Marine Monitoring Handbook - JNCCdata.jncc.gov.uk/.../marine-monitoring-handbook.pdf · The 1990s saw a ‘call to action’ for marine biodiversity conservation. The global Convention

Marine Monitoring HandbookMarch 2001

Marine Monitoring HandbookMarch 2001

Edited by Jon Davies (senior editor), John Baxter, Martin Bradley, David Connor, Janet Khan, Eleanor Murray, William Sanderson,

Caroline Turnbull and Malcolm Vincent

Joint copyright(text only):Joint Nature Conservation CommitteeEnglish NatureScottish Natural HeritageEnvironment & Heritage Services (DoE NI)Countryside Council for WalesScottish Association for Marine Science

ISBN 1 86107 5243

Preface 7

Acknowledgements 9Contact points for further advice 9

Preamble 11Development of the Marine Monitoring Handbook 11Future progress of the Marine Monitoring Handbook 11

Section 1 Background Malcolm Vincent and Jon Davies 13Introduction 14Legislative background for monitoring on SACs 15The UK approach to SAC monitoring 16The role of monitoring in judging favourable condition 17Context of SAC monitoring within the Scheme of Management 22Using data from existing monitoring programmes 23Bibliography 25

Section 2 Establishing monitoring programmes for marine features Jon Davies 27Introduction 28What do I need to measure? 28What is the most appropriate method? 37How do I ensure my monitoring programme will measure any change accurately? 40Assessing the condition of a feature 51A checklist of basic errors 53Bibliography 54

Section 3 Advice on establishing monitoring programmes for Annex I habitats Jon Davies 57Introduction 60Reefs 61Estuaries 70Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time 79Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide 87

5

Contents

Large shallow inlets and bays 94Submerged or partly submerged sea caves 101Lagoons 110

Section 4 Guidance for establishing monitoring programmes for some Annex II species Jon Davies 119Introduction 121Grey seal Halichoerus grypus 122Common seal Phoca vitulina 125Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus 129

Section 5 Advice on selecting appropriate monitoring techniques Jon Davies 133Introduction 135Monitoring spatial patterns 136Monitoring biological composition 148Future developments 161Bibliography 161

Section 6 Procedural guidelines Caroline Turnbull and Jon Davies 163

6

7

Preface

The 1990s saw a ‘call to action’ for marine biodiversity conservation. The global Convention onBiological Diversity, the European Union’s Habitats Directive, and recent developments to the Oslo andParis Convention have each provided a significant step forward. In each case marine protected areas areidentified as having a key role in sustaining marine biodiversity.

The Habitats Directive requires the maintenance or restoration of natural habitats and species ofEuropean interest at favourable conservation status, with the management of a network of Special Areasof Conservation (SACs) being one of the main vehicles for achieving this. Among the habitats andspecies specified in the Annexes I and II of the Directive, several are marine features and SACs havealready been selected for many of these in the UK. But to manage specific habitats and species effec-tively there needs to be clear understanding of their distribution, their biology and ecology and theirsensitivity to change. From such a foundation, realistic guidance on management and monitoring canbe derived and applied.

One initiative now underway to help implement the Habitats Directive is the UK Marine SACs LIFEProject, involving a four year partnership (1996–2001) between English Nature, Scottish NaturalHeritage, Countryside Council for Wales, Environment and Heritage Service, Joint Nature ConservationCommittee, and Scottish Association for Marine Science.

The overall goal of the Project is to establish management schemes on 12 of the candidate marine SACsites. A key component of the Project is to assess the interactions that can take place between humanactivities and the Annex I and II interest features on these sites. This understanding will provide for bet-ter management of these features by defining those activities that may have a beneficial, neutral or harm-ful impact and by giving examples of management measures that will prevent or minimise adverseeffects.

Task 3.2 of the UK Marine SACs project set out to ‘identify and develop appropriate methods forrecording, monitoring and reporting natural characteristics and conditions of Annex I/II interests andrelevant environmental factors’. A key output of Task 3.2 is a ‘published book on monitoring methodsand procedures’ to be used as guidance by the UK government’s statutory nature conservation agencystaff and their key partners in drawing up monitoring schemes for European Marine Sites. The MarineMonitoring Handbook fulfils this requirement.

The Marine Monitoring Handbook addresses the principles behind, and the procedures for, monitor-ing Annex I habitats, and selected Annex II species, within marine SACs in British waters to assess theircondition in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Directive and the UK’s common stan-dards for site monitoring.

The Marine Monitoring Handbook provides guidance on the different options and their relative costsand benefits and describes the current best practice for monitoring Annex I habitats and for the bot-tlenose dolphin, grey seal and common seal within marine SACs, to assist in the assessment of theircondition. It draws on the information provided by the field trials undertaken under Task 1.2 of the UKMarine SACs project to ensure all advice has a sound practical basis. The Handbook is intended to pro-vide a toolkit for marine site monitoring, enabling those carrying out monitoring to select and use appro-priate methodologies. It is not prescriptive about the nature of the monitoring required but enables goodmonitoring decisions to be taken in the light of resource availability and other practicalities.

Dr Malcolm VincentProjects DirectorJoint Nature Conservation Committee

Acknowledgements

Many people have assisted in the production of the Handbook. Dr Keith Hiscock (Marine Biological Association) initiated the project and oversaw the production of

the first version in 1997. Eleanor Murray (English Nature) further developed the Handbook during thefirst two years of the UK Marine SACs Project.

The Marine Monitoring Group (Martin Bradley, Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland;David Connor, JNCC; Janet Khan, - Scottish Natural Heritage; Eleanor Murray, English Nature; and BillSanderson, Countryside Council for Wales) put considerable time and effort into the whole productionof this Handbook.

John Torlesse, the UK Marine SACs project co-ordinator, and Malcolm Vincent (JNCC) provided com-ments on earlier draft texts, and much-needed encouragement throughout the preparation and produc-tion of this volume.

The following people provided comments on the draft text: Eamonn Kelly and Ian Reach (JNCC), PaulBrazier, Rohan Holt and Mandy McMath (Countryside Council for Wales), Paul Gilliland (EnglishNature), and John Baxter, Ben James and Alexander Downie (Scottish Natural Heritage).

Emily Strong (English Nature) started the revision of the procedural guidelines and did much of theinitial literature research. Kate Bull (JNCC) copy-read the text and provided considerable assistancewith the final production.

Contact points for further advice

The source of advice will depend on the nature of the query. In general:

• For clarification of any points in the text in this Handbook, queries should be addressed to theauthors who are listed under each section, including the Procedural Guidelines;

• General queries, queries of a UK nature, or advice on common standards monitoring for marineSACs should be addressed to Jon Davies (JNCC); or

• Any query specific to one of the countries of UK should be addressed to the relevant person on theMarine Monitoring Group (see Acknowledgements above).

9

11

Preamble

Development of the Marine Monitoring HandbookWhile the monitoring of terrestrial protected areas in the United Kingdom has a long history, the mon-itoring of protected marine areas has been limited to a very few localities. As a result there has, to date,been no single volume available which provides guidance on the monitoring of marine protected areas.The selection and, in due course, designation of marine Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under theEC Habitats Directive, has highlighted the need for comprehensive guidance on the monitoring of themarine environment.

The Marine Monitoring Handbook is a stage in the development of such comprehensive guidance, andhas been developed by the UK Marine SACs project through a series of literature reviews, workshopsand practical trials. The overall approach to monitoring taken in the Handbook is that adopted by theUK nature conservation agencies in their Common Standards for Monitoring of designated sites. TheHandbook utilises this approach to analyse the possible monitoring requirements of marine protectedareas designated as SACs, summarises the principles of good monitoring practice, and analyses theappropriateness of available monitoring techniques. In addition, Procedural Guidelines have been pre-pared for a wide range of techniques to assist practitioners to carry out monitoring.

The Handbook has been organised in sections at different levels of detail designed to offer assistanceto a range of users, from those who need to be aware of the general approach to be taken in marine mon-itoring, to those who will need to design, commission, or undertake the monitoring. This organisationof the Handbook is summarised in Figure i.

The Handbook is a toolkit for the monitoring of marine SACs. It does not attempt to prescribe moni-toring programmes for particular features listed on Annex I or Annex II of the Habitats Directive. Theoptimum type and level of monitoring on sites across the SAC network has still to be determined, andthis is likely to be an important component of future work within the UK.

