AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Species point records from 1997 MNCR Sanday (Orkney) sublittoral survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596. Records currently considered sensitive have been removed from this dataset.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Species point records from 1988 OPRU HRE Taf, Tywi & Gwendraeth Estuaries survey

The estuaries of the Taf, Tywi and Gwendraeth are known locally as the `Three rivers` as they converge and enter into Camarthen Bay in South West Wales through a common mouth. The rivers drain agricultural catchments of 246, 1335 and 175 km2, respectively, and the underlying rocks are, for the most part slightly acidic. Of the three river estuaries, the Tywi is the larger at over 20 km in length. The Taf and Tywi are both typical coastal plain estuaries and the Gwendraeth is a bar-built estuary formed by the north westerly movement of sand from the Pembrey coast dune system. All three estuaries are presently undergoing substantial infilling by marine sediments originating from Camarthaen Bay and as a result are shallow and drain almost completely at low tide. Tidal flows within the system and in particular in the Taf and Tywi, are of considerable strength and the tidal wave symmetry is distorted producing a longer ebb than flood. This report describes the habitats and associated communities at twenty-one sites surveyed in the study area; eighteen intertidal sites and three dredge sites from the main channels. Species present have been identified and tabulated. Hard substrata communities are not well represented in the `Three Rivers` and those examples occuring are markedly sand scoured and support depauperate communities. Sedimentary habitats dominate the system, and there is a gradation of sand flats to mudflats from the mouth to the upper estuaries. The lower shore flats are generally unstable environments being subject to large tidal salinity fluctuations and strong tidal currents. More stable sand flats are found on the upper middle shore with considerably richer communities. Mussel scars occur at three sites in the system and are subject to scouring losses. Both mussels and cockles are collected commercially on a small scale and some netting also occurs. Mussel culture is presently being evaluated in the Gwendraeth Estuary. The Taf and Tywi have naturally low oxygen levels in their estuaries at times of continued fine weather, low river discharges and spring tides. These are compounded in the Tywi by effluent from a large sewage treatment works which significantly increases the biological oxygen demand (B.O.D.). The `Three Rivers` are flanked by Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to the east, west and north. Notification of these was for the sand dune flora and fauna and maritime cliff communities. The south shore of the Gwendraeth, including Towyn Point, and Salmon Point Scar are the only marine habitats protected by the designations. The area is also of nature conservation interest for the populations of migrant and over-wintering waterfowl. Several species reach levels of National Importance, though they are not afforded any other specific site protection at the present time. rivers

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Species point records from 1988 OPRU HRE Taw and Torridge Estuary survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Species point records from 1986-87 OPRU HRE Helford River survey

The Helford River is a small marine inlet in south Cornwall which was formed by the flooding of a river valley subsequent to the last ice age. Historically the waterway has long been associated with human activities, providing a trade route for the surrounding villages and towns. At the present time however, activities are largely of a recreational nature, although some oyster farming and fishing still takes place. For several decades, the Helford River has been visited by collectors and scientists who were interested in the marine biota found in the vicinity. The biological reputation of the area grew, and was recognized by the Nature Conservancy Council as a result of there programme of intertidal surveys which took place during the 1970's. Since then, however, there has been a distinct deterioration in the quality of the majority of intertidal habitats and communities found within the Helford River, concentrating on sublittoral habitats, and to assess the nature conservation importance of the area using standard criteria. Survey work consisted of in situ recording of conspicuous species and collection of sediment samples for biological analysis, by using a pipe dredge and also a suction sampler. Abundances of conspicuous species were defined by the use of abundance scales and the information obtained was directly comparable to that for other areas. Sediment samples were sieved over a 1 mm mesh. Animals were picked out, identified and counted. Photographs were taken during fieldwork to illustrate habitats, communities and species. Habitats and communities present were classified into seven intertidal types and twenty subtidal types each of which is described. The distribution of habitats and communities is discussed, and for selected areas, the present biological data have been compared with ealier records. Features of the Helford River have been compared with those of other marine inlets. Communities have been provisionally graded as of Local, Regional, National or International conservation importance. It is generally acknowledged that many of the communities have been damaged and the assessment takes no account of their former condition. However, the recent designation of the Helford Voluntary Marine Conservation Area creates a potential for the rehabilitation of affected habitats. Records currently considered sensitive have been removed from this dataset.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1995 OPRU Sullom Voe (Shetland) littoral survey

