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Metadata: Status of Breeding Common Scoter Melanitta nigra nigra in Britain and Ireland in 1996: The Effect of the Sea Empress Oil Spill
Abstract:
Following concerns regarding potential effects of the Sea Empress oil spill in Carmarthen Bay, February 1996, on the British and Irish populations of breeding Common Scoters Melanitta nigra nigra, their status and distribution were determined from a survey in May - June 1996. The survey was undertaken in five areas (Shetland, the Flow country, West and South Scotland, Islay and Ireland), using methods devised during the first complete British and Irish census of this species in 1995. Survey effort was concentrated on sites that held Common Scoters in 1995, and on sites with historical records. The survey visited 223 sites and located 376 birds. This was 79 fewer birds than the previous year, a 17% decline in numbers (16% in Ireland and 19% in Britain), a 19% decrease in occupied 10-km squares and a 31% decrease in occupied sites, compared to visits made at a similar time in 1995. It is possible that a decline of this magnitude may be within the range of natural population fluctuations or it could be due to the late arrival of birds after the late spring in 1996. However, over the last eight years, the number of Common Scoters in the Flow country has declined by 42% from an estimated 48 pairs in 1988 to only 28 in 1996. Given the Common Scoter's threatened status in the UK, that the dynamics of the population are unknown, and the potential decline, annual monitoring of both numbers and productivity is a high priority. Data used to assess the potential effects of the Sea Empress oil spill in Carmarthen Bay, February 1996, on the British and Irish populations of breeding Common Scoters Melanitta nigra nigra.
Data holder:
Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
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| Other details | ||
| Internal code | Internally assigned metadata identifier | 8658 |
| 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. | Status of Breeding Common Scoter Melanitta nigra nigra in Britain and Ireland in 1996: The Effect of the Sea Empress Oil Spill |
| 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_DS110113 |
| Resource Identifier | This is the code assigned by the data owner. | 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313130313133 |
| 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 | 1996-05-31 |
| End date | This describes the date the resource ends. This may only be the year if month and day are not known | 1996-06-30 |
| 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'. | notPlanned |
| Abstract | The abstract provides a clear and brief statement of the content of the resource. | Following concerns regarding potential effects of the Sea Empress oil spill in Carmarthen Bay, February 1996, on the British and Irish populations of breeding Common Scoters Melanitta nigra nigra, their status and distribution were determined from a survey in May - June 1996. The survey was undertaken in five areas (Shetland, the Flow country, West and South Scotland, Islay and Ireland), using methods devised during the first complete British and Irish census of this species in 1995. Survey effort was concentrated on sites that held Common Scoters in 1995, and on sites with historical records. The survey visited 223 sites and located 376 birds. This was 79 fewer birds than the previous year, a 17% decline in numbers (16% in Ireland and 19% in Britain), a 19% decrease in occupied 10-km squares and a 31% decrease in occupied sites, compared to visits made at a similar time in 1995. It is possible that a decline of this magnitude may be within the range of natural population fluctuations or it could be due to the late arrival of birds after the late spring in 1996. However, over the last eight years, the number of Common Scoters in the Flow country has declined by 42% from an estimated 48 pairs in 1988 to only 28 in 1996. Given the Common Scoter's threatened status in the UK, that the dynamics of the population are unknown, and the potential decline, annual monitoring of both numbers and productivity is a high priority. Data used to assess the potential effects of the Sea Empress oil spill in Carmarthen Bay, February 1996, on the British and Irish populations of breeding Common Scoters Melanitta nigra nigra. |
| Lineage | Lineage includes the background information, history of the sources of data, data quality statements and methods. | Sites on the Scottish mainland were surveyed from 12-18 May and Islay was surveyed on 7 June. In Ireland, Loughs Conn/Cullin, Corrib and Arrow were surveyed between 16-19 May, but surveys of Lough Ree were delayed until 22-25 May by poor weather. During each survey, all open water and the entire mainland and island shorelines were scanned for birds using binoculars or telescopes. Most observations were land based, but boat surveys were used on larger and complex sites. Clear, calm weather was selected for all field visits and observers recorded the number of birds present, classified into pairs (male and female in continuous close consort), single adult males, single immature males, unaged males, single females and unsexed birds. To minimise the risk of double counting birds, where possible, surveys were organised to cover adjacent sites simultaneously. In order to investigate whether there had been any decline in numbers between 1995 and 1996, the numbers of birds present per site were analysed using a generalised linear model with Poisson error distribution and log link function in the GLIM statistical package. Sites were selected for analysis if birds were present either during the 1996 survey, or during the comparable visit in 1995. Four explanatory variables were included in the model: sex, area, site, and year. |
| 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 | west Scotland | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | South Scotland | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | distributions | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Flow country | |
| 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 | melanitta nigra | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | breeding birds | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | breeding | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | endangered species (threatened species)(protected species) | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Islay | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | survey methods (survey techniques) (survey) (surveying) | |
| 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 | Shetland | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | marine and freshwater inventory | |
| 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 | 61.06306476 |
| East | The eastern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -2.40580882 |
| South | The southern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | 51.05493036 |
| West | The western-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -7.52191816 |
| Regional sea | Great Britain (GBN) | |
| 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 | Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) | |
| Delivery point | Sutherland House, Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, CF11 9AB | |
| cymru@rspb.co.uk | ||
| URL | http://www.rspb.org.uk/wales/ | |
| Role | The originator is the person or organisation who created, collected or produced the resource. | originator |
| Organisation name | Wildfowl And Wetlands Trust (WWT) | |
| Delivery point | Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, GL2 7BT, England | |
| consulting@wwt.org.uk | ||
| URL | http://www.wwt.org.uk/ | |
| Role | The originator is the person or organisation who created, collected or produced the resource. | originator |
| Organisation name | Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) | |
| Delivery point | Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness, IV3 8NW | |
| enquiries@snh.gov.uk | ||
| URL | http://www.snh.gov.uk/ | |
| 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 Data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is done so, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose. |
| Available data formats | ||
| Data format | Format in which digital data can be provided for transfer | Documents |
| 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. | 1996-08-31 |
| 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 |