A Report on the Fauna of the Estuaries of the River Tamar and the River Lynher

Abstract

The following is an account of a faunistic investigation covering those parts of the Rivers Tamar and Lynher which are affected by the tide, and was carried out during a period of six months from June to November, 1928.Description of the Area.The Tamar forms a portion of the boundary between Devon and Cornwall and flows in a southerly direction along a more or less winding course. (Chart.) The extent of the stream dealt with is from Plymouth Sound to Weir Head, some 19 miles inland measured along the water course. For about 6 miles downstream from Weir Head, the valley is rather narrow with rock exposures at different places on the convex side of bends, the water being confined to a well-defined channel with steep sides, which are uncovered by the vertical contraction of the stream at low water. The remainder of the river, down to the sea has, generally, a mud bank on each side, except at occasional bends where rock is present, which is exposed at low water by the lateral contraction due to reduction in level. The upper 4 miles of this region has narrower mud-banks than has the lower portion. These mud-banks or -flats are for the greater part more or less plane surfaces, which may slope gradually into the bed of the main channel, as happens in the lower portion of the area, or they may slope suddenly downwards at the edge, thus forming a well-marked bank to the main channel. In many cases their landward edges lie below high-water neap tide, but in others they slope imperceptibly into the adjoining land surface.