Southampton Boat Show

It has been a busy week here at the National Oceanography Centre, this week Southampton hosts the Boat Show, and we have a very exciting aquarium stand on display.

If you are in the area, our stand can be found at stand A134 just inside the main entrance in the Quays carpark. We have an exciting display, including a rock pool tank, which represents species typically found on the south coast. This tank features several species of crabs, including these tiny spider crabs:

 

 

 

in addition to the familiar edible brown crab, seem here with several species of anenomes:

We also have dozens of Seastars, who are very active using their tube feet to move around the tank. The windows on the side allow you to see how they move, and study their interesting anatomy: The anenomes pictured below were collated from the Isle of Wight and are housed in the fluorescent room in our tent. The room is dark, and when the blue light is shone on the anemones, they fluoresce, be sure to have a look through the yellow glasses which removes the glare from the blue light and shows off their amazing colours:We also have some examples of corals which fluoresce, these are species from the Indo-Pacific. We have a fluorescence aquarium in the entrance of the NOC, and a dedicated coral lab who you can follow on Twitter (@thecoralreeflab):

Let us know in the comments if you spotted our stand at the Boat Show, many of these displays will be available at our many outreach and engagement events throughout the year. You can also learn more about the coral lab in this short video:

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