Photo competition reveals hidden wildlife of our seas

Underwater photographs by volunteer divers are pushing back the frontiers of knowledge about our seas. Dorset Wildlife Trust has announced the winners of the Dorset Seasearch Underwater Photography Competition, which was launched to find the images that tell us the most about little-known species or habitats. Seasearch is part of a national programme to record the wildlife hidden beneath the water, using a combination of written notes and photographs from volunteer sports divers, and is co-ordinated locally by Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Recording internationally important wildlife

Kathryn Dawson, Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Marine Survey and Data Officer, said: “Although our marine wildlife is recognised as internationally important, there is still so much more to find out about what is down there. The records and photos that we get from volunteer divers on the Seasearch programme are of great importance, and we know that their data from the last 15 years was instrumental in the recent selection of part of Dorset’s seabed for proposed European protection.”

Dramatic winning snap

The winning photograph was taken by regular volunteer Seasearcher Nick Owen, whose photo of a solitary hydroid won him a free weekend’s diving. Nick’s photo (above) was chosen from the hundreds of images taken during dives in 2009 as part of the research and survey work of the Seasearch programme. Marine biologist Lin Baldock, who judged the competition, said: “The image of the solitary hydroid Corymorpha nutans is a strikingly dynamic photograph of an essentially static species which is rarely recorded around Dorset and more often seen in Scotland. The photograph clearly shows the lines down the “stem” which characterise this large hydroid (up to 8cm).“

The runners-up were:

	Jane Szekely, with her colourful photo of the seabed off White Nothe in Weymouth Bay, showing a rich selection of sponges and a sea cucumber
	Mike Markey, with his photo of a rare sponge Axinella dissimilis among other sponges and hydroids at Mupe Rocks
	Richard Yorke, whose striking image shows a conger eel, goby and a prawn all together in a rocky reef in Poole Bay.

Stunning marine wildlife here in the UK

Kathryn Dawson added: “These images show something of the beauty that many people never see, just off our coast. But they also help in the serious work of finding out just what is living here in Dorset. I hope they will tempt more divers to join Seasearch. You don’t have to go abroad to see great marine wildlife!”

Get involved with Dorset's Marine Wildlife

Divers who are interested in helping to record Dorset’s underwater wildlife can contact Kathryn on 01305 264620.

To visit Dorset Wildlife Trust's Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve pages, click here

To visit the Living Seas Marine Conservation  pages, click here

To visit the SeaSearch page, click here

Photos:

1. Winner - Solitary hydroid Corymorpha nutans at Grove Point, Portland by Nick Owen
2. Runner-up ­ Sponges, tunicates and a sea cucumber off White Nothe in Weymouth Bay by Jane Szekely
3. Runner-up ­ Rare sponge Axinella dissimilis with other sponges and hydroids at Mupe Rocks by Mike Markey
4. Runner-up ­ Conger eel, goby and prawn in a rocky reef near Swanage by Richard Yorke