2006 Natural England Survey of the Subtidal Sediments of the Solent Maritime SAC

notPlanned

"An acoustic and ecological survey of the subtidal zone within the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The survey had a number of objectives including mapping and identifying possible areas of characteristic biotopes, to ground-truth the seabed and sediment types, in situ recordings of species presence and abundance and the production of maps using GIS illustrating the seabed topography and biotope extents. The survey gathered both acoustic and biological data using a variety of methods. Acoustic information of the topography was gathered using side-scan sonar and navigation sorfware for logging. Ground-truthing was used to acquire the biological data. Drop-down video was used to identify the seabed type and featires as well as any conpicuous species. Notes were made on estimated coverage of algae, sand etc. At sites with soft sediment a Van Veen Grab was used to sample both the infauna and the sediment for Particle Size Analysis (PSA). The infaunal species were identified in situ to species level, where possible, and those needing further confirmation fixed for further investigation. dThe information gathered, both acoustic and biological, was then used to determine what biotopes were present and their distribution. A map was produced depicting the biotopes as polygons"