Dataset Details - Marine sites, habitats and species data collected during the BioMar survey of Ireland.
A database of marine species of the seashore and seabed of the island of Ireland.
05/01/2017
05/06/2025
The aim of this survey was to provide descriptions of the littoral and sublittoral habitats and associated communities of the Republic of Ireland.
Sublittoral sites were surveyed by scuba diving from a rigid inflatable boat and littoral sites by direct observation on the shore. Sites were surveyed following the procedures laid out Hiscock (1990). For each site, and habitats within each site, a description was made of the main physical and biological features. The relative abundance of all conspicuous species present are recorded, categorised as rare, occasional, frequent, common, abundant or super abundant using the scales in Hiscock (1990). Habitats were selected from the main biological subzones and range of substrata present. Details of each site were recorded on sublittoral/littoral site sublittoral habitat and littoral habitat forms which facilitate data collation and transfer to a database. Photographs were taken to illustrate the range of habitats, communities and species present at as many of the sites as possible. Specimens were collected to improve in situ identification skills and to contribute to a voucher collection of the species present in the survey area. Specimens were lodged in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. A voucher collection algae present in the area and those that could not be identified were sent to Prof. M. Guiry, University College, Galway for identification.
The coast of the island of Ireland
The data were collected from 1993 to 1996
All data were checked by Bernard Picton and Mark Costello, with additional checking of algae done by Michael Guiry.
Published as the BioMar Biotope Viewer.
Authors: Picton B.E., Emblow, C.S., Morrow, C.C., Sides, E.M., Tierney, P., McGrath, D., McGeough, G., McCrea, M., Dinneen, P., Falvey, J., Dempsey, S., Dowse, J. and Costello, M. J. Title and year: (2017). Marine sites, habitats and species data collected during the BioMar survey of Ireland. National Biodiversity Data Centre. Occurrence Dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/cr7gvs accessed via GBIF.org on 2017-07-19.
Trinity College
Open (Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0)
Trinity College, Marine sites, habitats and species data collected during the BioMar survey of Ireland., National Biodiversity Data Centre, Ireland, accessed 04 November 2025, <https://newmaps.biodiversityireland.ie/Dataset/258>
Dataset species distribution

Terrestrial Map - 10km

Distribution of the number of species recorded within each 10km grid square (ITM).
Live Map

Marine Map - 50Km

Distribution of the number of species recorded within each 50km grid square (WGS84).
Live Map
Dataset record distribution

Terrestrial Map - 10km

Distribution of the number of records within each 10km grid square (ITM).
Live Map

Marine Map - 50Km

Distribution of the number of records within each 50km grid square (WGS84).
Live Map
Dataset Contacts
Trinity College
Dr. Mark Costello
N/A
N/A
m.costello@auckland.ac.nz
http://www.tcd.ie/environment/
Records per year
Trinity College, Marine sites, habitats and species data collected during the BioMar survey of Ireland., National Biodiversity Data Centre, Ireland, image, accessed 04 November 2025, <https://newmaps.biodiversityireland.ie/Dataset/258>
Species per year
Trinity College, Marine sites, habitats and species data collected during the BioMar survey of Ireland., National Biodiversity Data Centre, Ireland, image, accessed 04 November 2025, <https://newmaps.biodiversityireland.ie/Dataset/258>
Date Statistics
Resolution No. records
Day 53722
1993
1996
Record Statistics

53722

887

1455

31

Resolution No. records
100m 53722
1km 0
2km 0
10km 0
50km 0
Surveys
SurveyId Title Data Capture Period Species Records
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Dataset Attributes
No Items available.
Recorded Species
TaxonId PrefnameTaxonId Name Authority Group Rank Records
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