The rationale of the project

The shallow, coastal waters at sandy beaches are of exceptional importance for the recreation, tourism and associated job market. The aesthetic values of the coastal zone are important for the feeling of the quality of life. Coastal waters give variety of goods and services provided by the Nature to the mankind. For these values, the quality of the bathing water is of the highest importance. Recent development in environmental sciences changed the water quality assessment form the chemical pollutants measurements to the ecosystem approach – based on the observations of the animal and plant life, considering that living creatures are the best indicators of the environmental health. Many of such observations are relatively simple, the main problem is the frequency of observations and continuity. There is no research institute who can conduct frequent and extensive sampling – here the importance of volunteers, especially organized as school groups come. This project allows junior students to take part in the research, process the data, and watch the results on the internet. The special web page maintained by IOPAS will collate the data, present the new and past results. Project is open for more participants and will benefit from the broad data exchange.

Time frame
- weekly visits to the seacoast

Environmental background observations
- water transparency
- water temperature
- wave height
- wind direction
- detritus on the drift line
- pH and salinity of water
- beach width

Biology
- macrofauna from the littoral zone
- nekton
- macrofauna from the detritus and algal mats
- sandhoppers

Introduction

Water transparency
The light is a basis for the growth of algae and higher plants in the water. The more turbid is the water, the less light reach the sea bed. That’s why, the water transparency is one of the key environmental characteristics, that permits to assess conditions for photosynthesis. On the deeper and silent waters the simple device called Secchi disc is used for the water transparency assessment, while in shallow, turbid water, more handy is a cylinder described below:

1. Secchi disc of 20cm diameter is submerged in the water, until it disappears from sight. The disc is lifted again until it can be seen, and the depth of disappearance is noted.

2. Cylinder method is an alternative to disc, You need to fill the glass/plastic cylinder with water. On the bottom of the tube the black/white pattern is placed, and the height of the water column is noted when the pattern disappears from sight.

Temperature of the sea surface
Temperature is another key factor for the understanding of plants and animals living conditions in the sea. It indicates the seasonality, and amount of solar energy absorbed by the water. The warmer the water, the less oxygen is solved, in cold water more oxygen is available for organisms.

pH and salinity
These parameters tell us about chemical conditions of the water. pH is an indicator how basic or acid is the water. Well mixed marine water is usually neutral, but intrusions from rivers, rain water or pollutants may change it. The salinity is a very important factor which tells how many g of salt (NaCl) is solved in one liter of water. The low salinity may inhibit the occurrence of marine organisms (they need usually above 30g salt per liter of water). Salinity may change locally from the fresh water outflow – rivers, rain etc.

Choice of sampling station
Bay of Puck – sandy beach between Gdynia and Sopot, – 10 points (replicates) at least 10m apart. Observations shall be collected always in the same place.

Sampling station description
Once chosen, the sampling site is located with Geographic Position System, and the exact location is noted in the spreadsheet. All unusual phenomena shall be noted (e.g. freezing of the coastal water, rain, exceptional storm, debris load etc.). Human activity shall be also noted especially installations on the beach, boats etc. During each visit to sampling station note the wave height, width of the beach (from the same mark point at the dune to the actual water line), air temperature, wind direction.

Volunteer teams
One team shall consist of 2-3 pupils. Each team go for samples collection, notes, and exchange and interpretation of data. Separate teams shall compare and exchange the results of their measurements, in case their results from the same site are very different, they shall come together and repeat the procedure to assess the quality of the measurement.

How to conduct the field work

Important
All the results of measurements from the field and from the lab shall be noted down in the spreadsheets without any delay.

Water transparency measurement
Secchi disc or tube – shall always be in the shade (the Sun behind the person taking the measurement). In case of doubt, take three measurements by different persons and calculate the simple mean from three. In case of very transparent water, when the pattern on the bottom of the tube (or the Secchi disc is visible on the bottom) simply write down that transparency is greater than xx given value of m (with accuracy to 1cm).

Sea surface temperature measurement
Collect the water to plastic bucket, and measure immediately the temperature – wait until the temperature is stable. Avoid the direct exposition of your sample to the Sun.

pH and salinity
If there is an opportunity, you may purchase the pH test set and salinity test from the aquarium shop. There are different kinds of simple tests available, use them following the instruction and remember to note down what kind of test you have used. Take the water from the swash zone (0,5m depth) into the bucket and perform the analysis as described in the test instruction.

Collection of macro- detritus
Locate the drift line on the beach, and mark 10 squares of 30x 30cm, 10m apart, along the drift line. From the marked squares remove the surface 2cm of sand with all the objects and place each sample into separate plastic bag. In the lab use simple kitchen sieve of 1mm mesh size get rid of sand, and sort all larger objects remaining on the sieve into the categories like: seashells, algae, higher plants, wood debris, plastic, etc.). Dry the detritus in about 60oC to stabilize dry weight (usually 1-2 days), weight and take notes of each measurement.

Collection of macrofauna
Insert the plastic tube of some 10cm diameter (remember to take the note of the tube diameter) into the sand to 15- 20cm depth in shallow water (0.3 to 0,5m depth). Once the tube is inserted cover it with the rubber cork. Gently remove the tube with the sediment (sometimes you may need to use hand or spade to prevent sand from falling out). Take 6 samples in this way, and place each sand sample into separate plastic bag. You may sieve out the sand in the field or in the lab. For the sand removal flush the sample on the sieve (use sived of 0.5mm mesh size), using the tap water. All organisms retained on the sieve from one sample shall be placed in separated sample jar, counted and identified.

Collection of nekton
Use simple triangular dredge with 1mm mesh size. Mark 100m long distance along the coast, and haul the dredge on the 0,5m depth for the entire 100m. Gently remove all the organisms from the dredge, identify and count them.

Fauna from the algal mats
Collect about 1 liter of the algae clumps from the swash zone. In the lab, place the algae into plastic tray, add some tap water and sort out all the animals found among the algae. Identify and count the organisms. Remaining algae shall be blotted on the kitchen sieve and dried in about 60oC to stabilize the dry weight (2-3 days). Weight the dry algae.

Sandhoppers
Sandhoppers are small crustaceans (about 0,5cm long) buried in the sand at day time and actively searching for food at night time. Their presence is considered to be a sign of naturalness of the beach (they are absent in contaminated or too much frequented coasts). To check if the sandhoppers are present on the beach, mark the line between the water line and the dune. Starting from the water line, dig the line of holes (20x20cm) 1m apart. Dig the holes of at least 10cm depth, by removing layer by layer the upper 0,5cm of the sand with the use of 20cm long flat plastic or wooden plate. You need not to catch the sandhoppers jumping from the hole, simply count how many were present in each hole and note the number in the spreadsheet.