Habitat point records from 1989 MNCR Whiteness Voe survey

Whiteness Voe was selected in 1987 as a Marine Consultation Area. The Voe was chosen as a representative site for one of the few voes in Shetland for which there was a presumption against fish farming. The seagrass beds and sediment-dwelling communities at the head of the voe were considered particulary important. The survey described here was undertaken to obtain more detailed information on the marine habitats and associated communities in the upper part of Whitness Voe and to use that information to further assess the nature conservation importance of the area. The work undertaken included surveys of the extent of seagrass Zostera marina and the description and mapping of sublittoral habitats and associated communities. Seven transects were surveyed using direct observation by diving and samples of sediment collected for analysis of infaunal communities from seven sites using a diver-operated suction sampler. One hundred and one taxa were recorded from in-situ surveys and 90 from the 0.1 m squared suction samples. Seven different habitats and associated communities were recognised. Species richness in upper Whiteness Voe was found to be high for such an enclosed area. The character of the habitats and associated communities was similar to only a very few other such sites investigated during NCC commissioned and other surveys in Shetland. The beds of seagrass Zostera marina were the most extensive known for Shetland. The 14 criteria used to assess marine nature conservation importance are discussed and a revised MCA citation proposed. Records currently considered sensitive have been removed from this dataset.

Whiteness Voe于1987年被选定为海洋咨询区域。该海湾因其对于养殖渔业存在反对意见而被选为代表性区域，代表了设得兰群岛为数不多的几个海湾之一。海湾入口处的海草床和底栖生物群落被认为尤为重要。本描述中所述的调查旨在获取关于Whiteness Voe上游海洋栖息地及其相关群落更为详细的信息，并利用这些信息进一步评估该区域在生物多样性保护方面的价值。所进行的工作包括对海草Zostera marina分布范围的调查、底栖栖息地及其相关群落的描述和制图。通过潜水直接观察和采用潜水员操作式抽吸采样器在七个地点采集底质样品，对七个横断面进行了调查。现场调查记录了101个物种，而0.1平方米的抽吸样品中记录了90个物种。识别出七种不同的栖息地和相关的群落。在如此封闭的区域中，Whiteness Voe的生物多样性丰富度之高令人瞩目。其栖息地和群落的特征与在设得兰群岛进行的由NCC委托和其他调查中研究过的其他非常有限的类似地点相似。海草Zostera marina的床层是设得兰群岛已知最广泛的。讨论了用于评估海洋生物多样性保护重要性的14项标准，并提出了修订后的海洋咨询区域引用。目前被认为敏感的记录已被从本数据集中移除。