Professor Stephen Hawkins on BBC4, The Secret Life of Rockpools
Professor Stephen Hawkins, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, recently appeared on the BBC4 programme ‘The Secret Life of Rockpools’. Watch it here on the BBC iplayer.
The programme which which aired on the 16th April on BBC 4, embarks on a quest to discover the extraordinary lives of rock pool creatures. Using a dedicated laboratory at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth and on the beach in various locations around the UK, some of the country's leading marine biologists reveal startling behaviour and new insights are given into how these animals cope with intertidal life. Many popular rock pool species have survived hundreds of millions of years of Earth's history, but humans may be their biggest challenge yet
Professor Hawkins's contribution was focussed on the role of limpets and other molluscan grazers in rocky shore ecology, particularly in controlling seaweeds plus how limpets defend themselves against starfish predators.
Watch the programme here.