Furthermore, as our practical knowledge of monitoring increases, and the marine monitoring require-ments are addressed in greater detail within the European Union, the guidance set out in the Handbookis likely to change. The Handbook should, therefore, be considered as a live working document.

Future progress of the Marine Monitoring HandbookDuring 2001, further work will be carried out to improve the coverage and content of the Handbook. Inparticular:

• we will increase the number and range of Procedural Guidelines to cover all the techniques listedin Section 6 of the Handbook;

• we will revise Sections 3 and 4 of the Handbook, taking account of further work to identify themost cost-effective design of monitoring programmes for particular Annex I habitats and Annex IIspecies, and the level of skills needed to carry out the work;

• we will improve the level of guidance in relation to Annex II species;

• we will provide a glossary of terms and a bibliography divided by topic.

The Marine Monitoring Handbook will be maintained on the JNCC Internet site(http://www.jncc.gov.uk), and this electronic version will be the most up-to-date copy available.Modifications to the Handbook, following the further work referred to above, will be incorporated intothis version. We will provide a ‘notice board’ on this website to enable users to provide feedback on theHandbook. A mechanism, probably e-mail, will be established to alert users when new material, or revi-sion of existing material, is published.

12 Marine Monitoring Handbook

Comments on this text, and suggestions for improvement, will be welcomed. All comments should besent to Dr Jon Davies at JNCC ([email protected]) and, if necessary, they will be incorporated intolater electronic versions.

Figure i An overview of marine SAC monitoring, showing the relevant sources of advice in the Marine MonitoringHandbook (together with other published texts) and the anticipated readership. Country Agency - CA: UK Government’sConservation Agencies. Management group: most marine SACs will have a co-ordinating group of representatives from localrelevant authorities.

* Brown, A E, Burn, A J, Hopkins J J and Way, S F (1997) The Habitats Directive: selection of SpecialAreas of Conservation in the UK. JNCC Report 270. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough.** Cole-King, A (In prep.) UK Marine SACs Project: Setting Conservation Objectives for marine SACs.

Process Source of advice

Brown et al. 1997*

Cole-King et al.2000**

Sections 1, 3 & 4

Section 2

Sections 3, 4 & 5

Section 2

Proceduralguidelines

Section 2

SelectingSACs

Set the conservationobjectives and define

attributes describing thecondition of features

Establish themonitoring strategy

Select appropriatetechnique for eachattribute to monitor

Plan fielddeployment

Monitor the feature

Assess the condition ofthe feature

Audience

Country Agency(CA) HQ marine

staffCA local staff

CA HQ marine staff CA local staff

Management group


Management group


Management group

CA Field staffContractors


13

1 BackgroundMalcom Vincent and Jon Davies

Introduction 14

Legislative background for monitoring on SACs 15

Summary 16

The UK approach to SAC monitoring 16

Conservation objectives 17

Sub-features 17

Attributes 18

Summary 19

The role of monitoring in judging favourable condition 19

Frequency of monitoring 19

Judging the condition of sites 20

Context of SAC monitoring within the Scheme of Management 22

Using data from existing monitoring programmes 23

The UK National Marine Monitoring Programme 23

Bibliography 25

Introduction

The European Community has adopted two Directives which aim to conserve nature within the territo-ry of the European Union. Firstly, Council Directive 92/43 EEC of 21 May 1992 on the Conservation ofnatural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the Habitats Directive) requires that Member States desig-nate Special Areas of Conservation for specified habitats and the habitats of specified species of wildplants and animals. Secondly, Council Directive 79/409 EEC of 2 April 1979 on the Conservation ofwild birds (the Birds Directive) requires Member States to designate Special Protection Areas for theconservation of specified wild birds, and for regularly occurring migratory birds. Both these Directivesapply to the marine environment of the European Union as well as to the terrestrial and freshwater envi-ronments.

The requirement to designate Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas(SPAs) is implemented in Great Britain by the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994 andin Northern Ireland by the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995.These Regulations make provision for the implementation of the Directives in the marine environment,including the preparation of Schemes of Management (hereafter called Management Schemes) formarine SACs and SPAs. The Regulations refer to marine SACs and SPAs collectively as Europeanmarine sites. The Regulations, and the Management Schemes prepared under them, are intended tomaintain the conservation value of the European marine sites for the particular habitats or species forwhich they were designated.

Monitoring of European marine sites is necessary to determine the condition of the sites, to indicatewhether management measures undertaken under the Management Schemes are proving effective, andto identify, where possible, any detrimental effects. Where such effects are recorded, they are likely toact as a trigger for further investigative studies to determine what, if any, remedial action can be taken.

The UK Marine SACs project has investigated methods and strategies to monitor the condition ofthose marine habitats and species listed on Annexes I and II of the Habitats Directive which occur inthe 12 trial sites covered by the project. As part of this investigation, a number of these methods weretested on site to examine their cost-effectiveness and practicality. The trials concentrated either onapplying developing technologies such as airborne remote sensing to SAC monitoring, or on new meth-ods for deploying existing techniques. It did not test techniques that are well established for site moni-toring.

The Marine Monitoring Handbook explains the need for monitoring on marine SACs, sets out theapproach to such monitoring which is being adopted by the United Kingdom, provides assistance withthe design of monitoring programmes, gives specific guidance on monitoring methods appropriate to arange of marine SAC habitats and species, and provides information on the practical application of themonitoring methods. Figure i on page 11 provides an overview of the monitoring process and showswhere in the Marine Monitoring Handbook advice may be sought.

The Handbook is intended, primarily, for those responsible for designing and implementing monitor-ing programmes for marine SACs (Box 1-1). While the guidance provided is relevant to the habitatattributes of marine SPAs, methods for assessing bird populations have already been published

a,band

are not included in this Handbook.


Box 1-1 Aim

The Marine Monitoring Handbook provides advice on monitoring marine Special Areas ofConservation to assess their condition in accordance with the requirements of the HabitatsDirective and UK common standards for monitoring.c

Background 15

Legislative background for monitoring on SACs

The purpose of designating and conserving Special Areas of Conservation is to maintain or restore thehabitats listed on Annex I and the species listed on Annex II of the Directive to Favourable ConservationStatus. Favourable Conservation Status is defined in Article 1 of the Directive. In summary, for AnnexI habitats, it means that conditions have been established which will ensure that the extent and rangeof the habitat, and the populations of the constituent species of that habitat, will be maintained orincreased over time. For Annex II species, it means that conditions have been established which willensure that the viability, population size and range of that species will be maintained in the long term.

The term Favourable Conservation Status relates to the individual habitats and species over their nat-ural range within the European Union. However, because the selection of the European network ofSACs is seen as fundamental to achieving Favourable Conservation Status, the European Commissionconsiders that the concept should also be applied at the site level.

dA key purpose of SAC monitoring,

therefore, will be to determine whether Favourable Conservation Status of the habitats and species isbeing achieved at the level of individual SACs. The UK conservation agencies use the term favourablecondition to represent the concept of Favourable Conservation Status for the interest features of an indi-vidual SAC.

In addition to this general point, the Habitats Directive also includes a number of specific provisionswhich require the undertaking of monitoring on SACs. The most important of these are:

• Article 11Member States shall undertake surveillance of the conservation status of the natural habitats andspecies referred to in Article 2 with particular regard to priority natural habitat types and priorityspecies.

This Article requires Member States to undertake surveillance of the conservation status of the natu-ral habitats and species listed on the Annexes of the Directive, with particular regard to priority habi-tats and species. This surveillance requirement relates to the conservation status of the habitats andspecies throughout the territory of the Member State. It is reasonable to infer that the importance ofsurveillance of a given habitat or species on an individual marine SAC can be viewed as being pro-portionate to the importance of the site to the status of the habitat or species within the territory ofthe Member State as a whole.

• Article 17(1)1. Every six years from the date of expiry of the period laid down in Article 23, Member States shalldraw up a report on the implementation of the measures taken under this Directive. This report shallinclude in particular information concerning the conservation measures referred to in Article 6 (1) aswell as evaluation of the impact of those measures on the conservation status of the natural habitattypes of Annex I and the species in Annex II and the main results of the surveillance referred to inArticle 11. The report, in accordance with the format established by the committee, shall be for-warded to the Commission and made accessible to the public.

