Marine Habitats and Species Records for England, Collated from Multiple Sources

Two primary datasets represent publicly available marine habitat and species records held by Natural England. The 'Marine Habitats and Species Open Data' comprises eight sub-datasets, while the 'Marine Designated Site Features Open Data' is a subset of six sub-datasets focusing on legally designated sites. Data was collated from contracts commissioned by Natural England, Defra, associated bodies, and third-party contributors under the Open Government Licence.

Use Cases

• Mapping species distribution based on point and polygon biotope records.
• Analyzing habitat features within legally designated marine protected areas.
• Validating ecological models using collated records from multiple survey sources.

Strengths

• Data geometry has been validated using the ESRI validation method.
• Comprises two distinct datasets with a total of 14 sub-datasets (8 + 6) for different analytical purposes.
• Sourced from multiple authoritative bodies including Natural England, Defra, and academic institutions.

Limitations

• Geometry may not comply with Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) specifications as OGC validation was not performed.
• Row count and specific column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Natural England, with contributions from Defra, associated agencies, and third-party data providers.

Collection Method

Collated from records created during commissioned contracts, collected by government bodies, or provided by third parties.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-29 12:04:37.138533; freshness should be verified.

Geography

England