Monitoring biodiversity along the Sussex coast on Wednesday 18th September

Monitoring biodiversity along the Sussex coast, with Dr Valentina Scarponi and Alice Clark. Wednesday 18th September at Wagner Hall. Doors open 7:15pm, talk starts at 8:00pm.

Up until the late 1980's, Sussex Bay harboured dense kelp beds. However, since then, 96% of the kelp beds have been lost from the Bay, resulting in a degraded habitat. It is thought that the kelp was lost as a result of decades of trawling, increased water temperatures, sedimentation and pollution. In March 2021, the Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) introduced the Nearshore Trawling Byelaw, firstly to help the recovery of fish stocks and secondly to allow the kelp to restore itself. The ARK team (Aquatic Research and Knowledge exchange) at the University of Sussex has since been monitoring the biodiversity in Sussex Bay, using video surveys and environmental DNA, to understand how the removal of trawling is affecting marine life.

Dr Valentina Scarponi is a lecturer in Ecology and Animal Behaviour at the University of Sussex, and the project co-lead with Prof Mika Peck. Her expertise includes shark behaviour, ecophysiology and conservation, fisheries management, coral reef monitoring and restoration, and effects of habitat degradation on marine community composition.
Alice Clark is a PhD student at the University of Sussex. She has a background in zoology and evolutionary biology. Her PhD research focuses on monitoring biodiversity along the Sussex coast since the implementation of the Nearshore Trawling Byelaw.

The Wagner Hall is on West Street, 200 m south of the Clock Tower and adjoining the Bright Helm pub.