Displaying items by tag: plants

24th March 2011

Ireland's First Biodiversity Audit Launched

Ireland's first ever biodiversity audit has revealed that our mountains, woodlands and waterways are home to more than 31,000 different species of plants and animals. For all the latest news on Irish marine animals click here.

Ireland's waters boast more than 560 different species of marine fish, most of which are perch-like or ray finned fish, while 29 different fish species inhabit Irish inland waterways.

The state of knowledge report also found that popular species of plants, birds or mammals make up just one in ten of all species in Ireland.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/irelands-wildlife-audit-revealed-2591440.html

Scientists joined with State bodies, NGOs and third-level institutions last August to conduct the survey of Ireland's plantlife and wildlife.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Jimmy Deenihan said that the protection of Ireland's biodiversity "is not a luxury".

The report is available online at biodiversity.biodiversityireland.ie

Ireland's first ever biodiversity audit has revealed that the country's mountains, woodlands and waterways are home to more than 31,000 different species of plants and animals.

The survey reveals that Ireland's waters boast more than 560 different species of marine fish, most of which are perch-like or ray finned fish, while 29 different fish species inhabit Irish inland waterways.

The state of knowledge report also found that popular species of plants, birds or mammals make up just one in ten of all species in Ireland.

Dr Liam Lysaght of the National Biodiversity Data Centre told the Irish Independent that the report "will for the first time allow us to accurately describe Ireland's biological resources and identify the knowledge gaps that exist".

Scientists joined with State bodies, NGOs and third-level institutions last August to conduct the survey of Ireland's plantlife and wildlife.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Jimmy Deenihan said that the protection of Ireland's biodiversity "is not a luxury".

The report is available online at biodiversity.biodiversityireland.ie

Published in Marine Wildlife

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About the 29er Skiff Dinghy

The 29er is a one-design double-handed, single trapeze skiff for youth sailors.

There is an active class in Ireland, just one of the 38-countries from across all continents now racing the high-performance skiff.

The 29er is one of the latest dinghy classes to arrive in Ireland and has a 50/50 split between boys and girls.

The class like to describe the boat as "The most popular skiff for sailors who want to go fast!".

Derived from the Olympic class 49er class and designed by Julian Bethwaite the 29er was first produced in 1998.

Two sailors sail the 29er, one on trapeze.

The 6.25-metre high rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the workload of the crew, making manoeuvres more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches.

The 15.00 m2 spinnaker rigging set-up challenges crews to be fit and coordinated, and manoeuvres in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speed with which the fully battened mainsail and jib power up.

The 74kg weight hull is constructed of fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich layout.

The fully battened mainsail and jib are made from a transparent Mylar laminate with orange or red Dacron trimming, while the spinnaker is manufactured from ripstop Nylon.

The mast is in three parts - an aluminium bottom and middle section, with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip to increase mast bend and decrease both overall weights, and the capsizing moment a heavy mast tip can generate. Foils are aluminium or fibreglass.

About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2

ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2

ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2