The beetle was recently reclassified as endangered following a decline which now finds its UK range restricted to a few special areas of Carmarthen Bay,
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| The Strandline Beetle, Eurynebria complanata (photo VH) |
The beetle is closely associated with strandlines and sandy beaches backed by the right sort of sand dune and the resultant vegetation community.
Ecologically I assume the beetle evolved to survive the natural processes of the dynamic and shifting patterns of beach, strandline and dune formation relying on purely natural objects under which to seek refuge.
The state of our oceans, and thus our beaches in the 21st century are generally much less natural and more semi natural, by which I mean that there are vast amounts of man made objects to be found lying on the beaches, a look at any of the eroding dune faces along Cefn Sidan will reveal any number of plastic compound objects in the stratification of the dune face, perhaps a clear example of the anthropocene epoch of geological time!
Now the beetle has adapted to make use of many plastic objects as well as tyres old sofa cushions, polystyrene etc. Seeing these objects on a beach is to many ugly, unsightly and must be removed.
Yes it is depressing to see the vast amounts of plastic bottles of all shapes and sizes washed up, sometimes into great piles, on our beaches along with old fishing nets, rope as well as more domestic rubbish like dustbin. But before we act we must stop and consider the outcome we really desire.
There is a real and significant risk that we will lose this distinctive ground beetle from our fauna unless action is taken very soon, this will need to consider the level of "cleanliness" some of our beaches can tolerate, this will need to include careful monitoring of the amount of natural materials being removed by the public, usually driftwood, and how fires are controlled on the beach by the party animals of the area.
There will need to be an acceptance that "useful rubbish" will need to be left insitu on the beach to provide shelter for the beetle, especially where the quantities of natural material seem to be declining, I walked from CE52 to the "nose" at Pembrey Burrows, (2.7km), today and saw very little wood on the beach, certainly considerably less than this time last year,; maybe its buried under the ever shifting sands of Cefn Sidan, or the currents have changed as a result of the accretion of sand on the beach mid way along that particular section of beach?
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| This view of the beach between CE52 and the Nose was typical NO NATURAL DEBRIS |
On a brighter note there is a plan!, this plan is to supplement the amount of wood on the beach, carefully control any "beach cleans" and engage with beach users to help them understand the part they play in the survival of the Strandline Beetle, Eurynebria complanata.
The fight is on................
The fight is on................
I will come back to this hot topic over the coming months...............
Yes, it was an interesting talk the other week and some interesting reflections on it here. What worries me is that the idea of leaving man-made debris on the beaches to provide habitat for the Strandline Beetle risks possible unintended adverse effects on other wildlife. I would prefer a more systemic view. Replacing the plastic debris with wood is potentially a solution but the wood may disappear more quickly than the plastic if it has a value to someone. Another danger it seems to me in encouraging people to leave man-made debris on the beaches is that people will begin to form the habit of dropping and leaving rubbish which might have all sorts of other detrimental effects to the safety of wildlife and people.
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