NatureScot Commissioned Report 923: 2015 site condition monitoring and site check surveys of marine sedimentary and reef habitats in the Loch nam Madadh SAC, Loch nam Madadh SSSI and Loch an Duin SSSI

SNH Commissioned Report 923 front cover

Loch nam Madadh Special Area of Conservation (SAC) was designated to protect the following marine features:

  • subtidal sandbanks
  • intertidal mudflats and sandflats
  • reefs
  • coastal lagoons
  • large shallow inlets and bays

The main purpose of this 2015 study was to monitor the condition of the sandbanks feature as part of our Site Condition Monitoring programme. This work largely took the form of an extensive drop-down video survey and infaunal survey of the loch system. More detailed surveying of the sandbanks feature was carried out along transects at selected maerl bed sites.

Site Check surveys of the other protected features of the SAC (except saline lagoons, which were covered by another project) were performed. Loch an Duin Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Loch nam Madadh SSSI overlap the SAC, and the tidal rapids feature of these SSSIs was also surveyed. Site Check work mainly involved surveying along relocatable transects at mudflat, reef and tidal rapids locations.

Site condition monitoring results from 2004 provided a baseline for the 2015 study.

No evidence for deterioration in condition was found for either the:

  • surveyed features of Loch nam Madadh SAC
  • tidal rapids feature of Loch an Duin SSSI and Loch nam Madadh SSSI

The report recommends categorisation as ‘favourable maintained’ for all of these features.

Published: 2016
Pages: 161

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Publication 2016 - NatureScot Commissioned Report 923 - 2015 site condition monitoring and site check surveys of marine sedimentary and reef habitats in the Loch nam Madadh SAC, Loch nam Madadh SSSI and Loch an Duin SSSI

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