Monitoring Requirements

Zostera plants, and the communities associated with them, possess a number of attributes that can provide information on the condition of these biotopes. These attributes are listed in the table below, and assigned a numerical priority ranking. A priority ranking of 1 indicates those attributes whose monitoring is considered essential to effective SAC management and accurate reporting of conservation status. A priority ranking of 2 indicates those attributes whose monitoring is considered desirable for some SACs. A priority ranking of 3 indicates those attributes that may require targeted research or monitoring in response to specific events. Appropriate monitoring methods are listed in the table, and discussed more fully in Section B.

Measurable attributes of Zostera biotopes, monitoring priorities and appropriate methods
Measurable attributes

Priority ranking

Appropriate methods

Biotope-level attributes

    
  • Distribution and spatial extent of Zostera beds

 

 

  • Biomass and productivity

1

 

 

 

1
  • Aerial remote sensing
  • Acoustic surveys
  • Underwater video
  • Field observers
  • Remote sensing
  • Underwater video
  • Remote sampling (eg. grabs)
  • Field observers

Attributes of Zostera plants

    
  • Plant condition (eg. leaf length)
  • Sexual status (presence/number of flowers)
  • Reproductive success (eg. seed production, seedling germination and survival)
  • Presence of wasting disease

1

1

2

 

1

 

  • Underwater video
  • Remote sampling (eg. Grabs)
  • Direct sampling by field observers

Attributes of associated community

    
  • Presence of characteristic & representative species
  • Total number of associated species
  • Density of epiphyte grazers
  • Density of wildfowl
  • Presence & abundance of non-native species (eg. Spartina anglica, Sargassum muticum)

1

2

3

3

3

 

  • Underwater video
  • Remote sampling
  • Field observers
  • Existing MNCR Phase II data
  • Targeted research as required

Environmental attributes

    
  • Water clarity
  • Water quality (eg. nutrient & contaminant levels)
  • Water temperature
  • Sediment erosion/accretion
  • Climatic change/extreme weather conditions (eg. sea level change, storms, extreme temperatures)

1

1

3

2

3
  • May be monitored by public environmental agencies, or in cooperation with these

 

  • These are the focus of specific national & international research initiatives. The use of marine SACs for such research should be encouraged

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