This Article requires Member States to prepare a report by June 2000,1and every six years afterwards,

on the measures taken to achieve the conservation of SACs, and also to undertake an evaluation ofthe effect of these measures on the conservation status of Annex I habitats and Annex II species.Monitoring is needed in order to carry out this evaluation. The main results of the surveillance car-ried out under Article 11 are also to be included in the Report.

In addition to the requirements of the Habitats Directive, Article 8 of the EC Water FrameworkDirective will require Member States to ensure the establishment of programmes for monitoring the sta-tus of protected areas (including SACs). The purpose of such monitoring is to gauge whether the water-related ecological requirements (e.g. the water quality) of the SACs are being met.

1 The report due in June 2000 has been deferred for one year to June 2001.

Summary The EC legislation requires the condition of the habitats and species for which an SAC has been desig-nated to be monitored, in a manner which enables the condition of the feature to be estimated, andwhether management measures undertaken on the site are proving effective in achieving theirfavourable condition.

The UK approach to SAC monitoring

In the United Kingdom, an approach to the monitoring of wildlife sites which have been designatedunder both national and EC legislation has been developed which meets the requirements for monitor-ing of SACs. In this approach, a distinction is made between surveillance and monitoring.

Because the purpose of SACs is to contribute to achieving Favourable Conservation Status for thehabitats and species for which they were selected, work undertaken to assess whether SACs are makingthe contribution expected of them falls into the category of monitoring as defined in Box 1-2.

The Annex I habitats and Annex II species for which SACs have been selected are referred to collec-tively in the United Kingdom as interest features. Table 1-1 lists those marine interest features whichoccur in the United Kingdom and are covered by this handbook.

Table 1-1 Marine interest features occurring in the UK for which advice on monitoring the feature’s condition is providedin Sections 3 and 4 of this handbook.

The approach to monitoring SACs in the UK is based on the requirement to assess whether the inter-est feature for which the site has been selected is in favourable condition. Favourable condition is thestate which needs to be achieved by an interest feature and corresponds to Favourable ConservationStatus at the level of the individual SAC (Figure 1-1).

Favourable condition, therefore, is the ‘formulated standard’ referred to in the definition of monitor-ing given in Box 1-2, and has to be defined for each interest feature on each SAC. To accomplish this,and to achieve as far as possible a full alignment with management measures and controls establishedunder Management Schemes, the UK has formulated standards based on the conservation objectivesdeveloped for each interest feature on each SAC.


Box 1-2 Definitions

Surveillance is a continued programme of biological surveys systematically undertaken toprovide a series of observations in time.Monitoring is surveillance undertaken to ensure that formulated standards are being maintained.

Annex I habitats

Sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater at all times

Mudflats and sandflats not covered byseawater at low tide

Reefs

Submerged or partially submerged sea caves

Lagoons

Estuaries

Large shallow inlets and bays

Annex II species

Phoca vitulina (Common seal)

Halichoerus grypus (Grey seal)

Tursiops truncatus (Bottlenose dolphin)

Figure 1-1 Diagrammatic representation of the UK’s approach to setting a conservation objective for a marine SAC feature.

Conservation objectivesThe Habitats Directive implies that conservation objectives will be developed for SACs, and explicitlyrefers to these in the context of appropriate assessment of plans and projects under Article 6. The UK’snational implementing Regulations have developed the concept further and require the country natureconservation agencies to advise all relevant authorities of the conservation objectives for each marineSAC. A conservation objective is a statement of the nature conservation aspirations for the interest fea-tures on an SAC, expressed in terms of broad targets that define favourable condition.

e

The process of defining favourable condition of an interest feature can be thought of as consisting oftwo elements:

1) Identifying the most important characteristics of the interest feature that define its condition.Depending on the feature concerned, this will usually include some combination of the:

– quantity of the feature, for example the extent of habitat, or habitat of the species, or abundance ofthe species, and related characteristics such as range of distribution, and whether its spatial occur-rence is patchy or continuous;

– quality of the feature, for example for a habitat, the presence or abundance of component species,or the quality of inorganic components of the habitat such as substrata; for a species population,measures of quality could include characteristics such as age or size structure, productivity rate,and even aspects of the ‘health’ of individuals;

– processes supporting the feature, such as physical environmental factors like water quality, watermovement (levels and flows) or sediment processes, where they are of overriding importance to thecondition of a habitat or species; for example, the salinity patterns observed in a lagoon.

2) Identifying the state or value, or range of values, for the selected characteristics which the featureneeds to have if it is to be considered as being in favourable condition. These values need to recog-nise, so far as possible, the fluctuations which are part of the feature’s natural dynamics.

As a guide, and in the absence of information on which to base a different conclusion, the ‘value’ ofthe characteristics at the time when the feature was selected is assumed to be representative offavourable condition. The United Kingdom refers to the characteristics described above as attributes.

Sub-featuresThe marine Annex I habitats are very broadly defined habitats that are often represented by large andcomplex sites. To effectively describe, monitor and manage such complex features, it has been neces-sary to divide some of them into smaller units called sub-features. Sub-features are distinctive biologi-

Background 17

Average particle sizeanalysis parameters similar

to baseline

Feature

Sub-tidalsand bank

Conservationobjective

Targets

No decrease fromestablished baseline

Depth should not deviatesignificantly from baseline

Number of biotopes shouldnot deviate from baseline

Average density should notdeviate from baseline

Attributes

Extent

Density ofeelgrass

Topography

Range ofbiotopes

Sedimentcharacter

Condition

Favourablecondition

Mai

ntai

nsu

b-tid

alsa

ndba

nkin

favo

urab

leco

nditi

on,

whe

reth

e:

cal communities (e.g. eelgrass beds, maerl beds, horse-mussel reefs), or particular structural or geo-graphical elements of the feature (see Figure 1-2). Sub-features have often proved helpful, both in thedevelopment of conservation objectives, and of monitoring programmes, to separate the feature into anumber of constituent sub-features, and then to identify attributes and targets for the sub-features. Theuse of sub-features has been found to be particularly helpful for those marine Annex I features that rep-resent whole physiographic units,

2and permits a level of flexibility in the application of the UK’s

Common Standards Monitoring which has been found necessary when applying the standards at the sitelevel.

Figure 1-2 An example of how complex Annex I features (bold italic) are divided into sub-features (normal text) for a largeSAC.

AttributesAs explained above, conservation objectives for each feature on each SAC are developed by identify-ing the attributes which describe and support the (sub) feature, and by the setting of values, or a rangeof values, for each of these which reflect the best judgement as to what is required to define the fea-ture as being in good condition. It is quite impractical to set conservation objectives for every con-ceivable attribute for a particular feature and, even if this were done, the cost of monitoring all ofthese to assess the condition of the feature would be prohibitive.

For this reason, conservation objectives are developed for those attributes considered to be essential.The nature conservation agencies in the United Kingdom are currently increasing their experience indeveloping conservation objectives for marine interest features, and the understanding of whichattributes are the most important may need to change as our understanding improves. Examples ofattributes are given in Box 1-3. The United Kingdom refers to the attribute values which help todefine favourable condition as targets.

In practice, in the marine environment it has proved useful to consider attributes in meaningfulgroups under a range of sub-features.


2 Estuaries, large shallow inlets and bays, caves, and lagoons.

Plymouth Sound and estuaries SAC

Estuarine bedrock, boulder and cobble communities

Large shallow inlet and bay

Intertidal rock and boulder shore communities

Subtidal rocky reef communities

Kelp forest communities

Subtidal mud communities

Subtidal sandbank communitiesEstuaries

Intertidal mud communities

Subtidal mud communities

Intertidal mixed muddy sediment communities

Subtidal mixed muddy sediment communities

Subtidal sandbank communities

Saltmarsh and reedbed communities

Sandbanks which are slightlycovered by seawater all of the time

Eelgrass bed communities

Gravel and sand communities

Muddy sand communities

SummaryA summary of the approach used to define favourable condition for an interest feature on an individualSAC is, therefore, as follows:

1) Identify and define any sub-features that are important components of the feature.

2) Identify the attributes for the interest feature, and any sub-features, which are considered, on bestjudgement, to be essential to assess its condition.

3) Set targets for those attributes.

4) Formulate conservation objectives for the feature based on the aggregation of all the selected attrib-utes and their targets.

These conservation objectives then define favourable condition for the feature.

