2004 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Loch nam Madadh marine features Site Condition Monitoring inaugeration survey

The purpose of this study was to initiate Site Condition Monitoring (SCM) of the Loch nam Madadh SAC qualifying features: large shallow inlet and bays, saline lagoons, intertidal and sublittoral reefs, intertidal sediment flats, and subtidal sandbanks. This survey was done to: (1) establish a baseline biological data set that would facilitate the assessment of the condition of the habitats in the future; and (2) to allow a judgement to be formed on the current condition of these habitats. The main approach taken to achieve these objectives was to perform a drop-down video survey of the biotopes of the SAC, concentrating on the sublittoral sediments, to characterise the infauna of the main sediment biotopes by means of grab and core sampling, and to perform surveys of the epibiota of rock, lagoon, maerl and Zostera biotopes along relocatable transects.本研究旨在针对洛赫南马达赫特别保育区（Loch nam Madadh SAC）的达标保育生境启动生境状况监测（Site Condition Monitoring, SCM）工作，该类生境包括大型浅水区入海口与海湾、咸水泻湖、潮间带及亚潮带礁群、潮间带沉积滩以及潮下沙坝。本次调查旨在达成两大核心目标：其一，建立基线生物数据集，为未来该区域生境状况的评估提供支撑；其二，形成对当前上述生境状况的科学研判。为实现上述目标，研究采用的主要技术手段包括：针对该特别保育区的各类生物群落生境（biotope）开展下放式水下视频调查，重点聚焦亚潮带沉积物；通过采泥抓斗与柱状岩芯采样手段，对主要沉积生物群落生境的底内生物（infauna）群落特征进行系统表征；同时沿可重置样带（relocatable transects），对岩生、泻湖、珊瑚藻礁（maerl）以及鳗草属（Zostera）群落生境的表生生物（epibiota）开展专项调查。