Intertidal Monitoring of Tide-swept Boulder Habitat in the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) 2008
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. Rocky reefs (hard substrata) are of considerable conservation importance due the high diversity of the communities they support and, as such, are included under Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) (Hill et al. 1998). They are an abundant feature of the UK coastline, especially on western coasts where exposed bedrock predominates. In some areas, the substratum may be composed entirely of bedrock whilst on less steeply shelving / gently shelving shores, large boulders, cobbles, gravel, sand and mud may be present (Hill et al., 1998). Rocky reefs are extremely variable in terms of their structure and the communities they support with reef communities being influenced by the type of rock and the microhabitats available, sediment availability, degree of shelter, shore height, and temperature regime. Communities in exposed areas are usually dominated by sponges, anemones and foliose red algae with ascidians, delicate filamentous algae and fan worms being more common in sheltered areas (JNCC, 2005).
- Identification
- Extent
- Distribution
- Quality
- Keywords
- Spatial Reference System
- Content
- Constraints
- Maintenance
- Metadata
Identification
- Identifier
- NRW_DS112289
- Alternative Title
-
- 2008 CCW / ASML Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC Boulder monitoring Britannia Bridge and Felinheli (MRCCW16300000018)
- Metadata Language
- English
- Lineage
-
The following procedure was employed to compile the species richness of the boulders: a measure of the extent of the underboulder biotope community was attempted with the surveyors hopping in and out of the boat to carry out the survey of extent, boulders were chosen along the same shore height (MLW - MSLW) and within close proximity to each other (where possible), boulders were only selected if they fitted within a 0.5 m x 0.5 m quadrat. These intermediate sized boulders are known to carry the highest diversity, with smaller stones being overturned too often to acquire a stable community whilst larger boulders develop a single-species dominance (Liddiard et al 1989), a GPS point was taken of each boulder, a photograph was taken of the boulder upper surface then a species list taken, The boulder was then turned, photographed and a species list taken from the underside of the boulder. All survey completed by professional and experienced marine field surveyors. Data quality and confidence considered high.
- Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-06
Temporal Extent
- Begin date
- 2008-06-01
- End date
- 2008-06-06
- Topic category
-
- Biota
Extent
Extent
- Geographic Extent
- SIR YNYS MON - ISLE OF ANGLESEY
))
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 following procedure was employed to compile the species richness of the boulders: a measure of the extent of the underboulder biotope community was attempted with the surveyors hopping in and out of the boat to carry out the survey of extent, boulders were chosen along the same shore height (MLW - MSLW) and within close proximity to each other (where possible), boulders were only selected if they fitted within a 0.5 m x 0.5 m quadrat. These intermediate sized boulders are known to carry the highest diversity, with smaller stones being overturned too often to acquire a stable community whilst larger boulders develop a single-species dominance (Liddiard et al 1989), a GPS point was taken of each boulder, a photograph was taken of the boulder upper surface then a species list taken, The boulder was then turned, photographed and a species list taken from the underside of the boulder. All survey completed by professional and experienced marine field surveyors. Data quality and confidence considered high.
Keywords
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-01
Keywords
-
NRW Thesaurus
-
- Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC
- boulders
- Marine Recorder
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2026-08-27
Keywords
Spatial Reference System
Content
Content Information
NRW Profile
Custom Elements
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
- 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313132323839 XML
- Metadata Language
- English
- Parent Identifier
-
Across Wales Intertidal Monitoring Survey
NRW_DS109834
- Resource type
- Dataset
- Metadata Date
- 2026-10-19T09:54:35.163Z
- Metadata Standard Name
- NRW
- Metadata Standard Version
-
1.0