The role of monitoring in judging favourable condition

Monitoring the selected attributes provides the information to compare their actual values at the timeof recording with the target values, to enable an assessment of whether or not the feature (or sub-fea-ture) is in favourable condition.

The United Kingdom uses this approach in the monitoring of all sites designated under national andEC nature conservation Directives, and refers to the approach as Common Standards Monitoring . Theapproach has a number of advantages:

• At a local level, it provides a framework for those responsible for developing and implementingmonitoring programmes to do so with the confidence that this framework is supported nationallyand is being implemented throughout the country.

• It enables judgements to be made about the condition of features which are consistent between oneperson and another, and between one site and another.

• Collecting, managing and exchanging monitoring information using accepted standards can be doneat a much lower cost than would otherwise be possible, and use of the standards also facilitates thecomparison of results over time and between different localities.

• It enables the UK to report on the condition of each feature at the national level to the EC.

Frequency of monitoringThe Habitats Directive requires Member States to report on the status of the habitats and species ofCommunity interest every six years. In conformity with this, the UK has adopted the practice of moni-toring all designated sites, including SACs, on a six-year cycle. Within this overall six-year monitoringcycle, each interest feature within a site must be monitored, preferably within the same year, but cer-

Background 19

Box 1-3 Examples of Attributes

Extent of the feature

Diversity of constituent biotopesExtent of important constituent biotopesDistribution of important constituent biotopesSpecies composition of important biotopes

Important topographic features such as bathymetryWater temperatureTurbidityNutrient statusSediment (or other substratum) character

tainly within a three-year period.Some features within sites will be monitored more frequently than this. Marine SAC features particu-

larly will need more frequent monitoring in forthcoming years to adequately establish their inherentvariation and better judge the appropriateness of target values already set, or define target values forthose attributes where there are few existing data.

Judging the condition of sitesThe condition of designated features is judged to fall into one of seven categories (see Box 1-4). The firsttwo of these are termed favourable and features which are assessed as falling into these categories meetthe requirements of favourable condition. The remainder do not.

The Common Standards Monitoring model for designated nature conservation sites adopted by theUnited Kingdom also includes the monitoring of management measures and activities, but these are notincluded within the Handbook. The Common Standards Monitoring procedures are summarised in Box 1-4.


Background 21

FEATURES TO BE MONITOREDThe features to be monitored and reported willbe, in the case of Natura 2000, the features forwhich the site is designated.

For monitoring purposes, the special interestof the site may not always be dealt with as a sin-gle entity since many sites have a complex mixof Annex I habitats or Annex II species, whichprovide the justification for the designation ofthe site. However, the individual features ofinterest should be identified, monitored andreported on separately. These interest featuresare described in the notification documents andare the reasons for designating the site. UntilSACs are formally designated the interest fea-tures are those for which the site was selected.

CONSERVATION OBJECTIVESConservation objectives will be prepared for inter-est features on all sites. Each objective will definewhat constitutes favourable condition of each fea-ture by describing broad targets which should bemet if the feature is to be judged favourable.

Each interest feature of a site will have one ormore attributes that can be used to help defineFavourable Condition. For species these mayinclude population size, structure, habitatrequirements and distribution. Attributes of habi-tats may include area covered, key species, com-position and structure and supporting processes.

Broad targets will be identified for thoseattributes that most economically defineFavourable Condition of the interest feature.Because all features are subject to some degreeof change, the targets may express how muchchange we would accept while still consideringthe feature to be in Favourable Condition. If afeature changes to the extent that it falls outsidethe thresholds expressed then this acts as a trig-ger for remedial action or further investigation.

MONITORING CYCLEThe overall cycle will ensure that the interestfeatures will be monitored at least once withinsix years. However, for any particular site eachinterest feature should be monitored within athree-year period.

Within the overall monitoring cycle, it will beuseful to form a view of the overall condition ofthe features within a proportion of the statutorysites on a more frequent basis. Each interest fea-ture within a site should therefore be monitored,preferably within the same year, but certainlywithin a three-year period.

JUDGING THE CONDITION OF SITESThe condition of site features will be assignedagainst the following categories:Favourable – maintained. An interest featureshould be recorded as maintained when its con-servation objectives were being met at the previ-ous assessment, and are still being met.

Favourable – recovered. An interest feature canbe recorded as having recovered if it has regainedFavourable Condition, having been recorded asunfavourable on the previous assessment.

Unfavourable – recovering. An interest featurecan be recorded as recovering after damage if ithas begun to show, or is continuing to show, atrend towards Favourable Condition.

Unfavourable – no change. An interest featuremay be retained in a more-or-less steady state byrepeated or continuing damage. It is unfavourablebut neither declining nor recovering. In rare cases,an interest feature might not be able to regain itsoriginal condition following a damaging activity,but a new stable state might be achieved.

Unfavourable – declining. Decline is anotherpossible consequence of a damaging activity. Inthis case, recovery is possible and may occureither spontaneously or if suitable managementinput is made.

Partially destroyed. It is possible to destroy sec-tions or areas of certain features or to destroyparts of sites with no hope of reinstatementbecause part of the feature itself, or the habitator processes essential to support it, has beenremoved or irretrievably altered.

Destroyed. The recording of a feature asdestroyed will indicate the entire interest fea-ture has been affected to such an extent thatthere is no hope of recovery, perhaps because itssupporting habitat or processes have beenremoved or irretrievably altered.

These categories will be used to assess andreport on the condition of features of interest.

Judgements on the overall condition of a fea-ture will be influenced by a variety of factorsand in some cases a feature may be assessed asbeing in Favourable Condition when only someof the targets set for it have been met.

REPORTING ARRANGEMENTSA full report will be produced once every sixyears. The monitoring framework will generateinformation on the condition of features acrossthe statutory site network as a whole, or on thestatus of features within individual sites, andwill be used to fulfil reporting requirementsunder the Habitats Directive (and otherInternational Conventions).

Box 1-4 Some key aspects of the framework of Common Standards Monitoring

Context of SAC monitoring within the Scheme of Management

Figure 1-3 Outline of the process of establishing a management scheme incorporating a monitoring programme on an SAC,showing the organisations responsible for each stage (after Anon 1998

f). Conservation Agency: Countryside Council for

Wales, English Nature, Environment and Heritage Service (Northern Ireland), Scottish Natural Heritage. Relevant Authority:the specific competent authority

3which has powers or functions which have, or could have, an impact on the marine envi-

ronment within or adjacent to a SAC. Management Group comprises the relevant authorities and conservation agency members. DETR: Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.


3 A competent authority is any minister, government department, public or statutory undertaker, public body orperson holding public office that exercises statutory powers.

The context of monitoring within the Management Scheme prepared for an individual SAC is illustrat-ed in Figure 1-3. The monitoring of the condition of SACs is co-ordinated by the statutory nature con-servation agencies, though other authorities may actually carry out monitoring activities where this isappropriate.

Conservation Agency advises onthe conservation objectives andon activities that may damage or

disturb the feature

Conservation Agencies monitorthe condition of features

Conservation Agencies report thecondition of features on a SAC to

Management Group & JNCC[This may trigger a change to the

site’s management]

JNCC reports the condition ofeach feature in UK to DETR for

submission to the EC

Relevant authority monitors thecompliance with management

measures [This may trigger a change to

the site’s management]

Management group agrees amanagement scheme to attain the

conservation objectives, and tomanage other uses to ensure theyare compatible with the Directive’s

requirements

Management scheme is effectedthrough voluntary action and thestatutory powers of the relevant

authorities

Using data from existing monitoring programmes

The United Kingdom has a long history of long-term investigations in the marine environment, both ata local and national scale. Universities and research institutes have generally pursued local pro-grammes such as the benthic investigations by the University of Newcastle’s Dove Marine Laboratory offthe coast of NE England (Buchanan and Moore 1986).

gNational monitoring programmes have been

undertaken by statutory agencies, usually as part of their regulatory functions; for example, the Ministryof Agriculture, Fisheries and Food monitor the physio-chemical parameters of seawater in relation tothe disposal of contaminants (MAFF 1994).

hExisting monitoring programmes are expected to make a

significant contribution to SAC monitoring, in terms of providing data at a site where sampling stationsfall within the SAC boundary, and provide wider contextual information on the state of the environ-ment. Also, these existing programmes can make an important contribution to the development of SACmonitoring strategies and the interpretation of results. When developing site-based objectives, theselong-term programmes can contribute data on the variability of an attribute to help set realistic targets.During a monitoring programme, comparing the results gathered at a local level with any national trendsmay provide additional insights into an explanation of a local change. It is, therefore, prudent for thoseestablishing SAC monitoring schemes to undertake a comprehensive review to identify any existinglong-term programmes that may contribute to future monitoring effort. National monitoring in themarine environment is undertaken inter alia under the auspices of the Marine Pollution Managementand Monitoring Group (MPMMG)

4established by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the

Regions. One such scheme is the UK National Marine Monitoring Programme.

