2005 English Nature (EN) Solent Intertidal Survey August to September 2005

notPlanned

"ERT (Scotland) Ltd (ERT) was contracted by English Nature (EN) to undertake the project Biological Survey of the Intertidal sediments of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The aims of the survey were to undertake Phase 1 survey and mapping along pre-determined belt transects, and Phase 2 quantitative sampling using cores at mid shore and lower shore levels. At each transect. sampling consisted of a combination of mapping and Phase 1 recording within a belt 400m wide (200m either side of a central line running between the transect start and end points in the littoral fringe and lower shore respectively). In addition, quantitative sampling was required at selected transects using cores at a mid shore station and at a lower shore station. Navigation and mapping was based on the use of handheld global positioning system (GPS) reciever units onto which transect locations had been downloaded from the GIS. Surveyors travelled a zig-zag route within the 400m wide transect in order to locate biotope boundaries down the shore and records the key fauna and flora present within each biotope according to the MNCR Phase 1 methodology. Limited sampling occurred in August 2005, but the main survey took place over four days between 17 and 22 September 2005, coinciding with Spring tides. Two survey teams carried out the sampling, each with one hovercraft, a pilot and relief pilot, and two surveyors. A total of 42 transects were sampled including eleven in Langstone Harbour, and ten in Chichester Harbour, five in the Hamble Estuary, six in Southampton Water, five on the northwest coast of the Isle of Wight, and five on the Hampshire shore of the West Solent. Over 100 taxa were identified from cores taken in the mid and lower shores at 21 transects."