Intertidal Monitoring of Sabellaria alveolata in Cardigan Bay Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) 2004
The Habitats Directive establishes that the management of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) should aim to achieve the favourable conservation status of habitat and species features listed within its Annex I and Annex II. For SACs in Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) is therefore required to report on a regular basis on whether features are in favourable conservation status. Honeycomb reef worm Sabellaria alveolata is a sedentary, tube-dwelling polychaete most commonly found on rocky substrata in the lower shore and shallow subtidal zones of marine and estuarine areas. The honeycomb reef worm is a UK BAP Priority Habitat (BAP habitats are now Habitats of Principal Importance/Priority Habitats). Honeycomb worms build tubes from sand and shell fragments. They are found on the lower part of rocky seashores but they also need a sand supply for tube-building. Dense congregations of Sabellaria alveolata tubes form large biogenic reef structures, which can be up to a metre thick and take the form of hummocks, sheets or more massive formations. The purpose of this data capture was to identify specific survey locations and to measure the extent of Sabellaria alveolata reef along agreed transects, and assess the quality of Sabellaria alveolata reef present and map and make notes on any sightings of wireweed Sargassum muticum. Confidence in this dataset is high as surveys were undertaken by experienced staff.
- Identification
- Extent
- Distribution
- Quality
- Keywords
- Spatial Reference System
- Content
- Constraints
- Maintenance
- Metadata
Identification
- Identifier
- NRW_DS101995
- Alternative Title
-
- 2004 CCW / IECS Cardigan Bay SAC Sabellaria alveolata reef monitoring (MRCCW3020000000F)
- Metadata Language
- English
- Lineage
-
The four areas of S. alveolata within the Cardigan Bay intertidal area were surveyed in September 2004, working two hours either side of low water. Transect lines were mapped using an ORMTEC GIS412 portable dGPS, with software and logger developed specifically for this type of mapping. This system provides continuous or point logging facilities using the IRLA network, providing a temporal repeatable accuracy of between 1-5m with the data subsequently downloaded onto a PC for input into GIS. In order to achieve repeatability in survey techniques between sites, a working protocol was used.
- Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
- 2008-12-31
Temporal Extent
- Begin date
- 2004-09-01
- End date
- 2004-09-03
- Topic category
-
- Biota
Extent
Extent
- Geographic Extent
- Caernarvonshire (49)
- Geographic Extent
- Merionethshire (48)
- Geographic Extent
- SIR CEREDIGION - CEREDIGION
- Geographic Extent
- Wales (WLS)
))
Vertical Extent
- Medin Extent Keyword
-
benthic boundary layer
Distribution
- Format Type and Description
-
-
Database
(
Marine Recorder Online - Version 2.09.02
)
- Specification
-
Marine Recorder
-
Database
(
Marine Recorder Online - Version 2.09.02
)
Quality
Data quality
- Quality Scope
- Dataset
- Conformity
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
- Explanation
-
This dataset has not been assessed for conformance to the referenced INSPIRE regulation.
- Degree
- false
- Lineage
-
The four areas of S. alveolata within the Cardigan Bay intertidal area were surveyed in September 2004, working two hours either side of low water. Transect lines were mapped using an ORMTEC GIS412 portable dGPS, with software and logger developed specifically for this type of mapping. This system provides continuous or point logging facilities using the IRLA network, providing a temporal repeatable accuracy of between 1-5m with the data subsequently downloaded onto a PC for input into GIS. In order to achieve repeatability in survey techniques between sites, a working protocol was used.
Keywords
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-01
Keywords
-
NRW Thesaurus
-
- Cardigan Bay SAC
- Marine Recorder
- Sabellaria reef wide scale
- Sabellaria reef detail
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2026-08-27
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2024-06-19
Spatial Reference System
Content
Content Information
NRW Profile
Custom Elements
- NRW Related Title
-
Intertidal monitoring of sabellaria alveolata reefs in Cardigan Bay SAC in 2004
Constraints
Constraints
Limitations on Public Access and Use
- Restriction type
- Other restrictions
Access Constraints Directive
- Limitations
- no limitations
Access Constraints Text
- Other constraints
-
There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely.
Use Constraints
- Use constraints type
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
-
© CNC/NRW Data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is done so, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose.
Attribution Statement
- Other constraints
-
Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved.
Licence
- Other constraints
- Open Government Licence
Metadata
Metadata
- File Identifier
- 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313031393935 XML
- Metadata Language
- English
- Parent Identifier
-
Across Wales Intertidal Monitoring Survey
NRW_DS109834
- Resource type
- Dataset
- Metadata Date
- 2026-10-19T14:31:58.34Z
- Metadata Standard Name
- NRW
- Metadata Standard Version
-
1.0