl beds (which will be with you very shortly!) Meanwhile, enjoy the following video about maerl in French as an introduction to the subject :

Le maërl des Îles Glénan from Rade-de-Brest Bretagne.Vivante on Vimeo.

Location of video: Réserve Naturelle Saint-Nicolas-des-Glénan- an archipelago South East of Brest, Finistère, Brittany, France

Image Credit to Keith Hiscock, Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA), published on the MarLIN website

Research pages update & networks

Interesting publications have been added as part of the “Research” pages including some rare things too! You can find it on the menu bar above.

Also this blog has also recently been accepted as part of the Nature Blog Network, a network which helps to link the web’s nature blogs. You can follow this blog on their Marine blogs page and as one of the newest blogs on their NBN Blog entry (post updated!)

See if you can find us on the map!