Shetland beached bird surveys: national and European context

1995 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 165-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Heubeck
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
British Isles ◽  
European Context ◽  
The North ◽  
Bird Survey ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Relationship

SynopsisA Shetland-wide beached bird survey was established in March 1979 and monthly surveys have continued since. This paper presents results from March 1979 to December 1992 during which time a total of 34 320 corpses of seabird and seaduck were found, of which 34023 (99.1%) were specifically identified. Corpses of guillemot (8911), fulmar (8707), kittiwake (4421), herring gull (2264), shag (1843) and great black-backed gull (1785) comprised 82.1% of the identified total, the remainder being made up of 31 other species. The relationship between the numbers of each species found, and their numbers and occurrence in Shetland waters is discussed. A total of 2781 corpses were judged to have been oiled before their deaths, of which 2732 (98.2%) were specifically identified. The six species most frequently found oiled were guillemot (1170 corpses), fulmar (543), kittiwake (184), razorbill (131), puffin (111) and shag (99).Variations in both the percentage of corpses found that were oiled, and the number of oiled corpses found per kilometre of beach surveyed, are examined and discussed. Comparison is made with results from beached bird surveys elsewhere in the British Isles and in other countries bordering the North Sea. In some species, notably the pelagic auks, there was considerable annual variation in the numbers of unoiled corpses found while in other species the number of unoiled corpses found changed more gradually over the 14 years. Reference is made to similar changes observed in other beached bird surveys and possible reasons for these changes are discussed.

scholarly journals Coastal archaeologies: settlement on the changing North Sea littoral

Antiquity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (358) ◽  
pp. 1095-1097
Author(s):  
Hans Peeters
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
North Sea ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Prehistoric Archaeology ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Many ◽  
Rising Sea Level

Over the past decade or so, the submerged prehistoric archaeology and landscapes in the area that is known to us today as the North Sea have received increasing attention from both archaeologists and earth scientists. For too long, this body of water was perceived as a socio-cultural obstacle between the prehistoric Continent and the British Isles, the rising sea level a threat to coastal settlers, and the North Sea floor itself an inaccessible submerged landscape. Notwithstanding the many pertinent and pervasive problems that the archaeology of the North Sea still needs to overcome, recent research has made clear that these rather uninspiring beliefs are misplaced.

Clay mineralogy of the Tertiary onshore and offshore strata of the British Isles

Clay Minerals ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Huggett ◽  
R. W. O'B. Knox
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Clay Mineralogy ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Subsequent Increase ◽  
The North ◽  
Clay Deposits ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Clay Formation

AbstractTertiary sediments are of restricted occurrence in the onshore British Isles but occur extensively offshore, attaining thicknesses of ~4 km in the Faroe—Shetland Basin and ~3 km in the North Sea Basin. Clay mineral stratigraphic studies of the North Sea Paleocene to Lower Miocene successions show a dominance of smectite (and smectite-rich illite-smectite) with minor illite, kaolin and chlorite. Abundant smectite in the Paleocene and Eocene reflects alteration of volcanic ash derived from pyroclastic activity associated with the opening of the North Atlantic between Greenland and Europe. However, the persistence of high smectite into the Oligocene and Middle Miocene indicates that smectite-rich soils on adjacent land areas may also have been an important source of detrital clays. An upwards change to illite-dominated assemblages in the Middle Miocene reflects higher rates of erosion and detrital clay supply, with a subsequent increase in chlorite reflecting climatic cooling. The persistence of smectite-rich assemblages to depths of >3000 m in the offshore indicates little burial-related diagenesis within the mudstone succession, possibly as a consequence of over-pressuring. Despite the importance of Paleocene and Eocene sandstones as hydrocarbon reservoirs in the North Sea and Faroe-Shetland basins, there are few published details of the authigenic clays. The principal clay cements in these sandstones are kaolin and chlorite, with only minor illite reported.The offshore successions provide a valuable background to the interpretation of the more intensively studied, but stratigraphically less complete, onshore Tertiary successions. The most extensive onshore successions occur in the London and Hampshire basins where sediments of Paleocene to earliest Oligocene age are preserved. Here clay assemblages are dominated by illite and smectite with subordinate kaolin and chlorite. The relatively large smectite content of these successions is also attributed primarily to the alteration of volcanic ash. Associated non-smectitic clays are largely detrital in origin and sourced from areas to the west, with reworking of laterites and “china clay” deposits developed over Cornish granites. Authigenic clays include glauconite (sensu lato), early diagenetic kaolin that has replaced muscovite (principally in the London Clay Formation of the London Basin) and smectite that has replaced ash. Pedogenesis has extensively modified the assemblages in the Reading Formation and Solent Group. Tertiary sediments are largely missing from onshore northern and western Britain, but clays and sands of Eocene and Oligocene age are locally preserved in small fault-bounded basins. Here, clay assemblages are dominated by kaolin with minor illite.

