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Metadata: Ground and Aerial Monitoring of Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra) in Carmarthen Bay Spatial Protection Area (SPA) (2002 - 2008)
Abstract:
Carmarthen Bay Spatial Protection Area (SPA) was classified as the UK's first SPA in 2003 on the basis of holding at least 1% (16,000 individuals) of the biogeographic population of Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra). The Common Scoter is strongly migratory and often travels considerable distances over land making brief stop-overs on inland waters. Its diet consists predominantly of molluscs, especially during the winter, although it occasionally takes other aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans (e.g. barnacles and shrimps), worms, echinoderms, isopods, amphipods and insects (e.g. midges and caddis flies) as well as small fish and fish eggs which are found in abundance in the shallow water in Carmarthen Bay. Common scoter are also listed as a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species. Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) has supported ground based counts since 1996, following the Sea Empress oil spill. Aerial surveys have also been employed as scoter often occur out of sight of land. This dataset is compiled from data collected by The British Trust for Ornithology with support from CCW from 2002 onwards. The purpose of this data capture was to maintain a monitoring program using a combination of ground-based and aerial surveys to assess numbers and distribution of common scoter in Carmarthen Bay and to investigate whether ground-based counts provide an appropriate index of overall numbers of scoter within Carmarthen Bay as well as update the current index.
Data holder:
Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
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| Other details | ||
| Internal code | Internally assigned metadata identifier | 8599 |
| Title | The title is used to provide a brief and precise description of the dataset such as 'Date', 'Originating organisation/programme', 'Location' and 'Type of survey'. All acronyms and abbreviations should be reproduced in full. | Ground and Aerial Monitoring of Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra) in Carmarthen Bay Spatial Protection Area (SPA) (2002 - 2008) |
| File Identifier | The File Identifier is a code, preferably a GUID, that is globally unique and remains with the same metadata record even if the record is edited or transferred between portals or tools. | NRW_DS109752 |
| Resource Identifier | This is the code assigned by the data owner. | 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313039373532 |
| Resource type | The resource type will likely be a dataset but could also be a series (collection of datasets with a common specification) or a service. | dataset |
| Start date | This describes the date the resource starts. This may only be the year if month and day are not known | 2002-11-29 |
| End date | This describes the date the resource ends. This may only be the year if month and day are not known | 2008-03-16 |
| Frequency of updates | This describes the frequency with which the resource is modified or updated i.e. a monitoring programme that samples once per year has a frequency that is described as 'annually'. | annually |
| Abstract | The abstract provides a clear and brief statement of the content of the resource. | Carmarthen Bay Spatial Protection Area (SPA) was classified as the UK's first SPA in 2003 on the basis of holding at least 1% (16,000 individuals) of the biogeographic population of Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra). The Common Scoter is strongly migratory and often travels considerable distances over land making brief stop-overs on inland waters. Its diet consists predominantly of molluscs, especially during the winter, although it occasionally takes other aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans (e.g. barnacles and shrimps), worms, echinoderms, isopods, amphipods and insects (e.g. midges and caddis flies) as well as small fish and fish eggs which are found in abundance in the shallow water in Carmarthen Bay. Common scoter are also listed as a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species. Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) has supported ground based counts since 1996, following the Sea Empress oil spill. Aerial surveys have also been employed as scoter often occur out of sight of land. This dataset is compiled from data collected by The British Trust for Ornithology with support from CCW from 2002 onwards. The purpose of this data capture was to maintain a monitoring program using a combination of ground-based and aerial surveys to assess numbers and distribution of common scoter in Carmarthen Bay and to investigate whether ground-based counts provide an appropriate index of overall numbers of scoter within Carmarthen Bay as well as update the current index. |
| Lineage | Lineage includes the background information, history of the sources of data, data quality statements and methods. | This is a collation of ground and aerial common scoter count surveys. At each site and on each date, the time of count, weather (wind-speed, wind direction, precipitation, cloud cover), sea-state and any disturbance was recorded. Ground counts are made on 4 dates in the winter. Counts are carried out at three stations along the coast. In some years a fourth station at Rhossili is also used. At each site weather conditions, sea-state and any disturbance are recorded. Full sea-scans are then carried out. For each flock, the number of birds, their bearing and distance from shore was recorded. Aerial surveys are performed using the 'distance' method based on statistical principles of distance sampling . The surveys are carried out in winter and follow pre-determined transect lines running north-south through the bay. Transects are spaced 2 km apart to minimise chances of double-counting birds flushed by the plane. Surveys are carried out by 2 observers using a Partenavia PN68 aircraft, flown at ground speed 200 km/h, altitude 75m. Surveys cannot be carried out in wind speeds greater than 24 km/h. Each flock or individual bird was recorded along with time of observation, number and species. Also distance was recorded to one of four distance bands as described in the standards.This dataset only contains work carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) under contract to CCW. |
