Weever fish are perhaps most commonly known for the painful stings they deliver to beach goers around the UK coastline.
However, a new study has used records of those stings to provide the one of the most detailed investigations of how fish populations vary in time and space, in relation to environmental conditions.
The study, by marine scientists at the University of Plymouth supported by the RNLI, focused on 77 beaches covered by RNLI lifeguards stretching from Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, around the north and south coasts of Devon and Cornwall to Exmouth.
During daylight hours over the space of almost eight months, lifeguards compile two-hourly estimates of the number of people engaged in different activities (e.g. bathers, surfers) on beaches.
They also record the number of people requiring assistance after being stung by weever fish, and analysing that - along with environmental data - provided scientists with a unique window into how environmental conditions affect fish populations.
What were the results?
They found that between April and November 2018, when the records were compiled, lifeguards observed a total of more than 5.5million people across the 77 beaches.
The study also showed that 89% of all stings occurred during the peak summer months of June, July and August, with smaller increases coinciding with the Easter and spring half term holidays. Stings tended to occur most often around the times of low tide.
Overall, the scientists say, weevers seem to be more active in the shallows of beaches under the same conditions that humans prefer - sunny, calm summer afternoons at low tide.
With similar weever stings levels reported over a wide range of beaches, they also say there is evidence that weevers are suited to a wide range of beach environments and may be resilient to climate-related shifts in beach states.
Published in the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, the research was led by former masters student
Mr Ryan Hepburn and Lecturer in Marine Biology
Dr Benjamin Ciotti from the University's School of Biological and Marine Sciences.
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