Species point records from 1982 MBNE Farne Islands sublittoral survey

This report, commisioned by the NCC, outlines the findings of the first year's pilot survey of a three year comprehensive survey of the marine fauna of the Farne Islands being carried out by Marine Biology North-East (MBNE). The Farne Islands are best known for their large populations of breeding sea-birds, and as a grey seal breeding area. They are also of interest from a marine biological point of view being perhaps the most southerly point on the English coast of the North Sea where rocky shores, shelving rapidly into deep, reasonably clear water, are encountered. Further south, the sublittoral commonly shelves only gently and the sea is generally turbid, clearing only after prolonged periods of calm weather. The offshore position of the Farne Islands, particularly the outer islands, allows a marked degree of water movement (both wave action and tidal streams) to occur without the severe increase in turbidity and consequent reduction in light penetration which afflicts most of the coast south of Berwick. As a result, certain species are present at the Farne Islands which are near their southern limits on the east coast and otherwise not known from north-east England, for instance the Devonshire cup coral, Caryophyllia smithii. Together with St Abb's Head, the Farne Islands provide some of the best diving and most spectacular marine life in the north-east. The marine life of St Abb's has been the subject of several recent studies, but that of the Farnes has been little studied apart from in the littoral zone. MBNE decided, for this reason, to embark on this long term study of these islands. During the three year survey period, specimens will be collected and photographed by SCUBA divers and collection supplimented by collection on the shore. Specimens will be preserved, identified with the aid of specialist taxonomists where necessary and a labelled collection deposited in the Hancock Museum, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A publication of a check-list of the marine fauna by taxonomic group is to be produced, with notes on the ecology of the species (abundance, preferred habitats, depth distribution etc). There will be a compilation of a dossier of photographs of the species collected, and a poster display of the Farne Islands marine life for visitors to Seahouses and the Farne Islands. This preliminary report outlines dives carried out and sites visited on the outer Farnes in 1982. Full site descriptions are given together with a list of faunal specimens collected. Previous records of marine animals recorded from the Farnes are listed, as there are about 60 new and previously unpublised records for the islands from the 1982 MBNE study derived from collected and photographed species. A list of 100 photographs collected for the Farne Islands sublittoral survey dossier is also provided. (These slides are held by the NCC at Huntingdon, copies also held by the MBNE and NCC region). The report recommends other sites for investigation, including the Inner Farnes, to give a balanced view of the island's marine life, although there is still much to do at the 1982 sites. It notes that it is hoped to carry out some shore surveys in 1983, such as were carried out during previous studies in the 1960's. It is suggested that future work on the Farnes by MBNE might usefully concentrate on certain groups of animals and study their distribution and abundance with respect to both depth and substrate type. Seasonal changes at particular sites would be interesting to study, and sections of rock face could be marked and photographed and studied from month to month. The report concludes that the 1982 pilot study achieved its objectives and should provide an excellent basis for further marine biological work at the Farnes by Marine Biology North-East in collaboration with the Underwater Conservation Society. Records currently considered sensitive have been removed from this dataset.

本报告由NCC委托，概述了由东北海洋生物学研究所（Marine Biology North-East，简称MBNE）进行的为期三年的综合调查首年试点调查的发现。远岛以其繁殖的海鸟大量种群以及作为灰海豹的繁殖区而闻名。从海洋生物学角度来看，它们可能是英格兰北海海岸最南端的地方，在这里，岩石海岸迅速倾斜至较深且相对清澈的水域。向南进一步，海底地形通常仅轻微倾斜，海水通常浑浊，仅在长期平静的天气后才会变得清澈。远岛的离岸位置，尤其是外岛，允许存在显著的水流运动（包括波浪作用和潮流），而不会像贝里克以南的大部分海岸那样导致浑浊度急剧增加，从而减少光透射。因此，某些物种存在于远岛，这些物种在东海岸的南部极限附近，在其他方面则不出现在东北英格兰，例如德文郡珊瑚（Devonshire cup coral，Caryophyllia smithii）。与圣艾伯斯角（St Abb's Head）一起，远岛提供了东北部一些最佳的潜水和最壮观的海洋生物。圣艾伯斯的海洋生物已成为近期研究的主题，但远岛的海洋生物研究相对较少，除了在潮间带的研究。因此，MBNE决定着手进行对这些岛屿的长期研究。在三年调查期间，潜水员将收集并拍摄样本，并在海滩上补充收集。必要时，样本将由专业分类学家进行鉴定，并在纽卡斯尔- Upon-Tyne的汉考克博物馆存档。将根据分类群出版海洋生物清单，并对物种的生态学（丰富度、偏好栖息地、深度分布等）进行注释。还将汇编收集到的物种照片档案，并为Seahouses和远岛游客提供远岛海洋生物海报展览。本初步报告概述了1982年在外远岛进行的潜水活动和访问的地点。提供了详细的场地描述和收集到的生物标本清单。列出了从远岛记录的海洋动物的前期记录，因为有大约60个新记录和以前未发表的记录来自1982年MBNE的研究，这些记录来自收集和拍摄的物种。还提供了100张用于远岛潮下带调查档案的收集照片。（这些幻灯片由NCC在亨丁顿保存，MBNE和NCC区域也保存了副本）。报告建议调查其他地点，包括内远岛，以全面了解岛屿的海洋生物，尽管在1982年的场地仍有大量工作要做。报告指出，希望1983年进行一些海滩调查，如1960年代以前的研究所进行的那样。建议MBNE未来对远岛的工作可以有益地集中在某些动物群体上，研究它们的分布和丰富度与深度和底质类型的关联。特定地点的季节性变化也值得研究，岩石表面的部分可以标记并每月进行拍照研究。报告总结称，1982年的试点研究实现了其目标，并为东北海洋生物学研究所与水下保护协会合作在远岛进行进一步海洋生物学研究提供了极佳的基础。目前被认为敏感的记录已从本数据集中删除。