Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra) Infaunal Data Collected During Academic Research Projects
Carmarthen Bay, an extensive, shallow embayment off the south coast of Wales, UK, encompasses a wide range of rich and diverse coastal and marine habitats. Carmarthen Bay is an internationally important wintering ground for the Common Scoter duck (Melanitta nigra) and is widely regarded as the most important such site in the UK causing the site to be proposed as a Special Protection Area (pSPA) under the EC Birds Directive. The Common Scoter is strongly migratory and often travels considerable distances over land making brief stop-overs on inland waters. Its diet consists predominantly of molluscs, especially during the winter, although it occasionally takes other aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans (e.g. barnacles and shrimps), worms, echinoderms, isopods, amphipods and insects (e.g. midges and caddis flies) as well as small fish and fish eggs. The large concentrations of this species that occur during the moulting period and in winter are highly vulnerable to oil spills, human disturbance and the degradation of food resources as a result of oil exploration. The need for a comprehensive baseline survey of the macro fauna communities of Carmarthen Bay became a priority for government agencies such as the Countryside Council for Wales in the wake of the Sea Empress oil spill February 1996. The long-term presence of certain infaunal species and the stability of the areas populations of the species may be a factor in the importance of the Carmarthen Bay is an internationally important overwintering site for the common scoter. This dataset consists of an extensive series of surveys of the macrofauna around Carmarthen Bay and was collated to identify environmental and / or biotic conditions relating to areas where scoter number were high or low. The majority of this dataset is data generated as part of a Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) funded PhD for the University of Wales Swansea known as \Carmarthen Bay infauna scoter project\". It also includes data related to a University of Wales Swansea MSc Environmental biology dissertation entitled 'Common Scoter Melanitta nigra in their wintering habitats; an investigation into the factors influencing their finer scale distribution'. Data was collected by students with CCW involvement or supervision."
- Identification
- Extent
- Distribution
- Quality
- Keywords
- Spatial Reference System
- Content
- Constraints
- Maintenance
- Metadata
Identification
- Identifier
- NRW_DS111793
- Alternative Title
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- Data am for-hwyaid duon a gasglwyd yn ystod prosiectau ymchwil graddedigion
- Metadata Language
- English
- Lineage
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This is a collation of data from various student projects. The baseline survey of Carmarthen Bay was carried out from the 1st to the 3 June 1998 using the RV Prince Madog (School of Ocean sciences, University of Bangor Wales). This stratified survey consisted of 29 quantitative (three replica grabs sieved through a 0.5 mm mesh) and 31 qualitative (single grabs sieved through a 1.0 mm mesh) stations. These grab samples were also used in sediment analysis and organic content analyses. A further eight qualitative beam trawls were taken to assess populations of large epifauna. To aid the interpretation of the macrofauna data, contour maps illustrating the physical environment the be produced from a large sedimentary and environmental dataset. In addition to this the interpolated grid files which form base sis of the contour plots of hydrographic and sedimentary environment Carmarthen Bay produced using the natural neighbour interpolation model (Voronoi diagram). These results are all presented in full details in the following PhD Thesis: A.P Woolmer 2003. The benthic ecology of Carmarthen Bay. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Wales, Swansea / Countryside Council for Wales Marine Monitoring Report No: 10, 374pp.
- Additional Information
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There are three Interim Reports available and the full PhD Thesis from the Natural Resources Wales Library. See Related Titles for more information.
- Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
- 2004-12-31
Extent
Extent
- Geographic Extent
- Wales (WLS)
))
Vertical Extent
- Medin Extent Keyword
- benthic boundary layer
Distribution
- Format Type and Description
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Documents
()
- Specification
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[A] Various including reports in PDF and Word format [B] MapInfo tab files [C] excel spreadsheets [D] .jpeg images.
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Documents
()
Quality
Data quality
- Quality Scope
- Dataset
- Lineage
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This is a collation of data from various student projects. The baseline survey of Carmarthen Bay was carried out from the 1st to the 3 June 1998 using the RV Prince Madog (School of Ocean sciences, University of Bangor Wales). This stratified survey consisted of 29 quantitative (three replica grabs sieved through a 0.5 mm mesh) and 31 qualitative (single grabs sieved through a 1.0 mm mesh) stations. These grab samples were also used in sediment analysis and organic content analyses. A further eight qualitative beam trawls were taken to assess populations of large epifauna. To aid the interpretation of the macrofauna data, contour maps illustrating the physical environment the be produced from a large sedimentary and environmental dataset. In addition to this the interpolated grid files which form base sis of the contour plots of hydrographic and sedimentary environment Carmarthen Bay produced using the natural neighbour interpolation model (Voronoi diagram). These results are all presented in full details in the following PhD Thesis: A.P Woolmer 2003. The benthic ecology of Carmarthen Bay. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Wales, Swansea / Countryside Council for Wales Marine Monitoring Report No: 10, 374pp.
Keywords
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-01
Keywords
- NRW Thesaurus
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- common scoter (black scoter)
- melanitta nigra
- Infauna
- Carmarthen Bay
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2023-12-31
Keywords
- SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary
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- Bird taxonomy-related abundance per unit area of surface
- 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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The benthic ecology of Carmarthen Bay
- NRW Related Title
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Aerial survey of the wintering scoter in Carmarthen and Cardigan Bays
- NRW Related Title
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Carmarthen Bay infauna scoter project : final report March 2001
- NRW Related Title
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Carmarthen Bay infauna scoter project : progress report 1999
- NRW Related Title
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Carmarthen Bay infauna scoter project : progress report 2000
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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This data is owned partly by CCW and partly by the University of Wales Swansea/Lucy Smith. There are no access restrictions to this data. CCW may release, publish or disseminated it freely. However, there are third party use restrictions.
Use Constraints
- Use constraints type
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
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© CCGC/CCW and various third party recorders 2004. CCW owns the copyright of the collation, but the ownership of the records themselves rests with the originator. 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 the copyright of CCW/third party recorders 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
- 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313131373933 XML
- Metadata Language
- English
- Resource type
- Dataset
- Metadata Date
- 2024-12-09T12:37:46.018Z
- Metadata Standard Name
- NRW
- Metadata Standard Version
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1.0