Intertidal Monitoring of Sediment Flats in Menai Strait and Conwy Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in 2008

Menai Strait and Conwy Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is designated for five Annex 1 habitats: Sandbanks which are slightly covered by sea water all the time, Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide, Reefs, Large shallow inlets and bays and Submerged or partially submerged sea caves. Of these mudflats, sandflats and reefs are the main habitats of interest within intertidal areas of Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC. Conservation objectives for these habitats are given in the Regulation 33 advice for the SAC. The overriding objective of the survey was to establish the reference condition for the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC and develop monitoring stations for recording the level of natural change. This would enable the development of conservation objectives for the appropriate management of the features of the SAC.

Identifier: NRW_DS112290

Alternative Title

2008 CCW / ASML Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC Foryd Bay survey MRCCW16300000019
Gwaith monitro rhynglanwol ar wastadeddau gwaddodion yn ACA Y Fenai a Bae Conwy yn 2008

Metadata Language: English

Lineage: The Grid Maker tool in the MapInfo GIS package was used to create a grid of 47 stations across the defined survey area, with a north-south distance of 200 m between points and an east-west distance of 330 m. This gave the most appropriate coverage of the flats to enable sampling of the range of biotopes on the Phase 1 map with the manpower available. On site, each survey pair was allocated a section of the grid to survey and GPS units were used to navigate to each station in turn. Where possible, a single 0.01 m2 core sample was taken at each survey station. If the station happened to lie on a rocky outcrop, in a drainage channel or in a pool greater than ~5 cm deep, then a core sample was not taken. The core sample was sieved using a 0.5 mm mesh sieve in a nearby pool. The contents of the sieve were then inspected closely, with the aid of a magnifying glass. All visible animals were identified and counted, to the extent achievable, by the most experienced surveyor in the pair. Phase 1 surveys of intertidal habitats in the SAC were carried out in the SAC between 1999 and 2003 (Brazier et al. 2007), providing detailed mapping of the intertidal biotopes with some information on characterizing species. Considerable historical data exists on the intertidal habitats and communities present at many sites in the SAC, including Y Foryd, Traeth Lafan and the tide-swept boulder shores of the Menai Strait. Methodological trials and surveys, designed for the purposes of SAC monitoring, have been carried out in recent years. Of particular relevance to this report are the surveys of tide-swept boulder biotopes at sites on the Menai Strait (Boyes and Allen 2004, Mazik et al. 2005) and a report of boulder monitoring stations established by ASML/CCW in 2007 (Moore 2008), and a survey of the Zostera noltii bed in Y Foryd (Boyes, Proctor and Mitchell 2004). All survey completed by professional and experienced marine field surveyors. Data quality and confidence considered high.

Dataset Reference Date (Publication): 2010-06-30

Temporal Extent

Begin date: 2008-06-02

End date: 2008-06-06

Topic category

Biota

Owner

Natural Resources Wales (NRW)

Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales

http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en

Originator

CCW Marine Monitoring Team

Countryside Council for Wales, Maes y Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW

http://naturalresourceswales.gov.uk/splash?orig=/

Originator

Aquatic Survey and Monitoring Ltd (ASML)

Whitfield Brow, Bollihope, Frosterley, Weardale, Co. Durham, DL13 2SZ, England

http://www.marineseen.com/aquatic_survey_and_monitoring.htm

Extent

Geographic Extent: SIR YNYS MON - ISLE OF ANGLESEY

Vertical Extent

Medin Extent Keyword: benthic boundary layer

Format Type and Description

Documents Documents ()

Specification

[A] Digital versions of the contract report: Microsoft Word document(s); and an equivalent Adobe Portable Document Format version. [B] Excel spreadsheets of data - MS and CB 2008 Foryd Bay Data V2.xls. Translations from the above MapInfo Tables are retained in ESRI Shapefile and MapInfo Interchange formats [C] Marine Recorder file. [D] A series of MapInfo GIS layers in MapInfo Native format (Tables) MS and CB 2008 Core Sample Details.Tab and MS and CB 2008 Foryd Bay Data V2.Tab [E] Photographs of the site, stations and core contents.

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
Degree: false

Lineage: The Grid Maker tool in the MapInfo GIS package was used to create a grid of 47 stations across the defined survey area, with a north-south distance of 200 m between points and an east-west distance of 330 m. This gave the most appropriate coverage of the flats to enable sampling of the range of biotopes on the Phase 1 map with the manpower available. On site, each survey pair was allocated a section of the grid to survey and GPS units were used to navigate to each station in turn. Where possible, a single 0.01 m2 core sample was taken at each survey station. If the station happened to lie on a rocky outcrop, in a drainage channel or in a pool greater than ~5 cm deep, then a core sample was not taken. The core sample was sieved using a 0.5 mm mesh sieve in a nearby pool. The contents of the sieve were then inspected closely, with the aid of a magnifying glass. All visible animals were identified and counted, to the extent achievable, by the most experienced surveyor in the pair. Phase 1 surveys of intertidal habitats in the SAC were carried out in the SAC between 1999 and 2003 (Brazier et al. 2007), providing detailed mapping of the intertidal biotopes with some information on characterizing species. Considerable historical data exists on the intertidal habitats and communities present at many sites in the SAC, including Y Foryd, Traeth Lafan and the tide-swept boulder shores of the Menai Strait. Methodological trials and surveys, designed for the purposes of SAC monitoring, have been carried out in recent years. Of particular relevance to this report are the surveys of tide-swept boulder biotopes at sites on the Menai Strait (Boyes and Allen 2004, Mazik et al. 2005) and a report of boulder monitoring stations established by ASML/CCW in 2007 (Moore 2008), and a survey of the Zostera noltii bed in Y Foryd (Boyes, Proctor and Mitchell 2004). All survey completed by professional and experienced marine field surveyors. Data quality and confidence considered high.

Keywords

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2008-06-01

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.httpinspireeceuropaeutheme-theme

Keywords

NRW Thesaurus

intertidal
sediment flats
eelgrass
zostera marina
zostera angustifolia
zostera
seagrasses (see also potamogetonaceae and hydrocharitaceae)
Infauna

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Publication): 2023-12-31

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-keywords

Keywords

SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary

Zoobenthos generic abundance
Zoobenthos taxonomy-related counts
Habitat extent

Type: Theme

Citation

Date (Revision): 2021-01-06

Code: geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.rdf+xml

Code: British National Grid (EPSG::27700)

Content Information

NRW Profile

Custom Elements

NRW Related Title: Intertidal SAC monitoring Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC : June 2009

NRW Related Title: Intertidal SAC monitoring Menai Strait and Conwy Bay SAC June 2008

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.

Metadata

File Identifier: 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313132323930 XML

Metadata Language: English

Parent Identifier: Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Marine Benthic Species and Habitat Collation Held in Marine Recorder
NRW_DS114501

Resource type: Dataset

Metadata Date: 2024-05-31T09:40:25.046Z

Metadata Standard Name: NRW

Metadata Standard Version: 1.0

pointOfContact

Natural Resources Wales (NRW)

Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales

http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en

Publishing Body

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Full access to the portal and metadata.

Intertidal Monitoring of Sediment Flats in Menai Strait and Conwy Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in 2008

Identification

Temporal Extent

Extent

Extent

Vertical Extent

Distribution

Quality

Data quality

Keywords

Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Keywords

Citation

Spatial Reference System

Content

Content Information

NRW Profile

Custom Elements

Constraints

Constraints

Limitations on Public Access and Use

Access Constraints Directive

Access Constraints Text

Use Constraints

Metadata

Metadata

Publishing Body