Mousa SAC Reef and Sea Cave Habitat Condition Monitoring Survey, 2008

A 2008 survey initiated site condition monitoring for littoral and sublittoral reefs and sea caves within the Mousa Special Area of Conservation. The study established a baseline biological dataset using drop-down video surveys and detailed Marine Nature Conservation Review phase 2 surveys along relocatable transects. The data was collected by Scottish Natural Heritage and aggregated by the Government Digital Service on the eu_open_data platform.

Use Cases

• Establishing baseline ecological conditions for future comparison based on the survey's stated objective.
• Assessing the distribution and biotope composition of sea caves based on the mapping and survey work described.
• Evaluating the condition of reef habitats across littoral and sublittoral zones based on the transect survey methodology.
• Supporting management decisions for the Mousa SAC based on judgements of current habitat condition mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Survey designed to establish a long-term biological baseline for condition assessment.
• Methodology includes both video surveys and detailed biotope surveys along relocatable transects, suggesting structured data collection.
• Focuses on a specific, legally protected geographic area (Mousa SAC).

Limitations

• Row count, column definitions, and file formats are unknown, which limits suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), aggregated by Government Digital Service via eu_open_data.

Collection Method

Drop-down video survey and MNCR phase 2 biotope surveys along relocatable transects; sea cave mapping and point surveys.

Time Range

2008

Freshness

Survey conducted in 2008; update frequency is unknown.

Geography

Mousa Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Scotland.