Marine invasive alien species monitoring data from Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Cyprus, February 2017 to September 2018
Demetriou, M. (2019). Marine invasive alien species monitoring data from Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Cyprus, February 2017 to September 2018. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/519d42bf-51cc-42a4-8673-5f2044cfa19a
Marine fish, algae and invertebrate invasive alien species (IAS) data from Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Cyprus. Data were collected during an 19-month monitoring period starting in February 2017 and ending in September 2018. Sampling occurred seasonally, approximately once every 3 months, and used an underwater visual census (UVC) method. The UVC involved divers swimming at a steady pace along three 25m transects, with each transect separated by a 5m gap. The transects were randomly placed, covering a variety of habitats such as seagrass beds and rocky habitats where possible. Fish species were recorded and abundance estimated within 2.5m on each side of the transect. Benthic species (algae and invertebrates) were recorded from quadrats placed every 1m along each 25m transect. Sampling carried out by the University of Cyprus and volunteer divers from the Western Sovereign Base Area Sub Aqua Club as part of a Defra Darwin Initiative Plus project to ascertain baseline data on native and non-native marine species in the Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri.
Quality control/assurance was achieved by all equipment and protocols being sourced and developed by experienced University of Cyprus staff members who also trained the volunteer divers. All incoming data were reviewed and digitised by the university staff members.
copyright UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
NERC Environmental Information Data Centre