The UK National Marine Monitoring ProgrammeThe UK National Marine Monitoring Programme

5(NMMP) was devised in response to the 1986 House

of Lords Select Committee on Marine Science and Technology, who recommended that a commonapproach to monitoring should be established. This should provide all the information required to com-ply with the full range of national and international commitments (e.g. under the OSPAR Conventionand EC Directives). Overall responsibility for the NMMP rests with the MPMMG. The NMMP isdescribed in the Green Book,

iwhich includes procedural guidelines for the collection, processing and

analysis of samples.6

Sampling is undertaken annually by the Environment Agency and Centre for Environment, Fisheriesand Aquaculture Science in England and Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and theFisheries Research Service in Scotland, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development andthe Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland. It focuses on stable depositional sedimentsites and records data on sediment chemistry, biological communities, bioaccumulation of mercury,cadmium and lead, and their ecological effects. Samples are collected at each of approximately 115 sta-tions around the UK (Figure 1-4): there are 40 estuarine sites, 45 intermediate (coastal) sites and 30 off-shore sites. The programme has become biology-led because the prevailing biological assemblage is con-sidered to integrate and reflect the effects of the wide range of physical and chemical conditions occur-ring at each site. However, a perceived weakness is the difficulty of linking cause and effect. A NationalMarine Biology Analytical Quality Control Scheme (NMBAQC) was established in 1992 and has under-taken various exercises and workshops involving more than 25 laboratories to establish quality assur-ance standards for the biological aspects of the NMMP. Similar schemes exist for chemical monitoring(NMCAQC) and ecotoxicological monitoring (NMEAQC).

Background 23

4 See: http://www.environment.detr.gov.uk/marine/mpmmg/index.htm5 See: http://www.marlab.ac.uk/NMPR/NMP.htm for a list of links and http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/s-

enviro/viewpoints/5change-ltrs/3nmmp/5-3.html for an explanation.6 The Green Book is a controlled document distributed by Fisheries Research Service, Marine Laboratory,

Aberdeen: contact Dr Gill Rodger ([email protected]). The text may be downloaded from: http://www.mar-lab.ac.uk/greenbook/GREEN.htm

http://www.environment.detr.gov.uk/marine/mpmmg/index.htmhttp://www.marlab.ac.uk/NMPR/NMP.htmhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/s-enviro/viewpoints/5change-ltrs/3nmmp/5-3.htmlhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/s-enviro/viewpoints/5change-ltrs/3nmmp/5-3.htmlhttp://www.marlab.ac.uk/greenbook.green.htm

These schemes provide a potential model for establishing quality assurance measures in SAC monitoring.

Figure 1-4 Location of the National Marine Monitoring Programme (NMMP) sample sites in the UK. Key: ● - cSAC (pre moderation

7); ❏ - NMMP sites within cSACs; ■ - NMMP sites (see http://www.environment-

agency.gov.uk/s-enviro/viewpoints/5change-ltrs/3nmmp/5-3a.html).

Biological survey in the NMMP is based on macrobenthic sampling using grab and core sampling ofsubtidal sediment biotopes. Being quantitative counts of individual organisms, the results lend them-selves to the use of diversity indices and multivariate analysis to indicate ‘health’ and extent of change.Analyses of the entire data set provide an indication of any national trends in the ‘health’ of these bio-logical communities. The first holistic NMMP report on this spatial survey, National MonitoringProgramme Survey of the Quality of UK Coastal Waters,

jwas published in November 1998.


7 The original UK list of cSACs was reviewed at the EC Atlantic Biogeographic Region meeting at Kilkee, Irelandin October 1999; the UK is currently revising its list following this meeting.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/s-enviro/viewpoints/5change-ltrs/3nmmp/5-3a.html

These national results will provide an important context for assessing the significance of any localisedchange recorded during a SAC monitoring study.

Bibliography

a Cranswick, P A, Pollitt, M S, Musgrove, A J and Hughes, R C (1999) The Wetland Bird Survey 1997–98: Wildfowland Wader Counts. BTO/WWT/RSPB/JNCC, Slimbridge.

b Walsh, P M, Halley, D J, Harris, M P, del Neyo, A, Sim, I M W, and Tasker, M L (1995) Seabird monitoring hand-book for Britain and Ireland. JNCC/RSPB/ITE/Seabird Group, Peterborough.

c Anon (1998) A Statement on Common Standards Monitoring. Joint Nature Conservation Committee,Peterborough.

d European Commission (2000) Managing Natura 2000 sites – the provisions of Article 6 of the ‘Habitats’ Directive92/43/EEC. European Commission, Brussels.

e Anon (1998) A Statement on Common Standards Monitoring. Joint Nature Conservation Committee,Peterborough.

f Anon (1998) Natura 2000: conservation through partnership. English Nature, Peterborough.g Buchanan, J B and Moore, J J (1986) A Broad Review of Variability and Persistence in the Northumberland

Benthic Fauna 1971–85. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 66, 641–657.h MAFF (1994) Monitoring and surveillance of non-radioactive contaminants in the aquatic environment and

activities regulating the disposal of wastes at sea, 1991. Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report, MAFFDirectorate of Fisheries Research, Lowestoft.

i Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group (2000) UK National Marine Monitoring Programme: GreenBook. Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group, Aberdeen.

j Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group (1998) National Monitoring Programme: Survey of the Qualityof UK Coastal Waters. Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group, Aberdeen.

Background 25

27

2 Establishing monitoringprogrammes for marinefeatures

Jon Davies

Introduction 28

What do I need to measure? 28What attributes should I select? 31What is the target condition? 36

What is the most appropriate method? 37Precision and Accuracy 39

How do I ensure my monitoring programme will measure any change accurately? 40Natural change 41Spatial pattern 41Permanent sample stations 43Locating samples – random or not? 44Nested sampling 46How many samples do I need to take? 47Power analysis 49

Assessing the condition of a feature 51

A checklist of basic errors 53

Bibliography 54


Introduction

There are four stages in a monitoring programme to assess the condition of the interest features ofmarine SACs:

(1) establish what to monitor

(2) determine the most appropriate technique to use

(3) organise the deployment of the technique in the field

(4) assess the condition of the feature

The process is summarised in Figure 2-1.

What do I need to measure?

As explained in Section 1 of the Handbook, the aspiration for the features on UK marine SACs isfavourable condition as defined by the targets set for a range of selected attributes. The targets providethe framework to be tested in a monitoring programme. The process of developing conservation objec-tives for marine SACs is described in a separate report

aand will not be repeated here; the process

Figure 2-1 Summary of the SAC monitoring process

Establishing monitoring programmes for marine features 29

is illustrated in Figure 2-2. The monitoring programme is analogous to a scientific investigation wherethe hypothesis under test is whether the targets have been achieved; the feature is then considered to bein favourable condition.

1A monitoring programme must therefore make a series of measurements to test

the hypothesis that each attribute is in favourable condition and therefore enable a judgement to bemade on the status of the whole feature. Common Standards Monitoring

brequires a discrete data gath-

ering exercise (that may nevertheless require several field visits) during the reporting cycle to evaluatethe condition of the feature.

Figure 2-2 A hypothetical example of a feature and its conservation objective, showing the attributes and targets (adaptedfrom Ecoscope 2000a).

cThis diagram will also apply to a sub-feature (see Section 1).

In practice, information on targets2

is often presented in the form of a table, which shows the rela-tionship between feature, sub-feature, attribute and target, together with any site/attribute specific com-ments. An example is shown below in Box 2-1.

1 Brown (2000)sprovides an excellent and comprehensive explanation of how the Common Standards Model is

used for condition monitoring, including a detailed account of methods and appropriate statistical proceduresto evaluate a feature’s condition.