Long-term trends in the distribution, abundance and seasonal occurrence of larvae of mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.) around the British Isles, 1948–1978

1981 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. H. Coombs ◽  
C. E. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Seasonal Occurrence ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Scomber Scombrus ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Long Term Trends

The distribution, abundance and seasonal occurrence of larvae of mackerel (Scomber scombrus L.) are described from routine Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) sampling around the British Isles over the period 1948–78, and from more intensive CPR sampling in the Celtic Sea in 1977. There were two main areas of larval concentration: in the North Sea and over and adjacent to the Celtic Plateau; subsidiary aggregations were observed to the northwest of Ireland and to the west of Norway. There were some similarities between the distribution of larvae around the British Isles and that of adult Calanus spp. In the North Sea there was a southerly shift of larval distribution over the period 1948–77; over a similar period the abundance of larvae increased to reach high numbers by the late 1950s and subsequently declined after the mid-6os. To the south-west of the British Isles numbers of larvae showed a long-term decline. The long-term trends of distribution and abundance are discussed in relation to concurrent biological and environmental change. The clearest relationship was found between the numbers of mackerel larvae in the North Sea and sea-surface temperature in the North Atlantic, which suggests a common causative agent for both sets of observations; also, there was a weak relationship with both spawning stock biomass and sea-surface temperature at the spawning areas. In the North Sea the seasonal occurrence of larvae was from May to August, the majority being taken in June and July; over the period 1948–77 the seasonal time of occurrence of highest numbers of larvae has remained relatively constant. In the Celtic Sea the seasonal occurrence of larvae was spread over a longer period, from March to August, with relatively high numbers from March to June; over the period 1950–78 the time of occurrence has been variable, possibly with a tendency towards later timing in more recent years.

scholarly journals Some species of the ostracod genus <i>Bythocythere</i> Sars from British waters

1983 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Athersuch ◽  
David J. Horne ◽  
John E. Whittaker
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Quaternary Deposits ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract. A reappraisal of the genus Bythocythere shows that five species (B. bradyi Sars, B. intermedia Elofson, B. zetlandica sp. nov., B. robinsoni sp. nov. and B. bradleyi sp. nov.) live in British coastal waters. A sixth species, found in Quaternary deposits in Scotland and the North Sea, is not thought to live in this area today. Past records of B. turgida Sars and B. constricta Sars from the Recent of the British Isles are shown to be incorrect.

scholarly journals Observations on herring spawning and larval distribution in the Firth of Clyde in 1958

1959 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. B. Parrish ◽  
A. Saville ◽  
R. E. Craig ◽  
I. G. Baxter ◽  
R. Priestley
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Predatory Fish ◽  
Hatching Rate ◽  
Atlantic Herring ◽  
The North ◽  
Larval Distribution ◽  
Sea Bed ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Newly Hatched Larvae ◽  
The Relationship

Apart from the extensive egg surveys carried out by Norwegian workers (Runnstrom, 1941) most of the investigations on the spawning of the Atlantic Herring have depended on studies of the distribution of the spawning fish, on captures of newly hatched larvae, and on records of the occurrence of herring eggs in the stomachs of predatory fish species (principally haddock). With the exception of recent observations by Bolster and Bridger (1957), attempts to sample egg concentrations quantitatively in the North Sea and neighbouring areas have usually proved abortive. In consequence little is known of the distribution and density of eggs on the spawning grounds, their percentage fertilization, mortality during the egg stage, hatching rate, and the relationship between the distribution of eggs and the nature of the sea-bed.

Seabirds and North Sea oil

1987 ◽  
Vol 316 (1181) ◽  
pp. 513-524 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The North ◽  
Offshore Production ◽  
Bird Survey ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Moray Firth ◽  
History Of ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Tanker Accidents

The history of large and well-publicized incidents of seabird mortality resulting from oil pollution from tanker accidents (such as the Torrey Canyon in 1967) and from unattributed oil slicks at sea, gave rise to real fears that the development of North Sea oilfields would result in serious mortality and declines in the large populations of seabirds breeding and wintering in and around the North Sea. The oil industry recognized the problem and attempted to minimize pollution risks in all exploration, production and transport operations. Preliminary maps were prepared showing the distribution of vulnerable concentrations of breeding and wintering birds to facilitate contingency planning, and, particularly in Shetland, Orkney and the Moray Firth, extensive and long-term programmes are established to monitor: (1) the numbers of breeding birds; (2) wintering concentrations (particularly of sea ducks); (3) the distribution and abundance of seabirds at sea; (4) the numbers, and percentage oiled, of birds found dead on beaches. The feared increase in oil pollution incidents has not materialized. The few accidents associated with offshore production have had little effect on seabirds. Tanker accidents have been few, but have had large, temporary and local effects (e.g. the Esso Bernicia at Sullom Voe in 1978-79). Breeding seabird populations in the area have increased, although in recent years, in some places, some species may have declined, but these declines cannot be attributed to oil activities in the North Sea. The Beached Bird Survey suggests that chronic oil-induced mortality is at a relatively low level.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document