Collection of storm cast
1) Find three 5 m long beach sections with storm cast (transects).
2) Determine the coordinates of the area with GPS or navigation system of your mobile phone or determine your location on map and find the coordinates later (e.g. with help of Google Earth).
3) Choose the most fresh storm cast, i.e. closest to the sea (can be at waterline).
4) Fix the tape measure in the starting point of the transect and measure the transect along storm cast swath (parallel to the shore). Do not trample on storm cast that you will collect later!
5) Describe each transect (e.g. how broad is the storm cast, is it fresh or dried, thick wall or discontiguous strip).
6) Take a frame sample with the 20x20 cm frame at 0m, 1m, 2m, 3m and 4m points of the transect (from the part of the storm cast strip, which is closest to the waterline).
7) Take only the plants from inside the frame – cut or tear off the plants that are outside the frame.
8) Write the name of the area, number of the transect, number of the sample and the date on a plastic bag using water proof marker (e.g. Viinistu, 28.08.13, Transekt 1, 2m). The other option is to write with lead pencil on a piece of grease-proof paper (use cutting board as base), pack this piece of paper into foil and put it into a plastic bag together with the sample. Pack the samples into bigger bags by transects.
9) Deep freeze the samples if it is not possible to analyse them during 48 hours. If you can analyse the samples during 48 hours then keep them in normal fridge.
Analysis of storm cast
10) Defreeze the deep frozen samples. It can be done by putting the samples into cold water together with the bag.
11) If needed, wash the sample through a plastic sieve with 1mm holes (can be bought in every shop).
12) Remove additives not belonging to the marine flora (e.g. feathers, tree leaves, club rush, terrestrial plants)
13) It is better to sort/examine the sample in a broad shallow water bowl. Tap water can be used.
14) Separate the key species from the sample – bladder wrack (Fucus), Furcellaria, eelgrass (Zostera marina) and stoneworts (Charophyta) (including Tolypella nidifica)
15) Identify all plant species represented in the sample. Use a microscope for identifying filamentous algae.
16) Put the key species (can be all together) and the rest of the sample into two separate heaps.
For MARMONI: Determine the dry weight (drying at 60°C until constant weight is reached, 1-2 weeks, depends on sample size).
For teachers: Determine the wet weight of both heaps. For determining the wet weight, remove water from the sample by drying the sample with paper towel until the water content in the sample is minimal.
17) Calculate the share of the biomass of the key species from the total sample.
18) For determining the number of species, group the species that are hard to distinguish, e.g.
- Pilayella and Ectocarpus - 1 species
- Potamogeton pectinatus, Ruppia and Zannichellia – 1 species
- Charophyta (except Tolypella) – 1 species
Calculation of SMI (Stormcast Macrovegetation Index)
Pv – Share of key species in the community/sample
Nf – Number of species of filamentous algae
N – Number of species of benthic flora
Example:
Share of key species 20% (Charophyta 10%, Fucus 10%), the rest of the sample 80%.
Number of species of benthic flora 4, including 2 species of filamentous algae. The list of filamentous algae is in table 1.
SMI=(1-20/100)/(1+20/100)x2/4≈0,33
Table 1. List of filamentous algae.
Name / Synonymes / PhylumAglaothamnion roseum / Callithamnion roseum / Red algae
Battersia arctica / Sphacelaria arctica / Brown algae
Capsosiphon fulvescens / Green algae
Ceramium tenuicorne / Ceramium diaphanum var. arachnoideum / Red algae
Ceramium virgatum / Ceramium rubrum / Red algae
Chaetomorpha linum / Green algae
Chroodactylon ornatum / Asterocytis ornata / Red algae
Cladophora glomerata / Green algae
Cladophora rupestris / Green algae
Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus / Brown algae
Ectocarpus siliculosus / Brown algae
Elachista fucicola / Brown algae
Leathesia marina / Leathesia difformis / Brown algae
Monostroma balticum / Ulva baltica / Green algae
Percursaria percursa / Green algae
Pilayella littoralis / Pylaiella litoralis / Brown algae
Polysiphonia fibrillosa / Polysiphonia violaceum / Red algae
Polysiphonia fucoides / Polysiphonia nigrescens / Red algae
Protohalopteris radicans / Sphacelaria radicans / Brown algae
Rhizoclonium riparium / Green algae
Rhodochorton purpureum / Red algae
Rhodomela confervoides / Red algae
Spongomorpha aeruginosa / S. congregata, S. lanosa / Green algae
Stictyosiphon tortilis / Brown algae
Ulothrix sp / Green algae
Ulva intestinalis / Enteromorpha intestinalis / Green algae
Ulva prolifera / Enteromorpha prolifera / Green algae
Urospora penicilliformis / Green algae
Vaucheria sp / Yellow-green algae (Xanthophyta)