2 All features are subject to some change and so the targets may express how much change we would acceptwhilst still considering the feature to be in favourable condition. These will serve as a trigger mechanism sothat when changes that fall outside the thresholds expressed are observed or measured some further investiga-tion or remedial action is taken.


Fea

ture

or

Su

b-F

eatu

re

Fea

ture

:S

ubt

idal

san

dba

nks

Su

b fe

atu

re:

Eel

gras

s be

d

com

mu

nit

ies

Att

ribu

te

Ext

ent

Sed

imen

t ch

arac

ter

Top

ogra

ph

y

Ext

ent

Wat

er c

lari

ty

Ch

arac

teri

stic

spec

ies-

den

sity

of Z

oste

ra

mar

ina

Mea

sure

Are

a (h

a) o

f su

btid

al s

and

ban

k co

mm

un

itie

sm

easu

red

per

iod

ical

ly (

freq

uen

cy t

o be

det

erm

ined

).

Par

ticl

e si

ze a

nal

ysis

(P

SA

). P

aram

eter

sin

clu

de

per

cen

tage

san

d/s

ilt/

grav

el, m

ean

and

med

ian

gra

in s

ize,

an

d s

orti

ng

coef

fici

ent,

use

d t

o ch

arac

teri

se s

edim

ent

typ

e. S

edim

ent

char

acte

r to

be

mea

sure

dd

uri

ng

sum

mer

, on

ce d

uri

ng

rep

orti

ng

cycl

e.

Dep

th d

istr

ibu

tion

of

san

dba

nks

fro

m

sele

cted

sit

es, m

easu

red

per

iod

ical

ly

(fre

quen

cy t

o be

det

erm

ined

).

Are

a (h

a) o

f ee

lgra

ss b

ed c

omm

un

itie

s m

easu

red

du

rin

g p

eak

grow

th p

erio

d t

wic

ed

uri

ng

rep

orti

ng

cycl

e.

Ave

rage

lig

ht

atte

nu

atio

n m

easu

red

p

erio

dic

ally

th

rou

ghou

t th

e re

por

tin

g cy

cle

(fre

quen

cy t

o be

det

erm

ined

).

Ave

rage

den

sity

, mea

sure

d d

uri

ng

pea

kgr

owth

per

iod

tw

ice

du

rin

g re

por

tin

g cy

cle.

Targ

et

No

dec

reas

e in

ext

ent

from

an

esta

blis

hed

bas

elin

e, s

ubj

ect

ton

atu

ral

chan

ge.

Ave

rage

PS

A p

aram

eter

ssh

ould

not

dev

iate

si

gnif

ican

tly

from

an

es

tabl

ish

ed b

asel

ine,

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

.

Dep

th s

hou

ld n

ot d

evia

te

sign

ific

antl

y fr

om a

n

esta

blis

hed

bas

elin

e, s

ubj

ect

to n

atu

ral

chan

ge.

No

dec

reas

e in

ext

ent

from

an

esta

blis

hed

bas

elin

e, s

ubj

ect

to n

atu

ral

chan

ge.

Ave

rage

lig

ht

atte

nu

atio

nsh

ould

not

dec

reas

e si

gnif

ican

tly

from

an

es

tabl

ish

ed b

asel

ine,

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

.

Ave

rage

den

sity

sh

ould

not

dev

iate

sig

nif

ican

tly

from

an

esta

blis

hed

bas

elin

e, s

ubj

ect

ton

atu

ral

chan

ge.

Com

men

ts

Ext

ent

of t

he

feat

ure

is

a re

por

tin

g re

quir

emen

t of

th

e H

abit

ats

Dir

ecti

ve. M

onit

orin

g w

ill

nee

d t

o ta

ke a

ccou

nt

of t

he

dyn

amic

nat

ure

of

the

feat

ure

bu

t re

du

ctio

n i

n e

xten

t m

ay i

nd

icat

e lo

ng-

term

chan

ges

in t

he

ph

ysic

al c

ond

itio

ns

infl

uen

cin

g th

e fe

atu

re.

Sed

imen

t ch

arac

ter

def

ined

by

par

ticl

e si

ze a

nal

ysis

is

key

to

the

stru

ctu

re o

f th

e fe

atu

re, a

nd

ref

lect

s al

l of

th

e p

hys

ical

pro

cess

esac

tin

g on

it.

P

arti

cle

size

com

pos

itio

n v

arie

s ac

ross

th

e fe

atu

rean

d c

an b

e u

sed

to

ind

icat

e sp

atia

l d

istr

ibu

tion

of

sed

imen

t ty

pes

thu

s re

flec

tin

g th

e st

abil

ity

of t

he

feat

ure

an

d t

he

pro

cess

es

sup

por

tin

g it

.

Dep

th a

nd

dis

trib

uti

on o

f th

e sa

nd

ban

ks r

efle

cts

the

ener

gy

con

dit

ion

s an

d s

tabi

lity

of

the

sed

imen

t, w

hic

h i

s ke

y to

th

est

ruct

ure

of

the

feat

ure

. D

epth

of

the

feat

ure

is

a m

ajor

in

flu

ence

on t

he

dis

trib

uti

on o

f co

mm

un

itie

s th

rou

ghou

t.

Th

e ex

ten

t an

d d

istr

ibu

tion

of

seag

rass

bed

s p

rovi

des

a l

ong-

term

inte

grat

ed m

easu

re o

f en

viro

nm

enta

l co

nd

itio

ns.

Wat

er c

lari

ty i

s im

por

tan

t fo

r m

ain

tain

ing

the

eelg

rass

bed

s, a

nd

thu

s th

e st

ruct

ure

of

the

feat

ure

. C

lari

ty d

ecre

ases

th

rou

ghin

crea

ses

in a

mou

nts

of

susp

end

ed o

rgan

ic/i

nor

gan

ic m

atte

r.W

ater

cla

rity

is

alre

ady

bein

g m

easu

red

in

th

e sh

allo

w i

nle

ts

and

bay

s fe

atu

re, b

ut

has

to

be m

easu

red

on

all

eel

gras

s be

ds.

An

ear

ly i

nd

icat

or o

f se

agra

ss u

nd

er s

tres

s is

a r

edu

ctio

n i

n

biom

ass,

i.e

. th

e n

um

ber

and

len

gth

of

leav

es. D

ensi

ty i

s p

refe

rred

as

a su

rrog

ate

for

biom

ass,

bei

ng

less

des

tru

ctiv

e,

base

d o

n b

asel

ine

surv

ey t

o es

tabl

ish

th

e re

lati

onsh

ip b

etw

een

den

sity

an

d b

iom

ass

at a

sit

e.

3 S

cott

ish

Nat

ura

l H

erit

age

use

th

e ex

pre

ssio

n S

ite

Att

ribu

te T

able

4 T

he

full

tab

le i

s p

ubl

ish

ed i

n: A

non

(20

00)

Ply

mou

th S

oun

d a

nd

Est

uar

ies

Eu

rop

ean

Mar

ine

Sit

e. E

ngl

ish

Nat

ure

’s a

dvi

ce g

iven

un

der

Reg

ula

tion

33(

2) o

f th

eC

onse

rvat

ion

(N

atu

ral

Hab

itat

s &

c.)

Reg

ula

tion

s 19

94. E

ngl

ish

Nat

ure

, Pet

erbo

rou

gh.

Box

2-1

An

exa

mp

le o

f p

art

of t

he

Fav

oura

ble

Con

dit

ion

Tab

le3

for

the

subt

idal

san

dba

nk

feat

ure

in

Ply

mou

th S

oun

d c

SA

C4 .

Th

e fi

rst

thre

e at

trib

ute

s ap

ply

to t

he

wh

ole

feat

ure

in

th

e S

AC

; th

e re

mai

nin

g at

trib

ute

s on

ly a

pp

ly t

o th

e ee

lgra

ss b

ed c

omm

un

ity

sub-

feat

ure

.

What attributes should I select?As explained in Section 1, the UK considers favourable condition to be favourable conservation statusat the level of the individual SAC. Why is this important and how does it relate to the choice of attrib-utes for monitoring? Part of the answer lies in the requirements of the Habitats Directive, which defineswhat is meant by favourable conservation status, and is set out in Box 2-2.

