European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

"This dataset contains information on infaunal abundance and biomass from sediment grabs from the Western Irish Sea in an area known as Queenie corner (a proposed Marine Conservation zone, MCZ). The target habitat was subtidal mud (145km2) and there were two habitats of conservation interest within the broad scale subtidal mud habitat. • Mud habitats in deep water which are characterised by burrowing megafauna • Sea pen & burrowing megafauna communities which are characterised by the presence of one or more sea pen (several species) and are usually deeper than 20m. The key aim of this project and also this survey was to assess the presence, extent and the condition of subtidal mud habitats and communities at Queenie corner in the Western Irish Sea. The survey was carried out on the RV Corystes using a 0.1m2 day grab, the methodology is detailed below: • A 0.1m2 day grab was used to take a sample of the sediment & associated infaunal communities. • When the sample reaches the deck, a 250ml sample is taken for PSA and a further 25ml is taken for C & N analysis. The rest of the sample is carefully sieved to reveal any infauna. • Fixed Formalin (4% buffered formaldehyde) is added to the remains of the sample and these are placed in labelled buckets. • The samples are sent to accredited taxonomic laboratories were they are identified to as high a level as possible and weighed. Underwater video tows were also used in the larger project (the data are not present in this dataset) to investigate the presence and abundance of nephrops (Nephrops norvegicus) which are of extremely high commercial value to the local communities and economy. This involved the use of an underwater camera on a towed sledge with a GoPro attached and using an ultra-short baseline (USBL) acoustic tracking device for positional data. This video footage is then reviewed twice by experienced marine biologists to ensure a high quality of data. "