Habitat point records from 1988 MNCR Skye sealochs survey

Skye is a large island lying off the north-west coast of Scotland, between the mainland and the Outer Hebrides. Its coastline is much indented with eleven large sealochs and several large bays. There are sounds between Skye and the smaller islands of Raasay, Rona, Scalpay, Pabbay and Soay, and between Skye and the mainland at Kyle Rhea. The survey included the lochs from Loch Brittle on west Skye, clockwise around the island to Loch na Cairidh in the east. Some sites on the open coast and in sounds were also surveyed en route. The survey was based on the converted trawler 'Ocean Bounty', which enabled a large area to be covered within the short time available. Sites surveyed were mainly sublittoral, with a few littoral sites of particular interest also investigated. 96 sites were surveyed, of which 7 were littoral and 89 were sublittoral. From this work, 8 littoral and 40 sublittoral communities have been described, together with 15 sublittoral sub-communities or facies. Results are summarised for the area as a whole, and separately for each of the sealochs surveyed. Littoral communities described include a brackish lochan, caves, rock pools, and a bed of the unattached brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum ecad mackaii. A wide variety of sublittoral communities and species was recorded, from exposed rock and sediments on the open coast to sheltered habitats inside the sealochs. On the west coast, communities on the open coast and in the loch entrances were more exposed to wave action, with coarse sediments and scoured rock communities. Rich and varied sediment communities were found around islands in the entrances to Loch Bracadale and Loch Dunvegan, and maerl beds were present around the Ascrib Islands. The east coast of Skye is more sheltered, and the communities in sounds and sealochs here were more similar to the adjacent mainland than to the west of Skye. Extremely tideswept bedrock and boulder communities were found in Kyle Rhea, where tidal currents reach 8 knots on spring tides. The area has been assessed for marine nature conservation interest, and separate assessments are given for individual lochs, sounds and open coast areas, as well as for individual communities and species. Dunvegan Head has already been cited as a Marine Consultation Area (MCA) on the basis of results from this survey, and it is recommended that Kyle Rhea should also be a MCA. A wide range of habitats were recorded during the survey from both hard and soft substrata. The Loch Dunvegan area is highlighted for the diversity of marine habitats it contains. Records currently considered sensitive have been removed from this dataset.

斯凯岛，一大型岛屿，坐落于苏格兰西北海岸，位于大陆与外赫布里底群岛之间。其海岸线蜿蜒曲折，拥有十一处大型峡湾及数个宽阔海湾。斯凯岛与拉塞岛、罗纳岛、斯凯尔派岛、帕贝岛和索伊岛等小岛之间，以及与大陆的凯尔雷亚之间均有海峡。此次调查涵盖了从西海岸的布里特尔湖，沿岛顺时针方向至东海岸的卡里德湖的湖泊。沿途的开放式海岸线和海峡中的某些地点也进行了调查。调查基于改造后的拖网渔船‘海洋丰饶号’，在有限的时间内覆盖了广阔的区域。调查地点主要为次表层，同时亦对一些具有特殊意义的沿岸地点进行了研究。共调查了96个地点，其中7个为沿岸地点，89个为次表层地点。基于此研究，共描述了8个沿岸群落和40个次表层群落或相，以及15个次表层亚群落或相。调查结果以整体区域和各个峡湾为单元进行了总结。描述的沿岸群落包括盐碱湖、洞穴、岩石池以及无附着海藻Ascophyllum nodosum ecad mackaii的床层。记录了从开放式海岸线的裸露岩石和沉积物到峡湾内避风栖息地的多种次表层群落和物种。在西海岸，开放式海岸线和湖泊入口处的群落更易受到波浪作用，存在粗颗粒沉积物和侵蚀岩石群落。在布拉卡达尔湖和邓弗文湖入口处的岛屿周围发现了丰富的沉积群落，而在阿斯克里布群岛周围则存在石沼床。斯凯岛的东海岸较为隐蔽，海峡和峡湾中的群落与相邻大陆的相似性高于斯凯岛的西部地区。在凯尔雷亚，发现了极端受潮汐冲刷的基岩和巨石群落，春季大潮时潮流速度可达8节。该区域已评估其海洋自然保护价值，并对各个湖泊、海峡和开放式海岸区域，以及各个群落和物种进行了单独评估。基于此次调查结果，邓弗文角已被列为海洋咨询区（MCA），同时建议凯尔雷亚也应成为MCA。调查期间记录了从硬质和软质底质的各种栖息地。邓弗文湖区域因其所包含的海洋栖息地多样性而备受关注。目前认为敏感的记录已从本数据集中移除。