Taking habitat features only, these definitions clearly suggest that an assessment of FCS must consid-er attributes relating to extent, structure, function and typical species. The Joint Nature ConservationCommittee commissioned a study

dto identify generic parameters for defining favourable condition of

each feature that equate to the broad definitions in Box 2-2. It provided useful guidance on the type ofgeneric attribute

5to consider in relation to the definitions of FCS. Adopting generic attributes will make

a valuable contribution to the implementation of the UK’s Common Standards for Monitoring program-me

bacross the site series. These ideas were explored at the UK Marine SACs Project European work-

shop held at Gatwickeand further developed as guidance by English Nature,

6who concluded that gener-

ic attributes would:

• ensure consistency of condition assessments;

• facilitate aggregation of condition assessments;

• assist in the identification of large scale change, for example across the Natura 2000 series.

Scottish Natural Heritage’s handbook on site condition monitoringf

suggests the habitat attributesshould consider the quantity and quality, where quality is further sub-divided into physical attributes,composition, structure, dynamics and function. For species, the attributes should be quantity, popula-tion dynamics, population structure, genetic diversity and habitat requirements. To provide a structuredapproach in the present Handbook, the following generic attributes are used: extent, biotic composition,biological structure and physical structure for Annex I habitats, and quantity, population dynamics,population structure and habitat requirements for Annex II species. Table 2-1 and Table 2-2 give exam-ples of how these generic attributes have been interpreted and then applied to candidate SACs in UK.In the UK, all reference to biological communities must use the terms in the national marine


Box 2-2 Definitions of favourable conservation status for Annex I habitats (Article 1e) and Annex II species (Article 1i)For a natural habitat, favourable conservation status occurs when:

• its natural range and area it covers within that range are stable or increasing; and

• the specific structure and functions, which are necessary for its long-term maintenance,exist and are likely to continue to exist for the foreseeable future; and

• the conservation status of its typical species is favourable.

For a species, favourable conservation status occurs when:

• the population dynamics data on the species concerned indicate that it is maintainingitself on a long-term basis as a viable component of its natural habitats; and

• the natural range of the species is neither being reduced nor is likely to be reduced for theforeseeable future; and

• there is, and will probably continue to be, a sufficiently large habitat to maintain its populations on a long-term basis.

5 A generic attribute is a summary term describing the broad theme from which site-specific attributes may bederived. For example, biotic composition (of a feature) is the generic attribute whereas, the species compositionof biotope x and the presence of species y would be site-specific representations.

6 Selecting attributes for Annex I habitats and Annex II species of marine SACs, paper by Paul Gilliland,Maritime Team, English Nature; [email protected]


biotope classification,gand for species, all taxonomic nomenclature must follow the Species Directory

h

to ensure a consistent approach across the site series.

Summary

A monitoring strategy must measure at least one attribute of the extent, the biotic composition, the bio-logical structure and the physical structure of an Annex I habitat feature, and the quantity, the popula-tion dynamics, the population structure and the habitat requirements of an Annex II species.


Tabl

e 2-

1A

sel

ectio

n of

attr

ibut

es fo

r m

arin

e A

nnex

I fe

atur

es, t

oget

her

with

exa

mpl

es o

f how

they

hav

e be

en a

pplie

d to

a r

ange

of c

andi

date

SA

Cs

in th

e U

K

Gen

eric

att

ribu

te

Ext

ent

of f

eatu

re

Bio

tic

com

pos

itio

n

Bio

logi

cal

stru

ctu

re

Con

cep

tual

att

ribu

te

Are

a of

hab

itat

Pre

sen

ce a

nd

dis

trib

uti

onof

bio

top

es

Sp

ecie

s co

mp

osit

ion

of

biot

opes

Div

ersi

ty o

f bi

otop

es

Pop

ula

tion

siz

e/d

ensi

ty o

fch

arac

teri

stic

sp

ecie

s

Ext

ent

of s

pec

ific

bio

top

es

Str

uct

ura

l in

tegr

ity

ofse

lect

ed b

ioto

pes

Sp

atia

l p

atte

rn o

f bi

otop

es

Exa

mp

le a

ttri

bute

Ext

ent

Ran

ge a

nd

dis

trib

uti

on o

f ro

ckco

mm

un

itie

s (S

LR

, ML

R, M

CR

biot

opes

)

Sp

ecie

s co

mp

osit

ion

of

char

-ac

teri

stic

roc

ky s

car

biot

opes

:m

uss

el b

eds

and

tid

esw

ept

bou

lder

s w

ith

Fu

cus

cera

noi

des

Pre

sen

ce a

nd

dis

trib

uti

on o

f a

sele

ctio

n o

f bi

otop

es r

epre

sen

-ta

tive

of

the

Pen

Lly

n r

eefs

Ch

arac

teri

stic

sp

ecie

s –

the

spon

ges

Hal

iclo

na

ocu

lata

,H

alic

hon

dri

a p

anic

eaan

dH

ymen

iaci

don

per

leve

Ext

ent

of b

ritt

lest

ar b

eds

Str

uct

ura

l in

tegr

ity

of t

he

hor

se m

uss

el (

Mod

iolu

s m

odio

lus)

biog

enic

ree

f

Dis

trib

uti

on o

f m

ajor

com

mu

-n

itie

s w

ith

in t

he

estu

arie

s

Exa

mp

le t

arge

t

No

dec

reas

e in

ext

ent

from

an

est

abli

shed

bas

elin

e,su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

Ran

ge a

nd

dis

trib

uti

on s

hou

ld n

ot d

evia

te s

ign

ific

antl

yfr

om a

n e

stab

lish

ed b

asel

ine,

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

Pre

sen

ce a

nd

abu

nd

ance

of

com

pos

ite

spec

ies

shou

ldn

ot d

evia

te s

ign

ific

antl

y fr

om t

he

esta

blis

hed

bas

elin

e,su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

Th

ese

biot

opes

sh

ould

alw

ays

be p

rese

nt.

Th

e su

ite

ofre

pre

sen

tati

ve b

ioto

pes

for

th

e P

en L

lyn

ree

fs i

s to

be

det

erm

ined

. Th

e lo

wer

lim

it f

or t

his

att

ribu

te w

ill

beth

e p

rese

nce

of

all

the

rep

rese

nta

tive

bio

top

es

Ave

rage

abu

nd

ance

sh

ould

not

dev

iate

sig

nif

ican

tly

from

an

est

abli

shed

bas

elin

e, s

ubj

ect

to n

atu

ral

chan

ge

No

dec

reas

e in

ext

ent

from

th

e es

tabl

ish

ed b

asel

ine

(ref

eren

ce),

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

Targ

et a

nd

lim

its

for

this

att

ribu

te t

o be

det

erm

ined

:th

ese

wil

l d

epen

d o

n t

he

spec

ific

asp

ects

of

stru

ctu

ral

inte

grit

y ch

osen

for

eac

h s

elec

ted

bio

top

e

Th

e ta

rget

val

ue

for

the

broa

dsc

ale

dis

trib

uti

on o

f th

esa

nd

y an

d m

ud

dy

biot

opes

may

be

rep

rese

nte

d i

n t

he

form

of

a m

ap o

f th

e bi

otop

e d

istr

ibu

tion

or

as i

nd

icat

-ed

fro

m a

bro

adsc

ale

sam

pli

ng

grid

or

tran

sect

ser

ies

Exa

mp

le m

easu

re

Are

a (h

a) o

f th

e re

efs,

mea

sure

d p

erio

dic

ally

Var

iety

(ra

nge

) an

d d

istr

ibu

tion

(ap

pro

xim

ate

loca

-ti

on)

of b

ioto

pes

mea

sure

d d

uri

ng

late

sum

mer

/ear

ly a

utu

mn

, on

ce d

uri

ng

rep

orti

ng

cycl

e.

Pre

sen

ce a

nd

abu

nd

ance

of

char

acte

risi

ng

spec

ies,

mea

sure

d o

nce

du

rin

g re

por

tin

g cy

cle.

