Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-f46jp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-10T11:48:32.933Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The intertidal macrofauna of Nigg Bay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

D. Raffaelli  and
P. R. Boyle
D. Raffaelli
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB9 2TN, Scotland
P. R. Boyle
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB9 2TN, Scotland
Get access

Synopsis

Surveys of the intertidal macrofauna and sediment characters of Nigg Bay, Moray Firth, were carried out between 1981 and 1985. Permanent stations were located at the intersections of a half-kilometre grid covering the entire intertidal area and sampled for infauna, using replicate cores. Estimates were also made of mussel and lugworm densities from quadrats and cast counts respectively. The biomasses of selected species that constitute important resources for higher trophic levels were also estimated. The sediment for each station was analysed for median particle diameter and silt content.

The infaunal data were analysed by Detrended Correspondence Analysis. This indicated that tidal height was the most important factor governing the distribution and abundance of the intertidal communities. Sediment characters were only poorly related to distribution patterns.

The bay has a rich fauna and is biologically similar to other outer bays of the Moray Firth, which, like Nigg, are important areas for wildfowl and waders. Comparisons of survey data from different years indicate that there are natural cycles in some sediment and biological characters of Nigg Bay.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 91: The Marine Environment of the Moray Firth , 1986 , pp. 113 - 141
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, S., 1971. Nigg and Udale Bays: A survey of inter tidal invertebrates. Norwich: Coastal Ecology Research Station.Google Scholar
Boyle, P. R., & Raffaelli, D., 1981. A survey of the marine intertidal invertebrates of Nigg and Udale Bays, Moray Firth, Scotland. Report to Britoil plc.Google Scholar
Hill, M. O., 1979. Decorana—A FORTRAN programme for detrended correspondence analysis and reciprocal averaging. Ithaca: Cornell University.Google Scholar
Holme, N. A., & Mclntyre, A. D., 1971. Methods for the study of marine benthos. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Lutz, R. A., 1976. Annual growth pattern in the inner shell layer of Mytilus edulis L. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 56, 723–731.Google Scholar
Prater, A. J., 1981. Estuary Birds of Britain and Ireland. Calton: Poyser.Google Scholar
Raffaelli, D., & Boyle, P. R., 1982. A survey of the marine intertidal invertebrates of Nigg Bay, Moray Firth, Scotland. Report to Britoil plc.Google Scholar
Raffaelli, D., & Boyle, P. R., 1985. A survey of the marine intertidal invertebrates of Nigg Bay, Moray Firth, Scotland 1985. Report to Britoil plc.Google Scholar