Scottish Natural Heritage Research Report No. 1048 Connectivity of selected Priority Marine Features within and outwith the Scottish MPA network RESEARCH REPORT Research Report No. 1048 Connectivity of selected Priority Marine Features within and outwith the Scottish MPA network For further information on this report please contact: Morven Carruthers Scottish Natural Heritage Leachkin Road Great Glen House INVERNESS IV3 8NW Telephone: 01463 725018 E-mail:
[email protected] This report should be quoted as: Millar, H., O’Hara Murray, R., Gallego, A., Gormley, K. & Kent, F. 2019. Connectivity of selected Priority Marine Features within and outwith the Scottish MPA network. Scottish Natural Heritage Research Report No. 1048. This report, or any part of it, should not be reproduced without the permission of Scottish Natural Heritage. This permission will not be withheld unreasonably. The views expressed by the author(s) of this report should not be taken as the views and policies of Scottish Natural Heritage. © Scottish Natural Heritage 2019. RESEARCH REPORT Summary Connectivity of selected Priority Marine Features within and outwith the Scottish MPA network Research Report No. 1048 Project No: 116881 Contractor: Hannah Millar, Rory O’Hara Murray, Alejandro Gallego, Kate Gormley and Flora Kent Year of publication: 2019 Keywords connectivity; Priority Marine Features (PMFs); horse mussel beds; flame shell beds; Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); particle tracking; habitat suitability modelling Background Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designated for the protection and conservation of a range of species and habitats found in Scottish seas. Effective conservation action relies on understanding the linkages between protected features within MPAs and the relationship that they have with species and habitats outwith the network.