Abu

nd

ance

(%

cov

er)

of c

har

acte

rist

ic s

pon

gesp

ecie

s in

m2

quad

rats

alo

ng

two

tran

sect

s: m

eas-

ure

d t

wic

e d

uri

ng

rep

orti

ng

cycl

e

Are

a (h

a) m

easu

red

at

sam

e ti

me

du

rin

g th

e ye

ar,

once

du

rin

g th

e re

por

tin

g cy

cle

Th

ree

asp

ects

of

stru

ctu

ral

inte

grit

y h

ave

been

iden

tifi

ed f

or t

he

Mod

iolu

s m

odio

lus

reef

: 1)

con

tin

uit

y to

in

clu

de

the

area

, th

e p

erip

her

yra

tio

of t

he

reef

an

d/o

r t

he

inci

den

ce o

f sc

arin

g;2)

den

sity

/are

a co

vere

d b

y li

ve M

. mod

iolu

s; a

nd

3)

age

str

uct

ure

of

the

M. m

odio

lus

Pro

por

tion

s of

th

e m

ajor

com

mu

nit

ies

pre

sen

t in

des

crib

ed ‘z

ones

’ of

each

est

uar

y m

ay p

rovi

de

anap

pro

pri

ate

mea

sure

for

tar

get/

lim

it s

etti

ng

34 Marine Monitoring HandbookG

ener

ic a

ttri

bute

Ph

ysic

al s

tru

ctu

re

Con

cep

tual

att

ribu

te

Top

ogra

ph

y

Mor

ph

olog

ical

equ

ilib

riu

m(e

stu

arie

s on

ly)

Sed

imen

t ty

pe

and

sed

i-m

ent

stru

ctu

re

Wat

er q

ual

ity

(tem

per

atu

re, s

alin

ity,

nu

trie

nt

stat

us)

Wat

er c

lari

ty

Exa

mp

le a

ttri

bute

Bat

hym

etry

Mor

ph

olog

ical

equ

ilib

riu

m

Sed

imen

t ch

arac

ter

– gr

ain

size

Wat

er d

ensi

ty (

sali

nit

y an

dte

mp

erat

ure

)

Nu

trie

nt

stat

us

Wat

er c

lari

ty

Exa

mp

le t

arge

t

Dep

th d

istr

ibu

tion

sh

ould

not

dev

iate

sig

nif

ican

tly

from

an

est

abli

shed

bas

elin

e, s

ubj

ect

to n

atu

ral

chan

ge

No

sign

ific

ant

dev

iati

on f

rom

th

e in

tra-

an

d i

nte

r-

estu

arin

e T

P/C

S r

elat

ion

ship

, su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

Ave

rage

sed

imen

t p

aram

eter

s sh

ould

not

dev

iate

si

gnif

ican

tly

from

an

est

abli

shed

bas

elin

e, s

ubj

ect

ton

atu

ral

chan

ge

Ave

rage

den

sity

sh

ould

not

dev

iate

sig

nif

ican

tly

from

an e

stab

lish

ed b

asel

ine,

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

No

sign

ific

ant

dev

iati

on f

rom

th

e es

tabl

ish

ed b

asel

ine,

subj

ect

to n

atu

ral

chan

ge

Ave

rage

lig

ht

atte

nu

atio

n s

hou

ld n

ot d

evia

te

sign

ific

antl

y fr

om a

n e

stab

lish

ed b

asel

ine,

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

Exa

mp

le m

easu

re

Dep

th d

istr

ibu

tion

of

san

dba

nks

fro

m s

elec

ted

site

s, m

easu

red

per

iod

ical

ly

Tid

al P

rism

/Cro

ss-s

ecti

on r

atio

(T

P/C

S r

atio

), m

eas-

ure

d p

erio

dic

ally

Par

ticl

e si

ze a

nal

ysis

: par

amet

ers

incl

ud

e %

san

d/s

ilt/

grav

el, m

ean

an

d m

edia

n g

rain

siz

e an

dso

rtin

g co

-eff

icie

nt,

use

d t

o ch

arac

teri

se s

edim

ent

typ

e, m

easu

red

per

iod

ical

ly

Ave

rage

tem

per

atu

re a

nd

sal

init

y m

easu

red

per

iod

-ic

ally

in

th

e su

btid

al, t

hro

ugh

out

the

rep

orti

ng

cycl

e

Ave

rage

ph

ytop

lan

kton

con

cen

trat

ion

in

su

mm

er,

mea

sure

d a

nn

ual

ly

Ave

rage

lig

ht

atte

nu

atio

n m

easu

red

per

iod

ical

lyth

rou

ghou

t th

e re

por

tin

g cy

cle


Tabl

e 2-

2 A

sel

ectio

n of

attr

ibut

es fo

r m

arin

e A

nnex

II s

peci

es, t

oget

her

with

exa

mpl

es o

f how

they

hav

e be

en a

pplie

d to

a r

ange

of c

andi

date

SA

Cs

in th

e U

K. N

ote,

ther

e ar

e no

exam

ples

of t

he g

ener

ic a

ttrib

ute

‘pop

ulat

ion

stru

ctur

e’ m

entio

ned

in th

e pr

evio

us s

ectio

n.

Gen

eric

att

ribu

te

Qu

anti

ty

Pop

ula

tion

d

ynam

ics

Hab

itat

re

quir

emen

ts

Con

cep

tual

att

ribu

te

Pop

ula

tion

siz

e

Rec

ruit

men

t

Pop

ula

tion

via

bili

ty7

Gen

etic

div

ersi

ty

Are

a fo

r br

eed

ing

Ava

ilab

ilit

y of

hau

lou

tsi

tes

Are

a fo

r fe

edin

g

En

viro

nm

enta

l p

roce

sses

Exa

mp

le a

ttri

bute

Nu

mbe

r of

in

div

idu

als

Nu

mbe

rs o

f yo

un

g

Ad

ult

nu

mbe

rs

Ad

ult

sex

rat

ios

Gen

etic

div

ersi

ty

Ext

ent

of r

ocky

an

d c

oars

ese

dim

ent

shor

es

Dis

turb

ance

Ava

ilab

ilit

y of

foo

d (

fish

p

opu

lati

ons)

Wat

er q

ual

ity:

lev

els

of

nu

trie

nts

, pol

luta

nts

an

dp

ath

ogen

s

Exa

mp

le t

arge

t

No

sign

ific

ant

red

uct

ion

in

nu

mbe

rs f

rom

an

est

ab-

lish

ed b

asel

ine,

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

No

sign

ific

ant

red

uct

ion

in

nu

mbe

rs o

f yo

un

g p

rod

uce

dfr

om a

n e

stab

lish

ed b

asel

ine,

su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

Mai

nta

in a

du

lt p

opu

lati

on

Mai

nta

in a

du

lt s

ex r

atio

s

Mai

nta

in g

enet

ic d

iver

sity

of

bree

din

g p

opu

lati

on

No

dec

reas

e in

ext

ent

from

an

est

abli

shed

bas

elin

e,su

bjec

t to

nat

ura

l ch

ange

No

incr

ease

in

act

ivit

ies

like

ly t

o ca

use

dis

turb

ance

En

sure

foo

d a

vail

abil

ity

is n

ot a

lim

itin

g fa

ctor

on

th

ep

opu

lati

on v

iabi

lity

of

dol

ph

ins

Att

ain

an

d m

ain

tain

a h

igh

wat

er q

ual

ity

stan

dar

d f

orth

e S

AC

Exa

mp

le m

easu

re

Cou

nt

nu

mbe

r of

sea

ls u

sin

g ae

rial

ph

otog

rap

hic

tech

niq

ues

Cou

nt

pu

ps

pro

du

ced

on

an

nu

al b

asis

or

on a

ver-

age

per

rep

orti

ng

cycl

e

Cou

nt

adu

lts

and

sex

rat

ios

to g

ain

an

ave

rage

per

rep

orti

ng

cycl

e

Per

iod

ic s

amp

lin

g of

gen

etic

mat

eria

l an

d u

se o

fD

NA

to

mea

sure

gen

etic

var

iabi

lity

8

Tota

l ar

ea (

ha)

, mea

sure

d o

nce

du

rin

g th

e re

por

tin

gcy

cle

Mon

itor

com

mer

cial

fis

h c

atch

es w

ith

in a

nd

ad

ja-

cen

t to

SA

C

Mea

sure

kn

own

nu

trie

nts

, pol

luta

nts

an

dp

ath

ogen

s w

ith

in t

he

SA

C

7A

viab

le p

opu

lati

on i

s co

nsi

der

ed a

sec

ure

an

d e

nd

uri

ng

pop

ula

tion

th

at i

s ab

le t

o su

Marine Monitoring Handbook - JNCCdata.jncc.gov.uk/.../marine-monitoring-handbook.pdf · The 1990s saw a ‘call to action’ for marine biodiversity conservation. The global Convention

Documents