Sutors Spoil Ground Benthic Video Survey of Species and Habitats, 2013

Scottish coastal waters were surveyed on June 6-7, 2013 to improve knowledge of species and habitats of conservation importance. The survey, conducted by Marine Scotland Science from the vessel FRV Alba na Mara, used drop-down video drift tows at 5 sites in the Sutors spoil ground area. Biological analyses commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage described the seabed's physical structure and species assemblages.

Use Cases

• Mapping the distribution of priority marine features based on underwater video observations.
• Assessing seabed physical structure and species assemblages for habitat classification.
• Monitoring the ecological impact of spoil ground activities in a coastal estuary.
• Training species identification models for benthic fauna using video imagery.

Strengths

• Survey conducted by a government science agency (Marine Scotland Science) on a dedicated research vessel.
• Focus on a specific area of interest: a spoil ground in the mouth of the Cromarty Firth.
• Data collection occurred over two specific days in June 2013, providing a temporal snapshot.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• The dataset's scale and file formats are unspecified, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Marine Scotland Science (MSS), with analyses commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

Collection Method

Underwater video survey using drop-down video drift tows.

Time Range

June 6-7, 2013

Freshness

Survey conducted in 2013; last update date is unknown.

Geography

Sutors spoil ground, mouth of the Cromarty Firth, Scotland