Species point records from 1990 UMBSM Loch Gairloch and Loch Ewe survey

Loch Gairloch and Loch Ewe lie on the north-west Scottish mainland in an area of Torridonian sandstone. They were surveyed during 1990 as part of the survey of Scottish sealochs. Although adjacent, the two lochs are very different in character. Loch Ewe is a north-facing fiord with two main sills and basins, a maximum depth of 73 m and is mostly sheltered from wave action. Loch Gairloch faces west, has no sills and is exposed over much of its length. It has depths of over 100 m at its entrance and appears to have more open coast affinities than Loch Ewe with warmer, clearer water. Tidal streams are negligible in both lochs. The lochs have extensive sandy beaches and hold a wide range of sublittoral sediments which, although predominantly coarse, grade to soft mud. Hard substrata were common in shallow water in both lochs but limited in deeper water. The lochs are situated in a popular holiday area with the Inverewe gardens one of the major attractions. There is a large caravan site on Loch Gairloch and numerous holiday apartments. There are small sewage outfalls around both lochs, a NATO refuelling jetty in Loch Ewe and a fishing harbour in Loch Gairloch. Both lochs have mussel farms and Loch Ewe also has salmon cages. There are two SSSI's in the areas, one of which borders the head of Loch Gairloch. There has been a great deal of marine research carried out in the area, and particularly Loch Ewe, on account of the SOAFD (formerly DAFS) laboratory at Firemore Bay. Of note was a Phase 1 diving survey carried out in 1989 by a Seasearch team (Gubbay 1990). Ninety-seven sites were surveyed which included 69 diving sites, 13 dregde samples, 10 suction samples and 11 littoral surveys; 32 habitat/community types are described. Both lochs could be divided into inner, central and outer zones with cape Laminaria saccharina forest in the inner, mixed kelp forest in the cental and Laminaria hyperborea forest in the outer zone. Although some sites were grazed by sea urchins, at many there was a luxuriant understorey flora often dominated by filamentous brown algae. Circalittoral bedrock and boulders were more limited in extent. In the outer lochs, these held ascidians and hydroids to a depth of 24 m. The brachiopod Neocrania anomala was found on deeper and more sheltered boulders. Deep, sheltered bedrock with the anemone Protanthea simplex was only found at Resolution Rock in Loch Ewe. The sediments were predominatly sandy and were often very rich, particularly in Loch Gairloch. Waves of coarse, shelly gravel with maerl were found in the outer parts of both lochs. In slightly more sheltered water, there were large expanses of firm, fine sand with species such as the echinoderms Echinocardium cordatum and Labidoplax digitata. In deeper water this merged into sandy mud with seapens. With increasing shelter, the sediments became muddier and more stable, supporting dense algal populations in shallow water. In Loch Shieldaig, the most sheltered basin, very soft mud was covered with a filamentous algal blanket. Soft mud in deeper water held burrowing crustacens such as the prawn Nephrops norvegicus. There was a small bed of eel grass Zostera marina at the entrance to Loch Gairloch and maerl with the flame shell Limaria hians was found at the head of Loch Ewe. Littoral communities were less varied with the majority of shores consisting of moderately exposed bedrock and boulders and numerous fine sandy beaches. Sheltered shores dominated by Ascophyllum nodosum were restricted to the heads of lochs, where the free-living growth form A. nodosum f. mackaii was also found. Nine habitat/community types and 22 species have been provisionally assessed to be of Loch or Regional nature conservation importance. Records currently considered sensitive have been removed from this dataset.

洛赫加尔洛赫与洛赫伊夫坐落于苏格兰大陆西北部，该地区遍布托里多尼亚砂岩。它们于1990年作为苏格兰塞尔洛克调查的一部分进行了勘测。尽管相邻，但这两个湖泊在性格上却大相径庭。洛赫伊夫面向北方，拥有两个主要的海槛和盆地，最大深度为73米，大部分地区受波浪作用保护。洛赫加尔洛赫面向西方，没有海槛，在其大部分长度上暴露在外。在其入口处，其深度超过100米，似乎与洛赫伊夫相比，更倾向于开放的海岸亲和力，水质更为温暖且清澈。两个湖泊的潮汐流均可忽略不计。这两个湖泊拥有广阔的沙滩，并承载着多样的海底沉积物，尽管以粗颗粒为主，但逐渐过渡为柔软的淤泥。在两个湖泊的浅水区，硬质底床较为常见，但在深水区则相对较少。这两个湖泊位于一个受欢迎的度假区，因弗韦花园是该地区的主要景点之一。洛赫加尔洛赫拥有一个大型露营车场地和众多度假公寓。两个湖泊周围有小型的污水排放口，洛赫伊夫有一个北约加油码头，洛赫加尔洛赫有一个渔港。两个湖泊都有贻贝养殖场，洛赫伊夫还有鲑鱼养殖笼。该地区有两个特别指定地区，其中之一与洛赫加尔洛赫的头部相邻。由于菲尔莫尔湾的SOAFD（原DAFS）实验室，该地区，尤其是洛赫伊夫，进行了大量的海洋研究。值得注意的是，Seasearch团队（Gubbay 1990）于1989年进行的一项第一阶段潜水调查。共勘测了97个地点，包括69个潜水地点、13个沉积物样品、10个吸泥样品和11个沿岸调查；描述了32种栖息地/群落类型。两个湖泊可以划分为内、中、外三个区域，其中内区为海藻林（Laminaria saccharina），中区为混合海藻林，外区为Laminaria hyperborea林。尽管一些地点被海胆啃食，但在许多地方，底层植被茂盛，通常以丝状褐藻为主。沿岸基岩和巨砾较为有限。在外部湖泊中，这些基岩和巨砾下至24米深处有海鞘和水螅。在更深且更受保护的基岩上发现了双壳类动物Neocrania anomala。只有洛赫伊夫的Resolution Rock上发现了有保护的海葵Protanthea simplex。沉积物以沙质为主，在洛赫加尔洛赫尤其丰富。在外部湖泊的更外围，发现了由粗颗粒石砾和石珊瑚构成的波浪。在稍微受保护的区域，有大量坚实细沙，其中生活着诸如海胆Echinocardium cordatum和Labidoplax digitata等物种。在更深的水域，这些沙质与海葵合并，形成了更混浊且稳定的沉积物，支撑着浅水区密集的藻类群落。在洛赫 Shieldaig，最受保护的盆地，非常柔软的淤泥上覆盖着丝状藻类。在更深的水域，软泥中居住着诸如虾Nephrops norvegicus等钻洞甲壳类动物。在洛赫加尔洛赫的入口处有一小片海草Zostera marina，而在洛赫伊夫的头部发现了石珊瑚与火焰贝Limaria hians。沿岸群落较为单一，大多数海岸由适度暴露的基岩和巨砾以及众多细沙海滩组成。受保护的沿岸地带，以Ascophyllum nodosum为主，仅限于湖泊的头部，那里也发现了自由生长的形态A. nodosum f. mackaii。九种栖息地/群落类型和22个物种已被初步评估为具有洛赫或区域自然保护重要性。目前被认为敏感的记录已从该数据集中删除。