Infaunal analyses and population connectivity of flame shell beds for monitoring and management of marine protected areas in Scotland MASTS webinar with Lydia McGill (University of the Highlands and Islands) - Free event open to all

Flame shells are classified as a priority marine feature in UK waters and as such they have protected status. The discovery of different beds has been staggered over the years, and it is important that we monitor these beds now and learn more for continued management in the future.

In this talk Lydia McGill of the University of the Highlands and Islands will go over the work carried out while undergoing an internship at NatureScot, in which she used infaunal analyses to compare flame shell beds off the west coast of Scotland.

Using species diversity and functional trait analyses Lydia was able to compare the beds in the context of location, sampling years, and the length of the period of protection prior to sampling. This was a preliminary study with suggestions made for future sampling of beds.

Lydia will also talk briefly about her PhD work, where she is planning to use genomic data to look at the population connectivity of flame shell beds.

Sign up for the upcoming MASTS webinars happening every Wednesday at 1pm throughout April and May. Talks include live Q&A with the speaker and are recorded and uploaded to the MASTS YouTube page.