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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.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely.
| Other details | ||
| Internal code | Internally assigned metadata identifier | 1902 |
| 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 |
| Alternative title | The purpose of alternative title is to record any additional names by which the dataset may be known. | Statws mor-hwyaid duon melanitta nigra nigra oedd yn nythu ym Mhrydain ac Iwerddon yn 1996: effaith gollyngiad olew'r Sea Empress |
| 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. | 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313130313133 |
| Resource Identifier | This is the code assigned by the data owner. | 110113 |
| 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 |
| Spatial resolution | This describes the spatial resolution of the dataset or the spatial limitations of the service. | inapplicable |
| 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 | Bird taxonomy-related abundance per unit area of surface | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Marine Environmental Data and Information Network | |
| 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) | |
| Phone | 0300 065 3000 | |
| Delivery point | Maes-y-Ffynnon | |
| Postal code | LL57 2DW | |
| Role | The distributor is the person or organisation that distributes the resource. | distributor |
| Organisation name | Natural Resources Wales (NRW) | |
| Phone | 0300 065 3000 | |
| Delivery point | Maes-y-Ffynnon | |
| Postal code | LL57 2DW | |
| 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) | |
| Phone | 0300 065 3000 | |
| Delivery point | Maes-y-Ffynnon | |
| Postal code | LL57 2DW | |
| 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) | |
| Phone | 029 2035 3000 | |
| Delivery point | Sutherland House | |
| Postal code | CF11 9AB | |
| Role | The originator is the person or organisation who created, collected or produced the resource. | originator |
| Organisation name | Wildfowl And Wetlands Trust (WWT) | |
| Phone | 01453 891900 | |
| Delivery point | Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) | |
| Postal code | GL2 7BT | |
| Role | The originator is the person or organisation who created, collected or produced the resource. | originator |
| Organisation name | Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) | |
| Phone | 0143 725000 | |
| Delivery point | Great Glen House | |
| Postal code | IV3 8NW | |
| Dataset constraints | ||
| 20 Limitations on Public Access - Access constraints | ISO restriction code chosen from ISO 19115-1 Codelist | otherRestrictions |
| 20 Limitations on Public Access – Other constraints | Any restriction on the use of the resource such as the need to agree to certain licence conditions. | There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely. |
| 21 Conditions for Access and Use - Use limitation | Any restrictions imposed on accessing the resource such as the need to agree to certain licence conditions. | © 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 name | Format in which digital data can be provided for transfer | Report is held in Word and .pdf format |
| 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 |
| Date of last revision | The most recent date that the resource was revised. | 1996-08-31 |
| Metadata date | The date when the content of this metadata record was last updated. | 2017-12-04 |
| Metadata standard name | The name of the metadata standard used to create this metadata | MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard |
| Metadata standard version | The version of the MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard used to create the metadata record | Version 2.3.8 |
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