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Beaconsfield School
Beaconsfield School explored the foreshore
at Chiswick on 9 October 2002. Here is what they
found on their wildlife survey...
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Animals
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0-5
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6-10
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10-20
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more than 20
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Freshwater Shrimp
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20+
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Nerite Snail
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20+
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Leech Species
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20+
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Chinese Mitten
Crab
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20+
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Estuarine Prawn
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1
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Swan Mussel
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1
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Goby Baby
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1
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What was it like on the Thames foreshore today?
We enjoyed an autumnal day on the foreshore and
everyone did a brilliant job finding river creatures.
We found clues to the health of the Thames, both
positive and negative. On the positive side, we
found lots of freshwater shrimps, which can only
survive in clean water. Also, we found a tiny
goby, a type of fish that lives on the bottom
of the river. At first glance it looks a bit like
a tadpole! On the negative side, we found LOADS
of tiny Chinese mitten crabs. These crabs damage
the river banks and disrupt the natural system
in the river, so lots of baby crabs is bad news!
What does our survey us about the "Rhythms
of the River"?
We know that it is Autumn, not only from the weather,
but also the baby goby (they breed in late summer
and into the autumn). We also know that the river
is quite healthy, as we found lots of freshwater
shrimps, snails and leeches. However, one of the
biggest threats to the river, the Chinese mitten
crab, seems to have healthy populations that are
multiplying rapidly.
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