Intertidal Monitoring of Piddock Beds in Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC) 2009

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. This data was captured to support a number of reporting requirements. These were namely reporting on conservation status of the piddock feature; mapping the boundary of the clay and peat exposures; to record the density of the piddock holes; and evaluate the best sampling methods. Carmarthen Bay SAC was designated for five Annex I intertidal habitat features: Estuaries; Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide; Large shallow inlets and bays; Salicornia and other annuals colonising mud and sand; Atlantic salt meadows (Glauco- Puccinellietalia maritimae). Specific areas of interest include the peat and clay beds burrowed by piddocks and the monitoring aimed to map the boundary of the clay/peat exposures, record the density of the piddock holes and evaluate the best sampling methods.

Identification

Identifier
NRW_DS114942
Alternative Title
  • 2009 CCW / ASML Carmarthen Bay SAC intertidal piddock bed monitoring (MRCCW16300000022)
Metadata Language
English
Lineage

The bed was divided into three blocks (western, eastern, central) and to sample randomly thrown quadrats (0.25 m2) within each block. In the event, it was found that the piddock distribution was clumped along the edges of channels and thus the randomly thrown quadrats were missing most of the piddocks. Because of this, part of the way through the exercise the method was adapted to targeting areas of piddock holes rather than sampling the whole clay exposure. In addition to the quadrat work, a number of timed counts of piddock holes were also carried out, with the intention of making a comparison between the two approaches to help with planning future monitoring work. Piddock beds were first mapped at Marros Sands near Pendine and Whiteford Point on the north Gower coast during Phase 1 surveys carried out by CCW in 2000.The piddock beds are vulnerable to shifting beach sand, a natural phenomenon. No beds were found at Whiteford Point in 2009, although monitored previously in 2004. Data quality and confidence is considered high as all surveys were completed by professional and experienced marine field surveyors. Piddock beds were first mapped at Marros Sands near Pendine and Whiteford Point on the north Gower coast during Phase 1 surveys carried out by CCW in 2000.
Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
2012-06-30

Temporal Extent

Begin date
2009-09-20
End date
2009-09-21
 
Topic category
  • Biota
Owner
  Natural Resources Wales (NRW) -
Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales
http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en
Originator
  Countryside Council for Wales (CCW). Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems Group -
Maes y Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales
http://www.ccw.gov.uk
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

Extent

Geographic Extent
SIR GAERFYRDDIN - CARMARTHENSHIRE
N
W
E
S
Map representing the geographic extent of the dataset


 

Vertical Extent

Medin Extent Keyword

benthic boundary layer
 
 

Distribution

Format Type and Description
  • Database ( Marine Recorder Online - Version 2.09.02 )

    Specification

    Marine Recorder

 

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 bed was divided into three blocks (western, eastern, central) and to sample randomly thrown quadrats (0.25 m2) within each block. In the event, it was found that the piddock distribution was clumped along the edges of channels and thus the randomly thrown quadrats were missing most of the piddocks. Because of this, part of the way through the exercise the method was adapted to targeting areas of piddock holes rather than sampling the whole clay exposure. In addition to the quadrat work, a number of timed counts of piddock holes were also carried out, with the intention of making a comparison between the two approaches to help with planning future monitoring work. Piddock beds were first mapped at Marros Sands near Pendine and Whiteford Point on the north Gower coast during Phase 1 surveys carried out by CCW in 2000.The piddock beds are vulnerable to shifting beach sand, a natural phenomenon. No beds were found at Whiteford Point in 2009, although monitored previously in 2004. Data quality and confidence is considered high as all surveys were completed by professional and experienced marine field surveyors. Piddock beds were first mapped at Marros Sands near Pendine and Whiteford Point on the north Gower coast during Phase 1 surveys carried out by CCW in 2000.
 

Keywords

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
  • Marine Recorder
  • Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries SAC
  • Specialised biotope Piddocks
Type
Theme

Citation

Date (Publication)
2026-10-19
Code
geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-keywords

Keywords

SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary
Type
Theme

Citation

Date (Publication)
2024-06-19
Code
geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.rdf+xml
 

Spatial Reference System

Code
British National Grid (EPSG::27700)
 

Content

Content Information

NRW Profile

Custom Elements

NRW Related Title

Intertidal SAC monitoring Carmarthen Bay SAC September 2009
 

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
4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313134393432 XML
Metadata Language
English
Parent Identifier
Across Wales Intertidal Monitoring Survey

NRW_DS109834
Resource type
Dataset
Metadata Date
2026-10-20T10:33:39.89Z
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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