| Additional information | This describes relevant references to the data e.g. reports, articles, websites plus other useful information not captured elsewhere. | A sustained program of monitoring scoters in Carmarthen bay has been in place since 1997 (Stewart et al, 1997, Cranswick et al, 1998, WWT 2003). |
| Related keywords | ||
| Keyword | General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Species distribution |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | ground counts | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | common scoter (black scoter) | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | melanitta nigra | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | aerial counts | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Carmarthen Bay | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Special Protection Areas (SPAs) (see also proposed Special Protection Area pSPA) | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | bird population | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Bird taxonomy-related abundance per unit area of surface | |
| Geographical coverage | ||
| North | The northern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | 51.83585931 |
| East | The eastern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -4.05245982 |
| South | The southern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | 51.53862558 |
| West | The western-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -4.70472624 |
| Regional sea | benthic boundary layer | |
| ABERTAWE - SWANSEA | ||
| SIR GAERFYRDDIN - CARMARTHENSHIRE | ||
| SIR BENFRO - PEMBROKESHIRE | ||
| Responsible organisations | ||
| Role | The point of contact is person or organisation with responsibility for the creation and maintenance of the metadata for the resource. | pointOfContact |
| Organisation name | Natural Resources Wales (NRW) | |
| Delivery point | Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales | |
| enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk | ||
| URL | http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en | |
| Role | The owner is the person or organisation that owns the resource. | owner |
| Organisation name | Natural Resources Wales (NRW) | |
| Delivery point | Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales | |
| enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk | ||
| URL | http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en | |
| Role | The custodian is the person or organisation that accepts responsibility for the resource and ensures appropriate care and maintenance. If a dataset has been lodged with a Data Archive Centre for maintenance then this organisation is be entered here. | custodian |
| Organisation name | Natural Resources Wales (NRW) | |
| Delivery point | Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales | |
| enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk | ||
| URL | http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en | |
| Role | The originator is the person or organisation who created, collected or produced the resource. | originator |
| Organisation name | British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) | |
| Delivery point | The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, England | |
| info@bto.org | ||
| URL | http://www.bto.org/ | |
| Role | The distributor is the person or organisation that distributes the resource. | distributor |
| Organisation name | Natural Resources Wales (NRW) | |
| Delivery point | Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales | |
| enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk | ||
| URL | http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en | |
| Dataset constraints | ||
| 20.1 Limitations on Public Access - Access constraints | This states `otherRestrictions` from ISO vocabulary RestrictionCode and is an INSPIRE/GEMINI requirement. | otherRestrictions |
| 20.2 Limitations on Public Access - Other constraints | This states any limitations on access to the data. Multiple occurences are allowed here. One entry shall be from the INSPIRE Metadata registry and the other free text should be part of the resource `Have specific limitations`. | There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely. |
| no limitations | ||
| 21.1 Conditions for Access and Use - Use constraints | This states `otherRestrictions` from ISO vocabulary RestrictionCode and is an INSPIRE/GEMINI requirement. | otherRestrictions |
| 21.2 Conditions for Access and Use - Other constraints | This states any constraints on use of the data. Multiple conditions can be recorded for different parts of the data resource. If no conditions apply, then `No condtions apply` is recorded. This uses free text. | © CNC/NRW 2008 . There are no use restrictions on this data. Recipients may re-use, reproduce, disseminate this data free of charge in any format or medium, provided they do so accurately, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright, and do not use it in a misleading context. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose, that dissemination or publishing does not result in duplication, and that it is fairly interpreted. Advice on interpretation should be sought where required. To avoid re-using old data, users should periodically obtain the latest version from the original source. |
| Available data formats | ||
| Data format | Format in which digital data can be provided for transfer | Geographic Information System |
| Version info | ||
| Date of publication | The publication date of the resource or if previously unpublished the date that the resource was made publicly available via the MEDIN network. | 2008-05-31 |
| Harvest date | The date which this record has been (re)harvested from the provider. | 2026-04-19 |
| Metadata date | The date when the content of this metadata record was last updated. | 2026-03-03 |
| Metadata standard name | The name of the metadata standard used to create this metadata | MEDIN |
| Metadata standard version | The version of the MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard used to create the metadata record | 3.1.2 |