Re-survey of rocky shores in the region of Sullom Voe, Shetland during August 1995. The baseline survey was performed during May 1976. These re-surveys have been conducted up to the present day and comprise 20 years of data taken from the same transects (1977-1997). This allows an assessment of animal and plant populations to be made. Each site consists of a transect line down the shore with survey stations positioned along it. These sample sites are used every year. Some of the original sites have been dropped since the 1970's and some new sites added, however the coverage of Sullom Voe is still very good. Also the original sites each had approx. 20 stations located down the transect which has now been cut back to 5 stations per transect. These pre-established stations were selected to represent the five major zones of lower shore (LS), lower middle shore (LMS), middle shore (MS), upper middle shore (UMS) and upper shore (US). Each site has a double digit number, the first number (from 1 to 6) indicates the wave exposure on the Ballantine scale (Ballantine, 1961), which uses biological communities on the shore to determine wave exposure. The second number indicates a consecutive site at that exposure, e.g. Roe Clett is site number 2.3. These site numbers are included as part of the site title for the purpose of data entry onto the MNCR database. The MNCR exposure scale has been used to assess exposure at a site in preference to the Ballantine scale mentioned.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1996 Harding Inner Firth of Forth sublittoral survey

Survey of the Inner Firth of Forth using grab samples. Carried out as part of an MSC thesis, with a view to re-introducing oysters to the Firth. The times at which samples were taken was not recorded during sampling. Thus, approximate times have been allocated to each site using regular time intervals. The tidal corrections, calculated from the time of sampling, are, therefore, also approximate. Further, it appears from plotting the site locations that samples were taken in the order of `Site Number`, rather than `Field Number` ie the field and site numbers have been entered in the wrong boxes. This has been corrected on survey and site forms and on the database, and the switch indicated on the habitat forms.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1984-85 McGuigan Plymouth Sound sublittoral nudibranch survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1995-97 DWT Yealm Head to Start Point sublittoral survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1994 DWT Beer Head to Chesil Cove (Lyme Bay) survey

This report forms part of a series of studies describing the environment of Lyme Bay on the south of Dorset and Devon, UK. The studies were commissioned as a prerequisite to exploration drilling for oil and gas within the bay by Kerr-McGee Oil (UK) plc and Partners. The study has been managed by Ambios Environmental Consultants Ltd. A nationally agreed protocol for quantitative or semi-quantitative sampling of boulder and cobble shores does not currently exist. Recognised techniques for rocky shore monitoring are not appropriate as many of the invertebrates on boulder and cobble shores hide beneath the boulders. The method adopted form this survey utilised a 10 minute timed search close to the time of low water (Smith, 1982). During the 10 minutes the shore was surveyed from just above the high water mark to the low water mark. If the boulders extended over the whole shore the survey was completed in two parts (upper and lower shore) with a 10 minute search in each part. At sites where boulders were only present on part of the shore, the survey was restricted to that zone. Boulders on a strip approximately 5 metres wide were turned over, invertebrates recorded and the boulders replaced. Any other material (eg strand line and wood) that might act as a refuge for invertebrates was also examined. NUmbers of invertebrates were recorded as accurately as possible, but some groups such as amphipods (sand hoppers) occured in such large numbers that only an estimate was possible. This semi-quantitative technique has been shown to be reproducible and produces valid results (Smith, 1982). Abundance scales based on numbers per unit area are not appropriate for this type of timed survey. The following abundance scale was adopted: Number counted in 10 minutes: 0..........Absent 1-3........Present 4-10.......Frequent 11-30......Common 31-100.....Abundant >100.......Super Abundant The objective of this survey was to provide a baseline against which to monitor and change in the diversity of fauna living on and under cobbles and boulders in the eastern part of Lyme Bay. Five sites were chosen, from Charmouth in the west to Fortuneswell (on the Isle of Portland) in the east. A total of 32 taxa were recorded from these sites. The number of taxa recorded at each site ranged from 3-15. It is suggested that the site with the lowest number of taxa may be affected by disturbance from holidaymakers, and that another site with a low number of taxa may be affected by pollution. Some groups that would have been expected in reasonable numbers were either absent (eg oligocheate worms) or present at very low densities (eg mussels and nemertean worms). None of the species recoreded is scarce or rare. Analysis of the data from these sites suggests that they should all be classified as being of 'Local' importance in conservation terms, but in some cases inclusion of data from other habitats at the site will alter the classification.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1994-95 DWT Exmouth to Chesil (Lyme Bay) survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1994 DWT St.George's Island (Cornwall) littoral survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1998 DWT Lyme Bay sublittoral rock survey

