Cockle and Mussel Stock (Bird Food) Surveys in the Burry Inlet 2011
Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are strictly protected sites classified in accordance with Article 4 of the EC Birds Directive. They are classified for rare and vulnerable birds (as listed on Annex I of the Directive), and for regularly occurring migratory species. The Burry Inlet Special Protection Area (SPA) supports nationally and internationally important populations of wildfowl and waders. It also supports an important cockle fishery. The removal of cockles and the associated disturbance caused by fishing them needs to be balanced with bird food requirements. The aim of the project is to assess the food requirements of wading birds that over-winter in the Burry Inlet Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Data Collection is repeated annually. The purpose of this data capture was to provide data on stock abundance and distribution across the whole of the Burry Inlet. The data collected and its results will primarily be used for site monitoring and also for casework. In the future this data may be combined with data gathered on bird foraging behaviour, together with site specific data on bird numbers and used in an individual behaviour based model to predict the food requirements of a bird population.
- Identification
- Extent
- Distribution
- Quality
- Keywords
- Spatial Reference System
- Content
- Constraints
- Maintenance
- Metadata
Identification
- Identifier
- NRW_DS114765
- Alternative Title
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- Arolygon ar Gocos a Misglod (bwyd adar) ym Mhorth Tywyn o 2011
- Metadata Language
- English
- Lineage
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Approximately 400 cockle survey stations (on a grid system) surveyed, using GPS, 0.1m2 quadrats and a sieve of 2 mm mesh. Cockles retained in the sieve were measured and counted; enabling the production of cockle density maps and estimates of the total cockle populations of each area. Mussel beds in the Inlet were also surveyed in a similar way, and all mussels over 10 mm length in each 0.1m2 quadrat were measured and counted. This enabled the estimation of the total mussel populations of each bed. All data entry was subject to auto-validation and conditional formatting. Data was also checked by the project manager for errors. The data was put through a rigorous series of verification procedures to ensure that there were no inconsistencies between the field records, the shellfish measurements and the sub-sample records. Samples of the shellfish were analysed to measure wet weight, ash free dry weight and shell length; providing sufficient data to determine length: weight relationships and thereby calculate estimates of total weight of shellfish in the Inlet. In addition to the whole Inlet grid of cockle surveys stations (with 250m spacing) a trial was carried out in 2011 to assess the benefits of closer spacing between the stations. A grid of 49 stations with 100 m spacing was sampled, using the standard sampling methodology, in a sub-area of the north Inlet bed. The methodology for the data collection is based on West et al. (2004). The dataset builds on work initiated in 2004 as part of a wider assessment of Cockle and Mussel Stocks across three sites in Wales (The Dee Estuary, Traeth Lafan, Gwynedd and the Burry Inlet. Repeat surveys in the Burry were then carried out annually at the same time of year (Sept/Oct) between 2005 and 2009). There was no survey in 2010.
- Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
- 2011-04-30
Temporal Extent
- Begin date
- 2011-09-01
- End date
- 2011-09-26
- Topic category
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- Biota
Extent
Extent
- Geographic Extent
- SIR GAERFYRDDIN - CARMARTHENSHIRE
- Geographic Extent
- ABERTAWE - SWANSEA
Vertical Extent
- Medin Extent Keyword
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benthic boundary layer
Distribution
- Format Type and Description
-
-
Documents
Documents
()
- Specification
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[A] Raw data held in MS Excel and MapInfo [B] Summary statistics and calculations held in MS Excel [C] Report - MS Word and pdf
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Documents
Documents
()
Quality
Data quality
- Quality Scope
- Dataset
- Lineage
-
Approximately 400 cockle survey stations (on a grid system) surveyed, using GPS, 0.1m2 quadrats and a sieve of 2 mm mesh. Cockles retained in the sieve were measured and counted; enabling the production of cockle density maps and estimates of the total cockle populations of each area. Mussel beds in the Inlet were also surveyed in a similar way, and all mussels over 10 mm length in each 0.1m2 quadrat were measured and counted. This enabled the estimation of the total mussel populations of each bed. All data entry was subject to auto-validation and conditional formatting. Data was also checked by the project manager for errors. The data was put through a rigorous series of verification procedures to ensure that there were no inconsistencies between the field records, the shellfish measurements and the sub-sample records. Samples of the shellfish were analysed to measure wet weight, ash free dry weight and shell length; providing sufficient data to determine length: weight relationships and thereby calculate estimates of total weight of shellfish in the Inlet. In addition to the whole Inlet grid of cockle surveys stations (with 250m spacing) a trial was carried out in 2011 to assess the benefits of closer spacing between the stations. A grid of 49 stations with 100 m spacing was sampled, using the standard sampling methodology, in a sub-area of the north Inlet bed. The methodology for the data collection is based on West et al. (2004). The dataset builds on work initiated in 2004 as part of a wider assessment of Cockle and Mussel Stocks across three sites in Wales (The Dee Estuary, Traeth Lafan, Gwynedd and the Burry Inlet. Repeat surveys in the Burry were then carried out annually at the same time of year (Sept/Oct) between 2005 and 2009). There was no survey in 2010.
Keywords
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-01
Keywords
- NRW Thesaurus
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- cockle beds
- cockle fishery
- cockles
- cerastoderma edule (previously known as cardium edule)
- mussel beds
- mussel crumble
- mussels
- unionidae
- waders (see also specific species)
- oystercatchers
- haematopus ostralegus
- Knot
- Burry Inlet
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2023-12-31
Keywords
- SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary
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- Shellfish morphology, age and physiology
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Revision)
- 2021-01-06
Spatial Reference System
Content
Content Information
NRW Profile
Custom Elements
- NRW Related Title
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Burry Inlet cockle mortalities investigation 2009 - 2011
- NRW Related Title
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A survey of the cockle stocks in the Burry Inlet, South Wales
- NRW Related Title
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A survey of the cockle stocks in the Burry Inlet, South Wales
- NRW Related Title
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A survey of the cockle stocks in the Burry Inlet, South Wales
- NRW Related Title
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Surveys of cockle and mussel stocks in the Burry Inlet 2004 to 2008
- NRW Related Title
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Surveys of cockle and mussel stocks in the Burry Inlet 2009
- NRW Related Title
-
Surveys of cockle and mussel stocks in the Burry Inlet 2011
Constraints
Constraints
Limitations on Public Access and Use
- Restriction type
- Other restrictions
Access Constraints Directive
- Limitations
- no limitations
Access Constraints Text
- Other constraints
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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
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© CNC/NRW 2011. There are no use restrictions on this data. Recipients may re-use, reproduce, disseminate this data free of charge in any format or medium, provided they do so accurately, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright, and do not use it in a misleading context. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose, that dissemination or publishing does not result in duplication, and that it is fairly interpreted. Advice on interpretation should be sought where required. To avoid re-using old data, users should periodically obtain the latest version from the original source.
Metadata
Metadata
- File Identifier
- 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313134373635 XML
- Metadata Language
- English
- Parent Identifier
-
Cockle and Mussel Stock (bird food) Surveys in the Burry Inlet 2005 - 2009
NRW_DS108873
- Resource type
- Dataset
- Metadata Date
- 2024-05-31T09:38:30.279Z
- Metadata Standard Name
- NRW
- Metadata Standard Version
-
1.0