Area surrounding Great and Little Crumbrae Islands, Firth of Clyde, western Scotland

Macroalgae and seagrass taxonomy-related counts; Fish abundance in water bodies; Fish non taxonomy-related abundance per unit volume of the water column; Habitat characterisation; Habitat extent; Macroalgae generic abundance in water bodies; Fauna abundance per unit area of the bed

Manual biota samplers

The Great and Little Cumbrae Islands are at the southern limit of the Firth of Clyde, with a deep water channel reaching depths of over 100m between the islands and Bute. The channel between the island and the mainland is over 50m deep. Great Cumbrae is composed of red sandstone and Little Cumbrae is basalt. The tidal regime favours the development of rich algal and faunal communities on the shores. The red seaweeds Chondrus crispus and Mastocarpus stellatus are better developed here than at any other location in Britain. At Kames Bay populations of the thin tellin Angulus tenuis have been monitored for over 60 years and constitute one of the longest series of observations on an intertidal species in the United Kingdom.

Cunninghame District Council
Planning Department Cunninghame House
Irvine

KA12 8EE
United Kingdom