This document forms part of the Marine Monitoring Handbook the other sections or a complete download can be found at https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/ed51e7cc-3ef2-4d4f-bd3c-3d82ba87ad95 Marine Monitoring Handbook March 2001 Edited by Jon Davies (senior editor), John Baxter, Martin Bradley, David Connor, Janet Khan, Eleanor Murray, William Sanderson, Caroline Turnbull and Malcolm Vincent This document forms part of the Marine Monitoring Handbook the other sections or a complete download can be found at https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/ed51e7cc-3ef2-4d4f-bd3c-3d82ba87ad95 Contents Preface 7 Acknowledgements 9 Contact points for further advice 9 Preamble 11 Development of the Marine Monitoring Handbook 11 Future progress of the Marine Monitoring Handbook 11 Section 1 Background Malcolm Vincent and Jon Davies 13 Introduction 14 Legislative background for monitoring on SACs 15 The UK approach to SAC monitoring 16 The role of monitoring in judging favourable condition 17 Context of SAC monitoring within the Scheme of Management 22 Using data from existing monitoring programmes 23 Bibliography 25 Section 2 Establishing monitoring programmes for marine features Jon Davies 27 Introduction 28 What do I need to measure? 28 What is the most appropriate method? 37 How do I ensure my monitoring programme will measure any change accurately? 40 Assessing the condition of a feature 51 A checklist of basic errors 53 Bibliography 54 Section 3 Advice on establishing monitoring programmes for Annex I habitats Jon Davies 57 Introduction 60 Reefs 61 Estuaries 70 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time 79 Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide 87 5 This document forms part of the Marine Monitoring Handbook the other sections or a complete download can be found at https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/ed51e7cc-3ef2-4d4f-bd3c-3d82ba87ad95 Large shallow inlets and bays 94 Submerged or partly submerged sea caves 101 Lagoons 110 Section 4 Guidance for establishing monitoring programmes for some Annex II species Jon Davies 119 Introduction 121 Grey seal Halichoerus grypus 122 Common seal Phoca vitulina 125 Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus 129 Section 5 Advice on selecting appropriate monitoring techniques Jon Davies 133 Introduction 135 Monitoring spatial patterns 136 Monitoring biological composition 148 Future developments 161 Bibliography 161 Section 6 Procedural guidelines Caroline Turnbull and Jon Davies 163 6 6 Procedural guidelines Caroline Turnbull and Jon Davies The following table lists the techniques for which guidance will be available. The status column indi- cates the current stage of development for each procedural guideline. Those guidelines whose status is listed as in prep.’ or ‘planned’ are not included in the current version (March 01). Attribute Number Full title of guideline Summary title Status Extent 1-1 Intertidal resource mapping using aerial photographs Intertidal resource mapping finished 1-2 Fixed viewpoint photography Viewpoint photography finished 1-3 Seabed mapping using acoustic ground discrimination AGDS finished interpreted with ground truthing 1-4 The application of side scan sonar for seabed mapping Side scan sonar finished 1-5 Mosaicing side scan sonar images to map seabed Mosaicing sonar images in prep. features 1-6 Mapping extent using point samples Point sample mapping in prep. Satellite and airborne multispectral remote sensing Remote imaging planned Aerial photography and photogrammetry Air photo interpretation planned LIDAR LIDAR planned Physical properties 2-1 Measuring water quality parameters: clarity, Measuring water quality in prep. chemistry, density, salinity and temperature 2-2 Sediment profile imagery Sediment profile imagery finished 2-3 Undertaking a physical survey of littoral and Surveying sea caves finished sublittoral sea caves 2-4 Determining the structure and particle size Particle size analysis in prep. composition of sediment Routine monitoring of water chemistry parameters Water chemistry data planned using in situ data loggers loggers Analysing the chemical structure of marine sediments Sediment chemical analyses planned Measuring bathymetry using standard hydrographic Bathymetric mapping planned techniques 163 164 Marine Monitoring Handbook Attribute Number Full title of guideline Summary title Status Biotic composition Biotopes 3-1 In situ intertidal biotope recording Intertidal biotope ID finished 3-2 In situ survey of intertidal biotopes using abundance Intertidal ACE finished scales and checklists at exact locations (ACE surveys) 3-3 In situ survey of subtidal (epibiota) biotopes and Subtidal biotope ID finished species using diving techniques 3-4 Descriptive and quantitative surveys using