Habitat point records from 1977-79 SWBSS Grassholm, Skomer & Marloes Peninsula survey

Surveys of nearshore sublittoral ecosystems were carried out at Skomer in August 1977, Grassholm in June 1979 and on the Marloes Peninsula near Martins Haven in July 1979. The Skomer surveys were mainly a reconnaissance of the area whilst at Grassholm and Martins Haven, systematic surveys of the abundance of species in different habitats were carried out. The sites studied were subject to widely different regimes of exposure to water movement and included steep cliffs often extending into deep water, broken rock slopes, boulders and a variety of mixed sediments. A total of twenty-one sites were surveyed and the survey results are presented as an annotated list of 89 plant and 201 animal species with a description of each site, and summary of the communities present in different habitats. The survey results for Skomer and Martins Haven have been compared with the descriptions of the nine sublittoral habitats and communities defined for the whole coast of the area by Hunnam (1976). Although there are many similarities in the two sets of data, several of the habitats described here were either not encountered by Hunnam or their individual characteristics were lost in the generalised description of communities within a small number of habitat categories. The area described here included a wide variety of habitats and communities compared to most other locations of similar area in south-west Britain. Several locations were identified as of scientific interest. In addition, several species normally confined to the south or west coasts of the British Isles and abundant around Lundy were recorded but in very small amounts. It is recommended that future work related to conservation interests in the area should include studies of the west coast of Grassholm and The Smalls, and detailed descriptions of habitats and communities at key sites already identified in the region of Skomer. Some further basic survey to include previously undescribed habitats and communities and to provide a basis for mapping is also required in the region of Skomer.

1977年8月，对斯克默岛近岸浅海生态系统进行了调查；1979年6月，对格拉索姆岛进行了调查；同年7月，对马尔罗斯半岛靠近马丁斯湾的近岸浅海生态系统进行了考察。斯克默岛的调查主要对该区域进行了初步勘查，而在格拉索姆岛和马丁斯湾，则对各类栖息地中物种的丰富度进行了系统调查。所研究的地点暴露于水流的作用下呈现出广泛不同的环境，包括陡峭的悬崖，这些悬崖往往延伸至深水区域，破碎的岩石斜坡，巨砾以及各种混合沉积物。共调查了21个地点，调查结果以89种植物和201种动物物种的标注清单形式呈现，并对每个地点进行了描述，总结了不同栖息地中存在的群落。斯克默岛和马丁斯湾的调查结果与亨南姆（1976年）为该区域整个海岸线所定义的九种浅海栖息地和群落进行了比较。尽管两组数据存在许多相似之处，但此处描述的某些栖息地要么未被亨南姆遇到，要么在少数几个栖息地类别中的群落泛化描述中丧失了其个体特性。与英国西南部大多数类似面积的其他地点相比，该区域描述了广泛的栖息地和群落。确定了几个具有科学价值的地点。此外，记录了通常仅限于英国南部或西海岸且在卢尼岛周围丰富的几种物种，但数量极为有限。建议未来与该区域保护利益相关的研究应包括格拉索姆岛西海岸和斯莫尔斯的调查，以及对斯克默岛区域已确定的关键地点的栖息地和群落进行详细描述。在斯克默岛区域还需要进行一些基本的调查，以包括先前未描述的栖息地和群落，并为绘制地图提供基础。