Alternate title

GB100275

Date (Creation)

2014-09-18

Citation identifier

598d1c72-7679-494b-b798-9d65ad02238e

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
Natural England		MarineGIData@naturalengland.org.uk	Owner

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

• Oceanographic geographical features
• Habitats and biotopes

GEMET - Concepts, version 4.1.3

• habitat
• biotope

Access constraints

Other restrictions

Other constraints

no limitations to public access

Use constraints

Other restrictions

Other constraints

Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License v4.0

Spatial representation type

Vector

Denominator

6000

Language

English

Topic category

• Biota
• Oceans

Begin date

2013-09-30

End date

2014-03-18

Reference system identifier

http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/3857

Distribution format

Name	Version
ESRI Shapefile	1
GML	3.2.1

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
OGC:WMS	https://ows.emodnet-seabedhabitats.eu/geoserver/emodnet_view_maplibrary/wms	gb100275
OGC:WFS	https://ows.emodnet-seabedhabitats.eu/geoserver/emodnet_open_maplibrary/wfs	gb100275
WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download	https://files.emodnet-seabedhabitats.eu/data/EMODnetSBHsurvey_GB100275.zip	EMODnet Seabed Habitats static download

Hierarchy level

Dataset

Statement

"A two Phased approach was adopted to gather data on both the littoral rock and sediment habitat types. Phase I was carried out in order to provide a preliminary habitat type map and to note any features of interest. This was achieved by examining geo-referenced aerial photography and subsequently ground-truthing defined habitats via field survey in order to establish the habitat types present. This information was then used to design the Phase II sampling strategy. Pre-determined transects were established at approximately 500m intervals throughout the rMCZ. The survey technique was to cover all the littoral habitat types within the study area by walking from one transect to another. When traversing broad expanses of sediment a zig zag route was taken to maximise coverage. Where changes in habitat type were observed, the perceived boundaries of the changes were marked on the aerial map and dGPS where necessary. For littoral rock all sampling was undertaken using appropriate guidelines. Upon arrival at a target transect all habitat types within were identified and recorded using the highest EUNIS classification level possible. For littoral sediment habitat types were assigned in the field by direct observation wherever possible (e.g. spade sample inspection and species field signs). Where the species present and resulting habitat type was not obvious (e.g. in those biotopes harbouring only sparse fauna), a 0.01m2 core of sediment was taken which was then analysed at the Ecospan laboratory. In Phase II for littoral rock the sample points were randomly generated in GIS, using the maps that were produced following the Phase I survey. A 0.25m2 quadrat was placed, as closely as possible to the randomly generated sample point at each station, and the abundance of fauna and flora was determined. Algal species were recorded using percentage cover. Fauna species were recorded using counts wherever possible or according to the SACFOR scale of abundance. In addition, detailed habitat descriptions using littoral habitat survey forms that included aspects such as substrate characteristics, width of habitat type, tidal height, features and modifiers were recorded. A photograph of each quadrat was taken as well as pictures up-shore and down-shore to show zonation. For Phase II littoral sediment 15 stations were sampled. At each station detailed habitat descriptions were recorded using habitat survey forms that included aspects such as substrate characteristics, interstitial salinity, features and modifiers. For the faunal analysis, three replicate 0.01m2 cores were taken to a depth of 15cm using a hand-held box corer. Each replicate was sieved and preserved. A fourth 0.01m2 core was taken for particle size analysis (PSA); a sub-sample of which was placed into a one litre plastic pot. All cores for both fauna and PSA were taken within an area of 1m2 at each station. All preserved fauna samples were delivered to APEM Ltd for full faunal identification and enumeration. PSA and contaminant samples were delivered to the NLS laboratory at Starcross for analysis. The data resulting from these surveys was recorded in two separate maps, one for littoral sediment and one for littoral rock. These maps were merged together, formatted by JNCC to meet the Data Exchange Format v4.1 and translated into EUNIS 2007 in February 2024."

Metadata

File identifier

598d1c72-7679-494b-b798-9d65ad02238e XML

Metadata language

English

Character set

UTF8

Hierarchy level

Dataset

Date stamp

2024-03-26T10:56:15.208Z

Metadata author

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
JNCC		emodnetseabedhabitats@jncc.gov.uk	Point of contact