remote ROV in prep. operated vehicles 3-5 Identifying biotopes using video recordings Drop-down video finished 3-6 Quantitative sampling of intertidal sediment species Intertidal core sampling finished using cores 3-7 In situ quantitative survey of subtidal epibiota using Subtidal quadrat sampling finished quadrat sampling techniques 3-8 Quantitative sampling of sublittoral sediment biotopes Sublittoral coring by diver finished and species using diver-operated cores 3-9 Quantitative sampling of sublittoral sediment biotopes Grab sampling finished and species using remote-operated grabs 3-10 Sampling marine benthos using suction samplers Suction sampling finished 3-11 Littoral monitoring using fixed quadrat photography Intertidal quadrat finished photography 3-12 Quantitative surveillance of sublittoral rock biotopes Sublittoral photography final draft and species using photographs 3-13 In situ surveys of sublittoral epibiota using hand-held Subtidal hand-held video finished video 3-14 In situ survey of sublittoral epibiota using towed Towed sledge finished sledge video and still photography Species 4-1 Sampling fish and demersal fish populations in Fish in subtidal rock habitats finished subtidal rock habitats 4-2 Recording benthic and demersal fish in dense Fish in vegetative cover finished vegetative cover 4-3 Sampling benthic and demersal fish populations on Fish on sediments finished sediments 4-4 Sampling fish in rockpools Fish in rockpools finished 4-5 Techniques for monitoring the abundance and Bottlenose dolphins draft behaviour of bottlenose dolphins Using the National biotope classification for planned monitoring Biological structure 5-1 Assessing the population structure of Modiolus Mollusc shell ageing in prep. modiolus reefs by shell ageing techniques Measuring the vertical distribution of species or Shore profiling planned biotopes using levelling Measuring spatial patterns using transect survey Transect survey planned techniques General dGPS finished 6-1 Positioning by differential GPS in near-shore tidal waters 6-2 Relocation of intertidal and subtidal sites Site relocation finished 6-3 Specimen collection, preservation and storage Specimen collection finished Procedural Guideline 1-1 Intertidal resource mapping using aerial photographs Francis Bunker, MarineSeen,1 Bob Foster-Smith, SeaMap2 and James Perrins, exeGesIS SDM Ltd3 Background Shore mapping aims to create maps showing the distribution of biotopes along with associated informa- tion, such as the occurrence of rare species, details of habitat, etc. Biotopes are located on the shore and matched to features shown on recent colour aerial photographs (corrected to allow an Ordnance Survey grid overlay). The biotope boundaries are then defined on the photograph (as ‘polygons’) and target notes made on biotopes and features of interest together with detailed quantitative data if required. Integral to the methodology is the collating of the biological data, together with aerial photographs and digitised TM TM 1:10,000 OS maps on a PC-based Geographical Information System (GIS) such as MapInfo or ArcView (ideally linked to a database). The precise methodology varies slightly between workers, but generally follows that described in Foster-Smith and Bunker (1997) and Wyn et al. (2000). Shore biotopes are classified according to the national classification (Connor et al. 1997); however, it is important to recognise and properly describe the regional character and variants of biotopes in each area of study. Maps may be displayed in a variety of ways, depending on the end-user requirements, either using life form colours (Foster-Smith and Bunker 1997) or biotope complex colours (Connor et al. 1997). Perrins and Bunker (1998) discuss the merits of presenting the same map in different ways. Shore mapping is primarily designed to record the broad-scale distribution of biotopes for baseline mapping. However, following trials on rocky shores oiled by the Sea Empress spill, Bunker and Bunker (1998) concluded that the method also has a useful role in surveillance studies and in the planning of monitoring strategies. A useful discussion of the limitations of shore mapping in monitoring sediment biotopes is given in Perrins and Bunker (1998). A study of shores in Pembrokeshire, Wales affected by the Sea Empress oil spill provided examples of how large-scale changes over time were detected by detailed shore mapping and target noting (Bunker and Bunker 1998). Figure 1 shows biotope maps of a limestone shore approximately 6 months and 17 months after the spill. These maps are coloured according to life form (Foster-Smith and Bunker 1997) and show biotopes classified according to Connor et al. (1997). Local variants of biotopes were recognised in order to describe particular characteristics of the shore, and