Detailed survey of the offshore reefs of Lyme Bay. Survey areas were previously identified as being subject to damage from mobile fishing gear (DWT, 1992). The areas were selected for this survey on the basis of the previous DWT survey and of anecdotal evidence from local fishermen and divers. Beer Home Ground (Beer Head to Pinhay Bay) is an area of predominantly mudstone reef which has been subject to much damage in the past. Lanes Ground (Pinhay Bay to Golden Cap) is an area of mixed boulders, cobbles and pebbles over coarse gravel, while Sawtooth Ledges (Golden Cap to West Bay) is a limestone reef system, very rich in rare and fragile species, in particular, the sunset coral, Leptopsammia pruvoti and Eunicella verrucosa.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1993 NHM Sullom Voe sublittoral survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1997 Unicomarine Hoy Sound and Shapinsay Sound sublittoral sediment survey

This survey was carried out as part of the Marine Nature Conservation Review (MNCR). The MNCR was started in 1987 by the Nature Conservancy Council and subsequent to the Environment Protection Act 1990, was undertaken by JNCC on behalf of the conservation agencies up to its completion in 1998. The MNCR was initiated to provide a comprehensive baseline of information on marine habitats and species, to aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance throughout Great Britain. Data collected through the MNCR was stored in the Marine Recorder database, and has been extracted from Marine Recorder to produce this dataset. For more details, see http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1596.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1987 University of Dundee Inganess Bay and Wideford Burn sublittoral survey

The grab survey showed that at the time Inganess Bay has very limited, largely wave-induced circulation with the central area of the bay being a depositing area where accumulation of additional material would be likely. This could lead to de-oxygenation of the sediment and water column with potentially damaging effects for any flora and fauna present. Looking at the Wideford Burn data it becomes obvious that the fish farm here is contributing 8-10 times more material than the natural content of the burn. Monitoring of the communities present will be a good indicator of how the fish farm effect the local area. Samples except from stations 1 & 2 were dominated by ampeliscid amphipods andpredatory polychaetes such as Lumbriconereis sp, Nephtys sp and Phyllodoce sp. There were relatively few tube dwellers and deposit feeders although the deposit feeder Ampharete sp was present in deeper stations. The samples were very similar for the most part but there was a tendency for an increase in diversity with depth. The communities were those of a muddy-sand environment but are unlike any of those recorded previously from Orcadian waters. Stations 17-20 showed a significantly greater diversity. These characteristics suggest that the bottom at present is organically-rich but at acceptable levels for the development of quite diverse communities: however, the limited water circulation may mean that the fauna could become radically altered by the addition of relatively small quantities of organic matter.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1990 NRA Kingsbridge Estuary survey

Four 0.01m2 cores were taken at each intertidal site and four 0.05m2 Van Veen Grabs at each subtidal site. The survey was carried out in September 1990 by the NRA South West Region. Samples were also taken for particle size analysis and organic carbon/nitrogen analysis.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1981 NRA Southampton Water sublittoral survey

Survey carrried out by the NRA as part of a long term monitoring programme (1974 - 1982 for these sites). Sublittoral sediments were sampled using a 0.1 m^2 Day Grab and two replicates were taken at each site. The data for the 1981 survey has been input as it represents the most recent of the data sets from the monitoring programme with all the sampling information present. Faunal data is available for a 1982 survey but there is no granulometric data or sediment description. All grid references have been approximated using the map provided in the report. For faunal data for the same sites in previous years see report by David Lowthion, 1982. (R2278).

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1991 NRA Southampton Water sublittoral survey

Grab samples were taken using a 0.1 m^2 Day Grab at three different sites in Southampton Water. Granulometric samples were also taken. An anchor dredge was used to sample the benthos at Selsey Bill but this has not been included as it provides only semi-quantitative data and is outside the boundaries of the area summary. N.B. Survey took place in April 1991. The first of the month has been given for input purposes.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Habitat point records from 1995 OPRU Milford Haven littoral rock monitoring

Thirty one transect sites were chosen on rocky shores in Milford Haven. Each transect had up to twenty one stations (mostly around twelve stations). The stations are at 60 cm height intervals down shore from a fixed datum but are not comparable between sites i.e. station five on site ten is not the same height as station five on site twenty. Numbers refer to the traditional seven point abundance scale (1=rare, 7=extremely abundant). Representative stations have been chosen for each site to define as habitat records. They are almost all 100% bedrock.

Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee