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West
Sussex Coastline
44 miles of coast surround the southern boarder of West
Sussex. There is huge variety of habitats and wildlife. The Sussex coastline
harbours gulls, wading birds, insects, reptiles, fish and mammals. Redshank
and Dunlins are found around estuaries, Oystercatchers and Black-headed
Gulls along Shingle beaches, Bottlenose dolphins all along the coast and
common lizard in sand dunes.
West Sussex coastline has numerous conservation designations,
local, national (e.g. SSSI), European and international (e.g. Ramsar).
These labels show how important this area is for wildlife and that it
is worth protecting.
Have a look at the different sorts of habitats along the
West Sussex Coastline and the sort of plant and animal life you could
find there.
Shingle Beaches
Most of the main seaside towns in Sussex come with a shingle
beach and can look as if they are devoid of life except for the thousands
of people who visit in the summer.
If you look closely (especially away from the most heavily
used areas) a wide range of specialised vegetation is to be found and
with it insects and birds who rely on these plants.
Shingle plants include Sea bindweed, Kale, Sea beet, Orache,
Yellow Horned Poppy, Thrift and Vipers Bugloss.
Some shingle plants are better adapted than others at living
in shingle and salty conditions and so these plants are found near to
the sea. This means that zones are created lengthwise along the beach.
Sand dunes
Sand Dunes cover only 0.2% of the land area of the UK,
only 6 active systems are found along the whole of the South coast. Sand
dunes are an ever changing habitat which can be heavily impacted on by
coastal squeeze. The sand is held in place by the roots of grasses that
are adapted to salty, dry conditions. Dunes are built by sand being blown
up from areas close to the sea at low tide and caught by the grasses;
the sand can also be blown away from the main body of the dunes to create
new sections.
In West Sussex we have two sand dune environments.
East Head at West Wittering is a National Trust property.
It is a shingle spit and is not developed and shows a complete dune system
so is very good for wildlife and education. It has a number of international
and local designations: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special
Protection Area (SPA), Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Ramsar site
and Local Nature Reserve (LNR).
Plant species such as Maram grass and Sea Holly are found
on the dunes and glasswort in the salt marshes. Wading birds such as Sanderling,
Redshank and Godwits over-winter here.
West Beach, Littlehampton is a local nature reserve and
Site of Special Scientific Interest; it also has Maram grass, Sea Couch,
Sea Bindweed and numerous lichens and algae. It is an important area for
birds, insects (burnish moth) and reptile (common lizard).
If concrete development encroaches on the coast then the
flexible nature of the dunes is disrupted. The sand blown from the dunes
ends up in gardens and on the street and is lost to the dune system.
Activity on the dunes can damage the plants and so lead
to the sand being more easily blown away. In Littlehampton there are areas
fenced off, and in West Wittering there are boardwalks to encourage people
to stay off the dunes to protect from trampling.
Estuaries and mudflats
Estuaries are areas where fresh water and salt water mix
through tidal action. These are more commonly known as the mouths of rivers.
In West Sussex we have a few major rivers entering the English Channel.
The Arun, The Adur and The Lavent are the largest. Estuaries are areas
of extreme environmental pressure. The water salinity, depth and temperature
are very variable and so only a few species can survive and so a low biodiversity
can be found. Even with this being so the species which do survive are
prolifent and so there is a high bioloading. Most of these animals live
in mud.
The water flow drops off as the river enters the sea so
the very finest sediment drops out of suspension and layers of mud build
up. The gastropods and molluscs which burrow through the mud provide rich
feeding grounds for wading birds. For this reason mudflats are internationally
important areas.
Mudflats are commonly found in areas which we find commercially
and recreationally important, they are often destroyed by yacht berths,
wake wash and pollution.
Sandy beaches
Most of the county's shingle beaches are sandy in the inter-tidal
range. Sand provides a habitat for animals that are able to anchor themselves
in this very unstable substrate. For example rag worms.
Wooden and rock groynes
Theses are man made structures designed to combat the effects
of longshore drift. Stable hard structures in areas of shingle and sand
environments can provide welcome fast holds for many animals such as barnacles,
anemones and mussels. Crabs and young fish can escape strong currents.
All this activity attracts larger fish to these feeding grounds, making
groynes an excellent habitat, just like an artificial reef.
Brackish Lagoons
Shoreham-by-sea boasts a man-made brackish lagoon partially
created when the Adur was deflected by longshore drift. The lagoon is
replenished by seawater during high tides and rain. It provides a haven
for Mallard, Teal, Little Egret, Swans, Stickle-backs and Prawns.
