The Isle of May lies at the entrance to the Firth of Forth. It is a small island designated as a National Nature Reserve. The coastline of the Isle of May is predominantly rocky with bedrock extending sublittorally onto boulder slopes and cobble and shell gravel plains. Conditions of wave exposure range from sheltered to exposed. The purpose of this study was to survey the range of littoral and sublittoral habitats and communities and assess the nature conservation importance of sites. Fieldwork took place from 1-6 August 1987. Ten littoral and 20 sublittoral sites were surveyed using established MNCR methods. Stations were classified into 28 littoral and 23 sublittoral habitat types. These habitats with their associated communities have been described and species composition listed. A total of 103 littoral and 218 sublittoral species were recorded. The habitats and communities of the Isle of May have been compared with St Abb's Head and the Farne Islands. The Isle of May was found to have a lower diversity of habitats than the other two sites probably due to the uniform and hard nature of the rock type and small area involved. However, a high number of species was found in relation to the small area and limited range of habitats. The shores and sublittoral rock, boulders and cobbles are considered to be of both local and regional importance. Records currently considered sensitive have been removed from this dataset.
