Changes in North Sea macrofauna communities and species distribution between 1986 and 2000

Author(s): Kröncke I, Reiss H, Eggleton JD, Aldridge J, et al.

Abstract

The North Sea Benthos Project 2000 was initiated as a follow-up to the 1986 ICES North Sea Benthos Survey with the major aim to identify changes in the macrofauna species distribution and community structure in the North Sea and their likely causes.

The results showed that the large-scale spatial distribution of macrofauna communities in the North Sea hardly changed between 1986 and 2000, with the main divisions at the 50 m and 100 m depth contours. Water temperature and salinity as well as wave exposure, tidal stress and primary production were influential environmental factors on a large (North Sea-wide) spatial scale.

The increase in abundance and regional changes in distribution of various species with a southern distribution in the North Sea in 2000 were largely associated with an increase in sea surface temperature, primary production and, thus, food supply. This can be most likely related to the North Sea hydro-climate change in the late 1980s influenced by the variability in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Only one cold-temperate species decreased in abundance in 2000 at most of the stations. Indications for newly established populations of offshore non-native species were not found.

Differences in macrofauna community structure on localised spatial scales were predominantly found north of the 50 m depth contour off the British coast along the Flamborough Head Front towards the Dogger Bank, off the coast of Jutland and at the Frisian Front. These changes were most likely attributed to stronger frontal systems in 2000 caused by the increased inflow of Atlantic water masses in relation to the hydro-climate change in the late 1980s.

Similar Articles

Basic Ecology

Author(s): Odum EP

The estuarine ecosystem

Author(s): Mc Lusky DS

Differences in benthic fauna and sediment among mangrove (Avicennia marina var

Author(s): Morrisey DJ, Skilleter GA, Ellis JI, Burns BR, Kemp CE, et al.

The seagrasses of the world

Author(s): Den Hartog C

World Atlas of Seagrasses

Author(s): Green EP, Short FT

Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems

Author(s): Waycott M, Duarte CM, Carruthers TJB, Orth RJ, Dennison WC, et al.

Seagrasses: biology, ecology and conservation

Author(s): Larkum AWD, Orth RJ, Duarte CM

Seagrass Ecology

Author(s): Hemminga MA, Duarte CM

Seagrass community ecology: Marine Community Ecology

Author(s): Williams SL, Heck Jr K.L.

The future of seagrass meadows

Author(s): Duarte C.M

Latitudinal gradients as natural laboratories to infer species’ responses to temperature

Author(s): De Frenne P, Graae BJ, Rodríguez-Sanchez F, Kolb A, Chabrerie O, et al.

(2016b) Cockle infection by Himasthla quissetensis - II

Author(s): de Montaudouin X, Blanchet H, Bazairi H, Nazik A, Desclaux-Marchand C, et al

Consequences of climate-driven biodiversity changes for ecosystem functioning of North European rocky shores

Author(s): Hawkins SJ, Sugden HE, Mieszkowska N, Moore PJ, Poloczanska E, et al.

Sea level variability and tidal resonance in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia

Author(s): Sammari C, Koutitonsky VG, Moussa M

Long-term evolution (1988-2008) of Zostera spp

Author(s): Plus M, Sebastien D, Gilles T, Isabelle A, de Montaudouin X, et al.

The Mathematical theory of communication

Author(s): Shannon CE, Weaver W

Diet of Worms Emended: An Update of Polychaete Feeding Guilds

Author(s): Jumars PA, Dorgan KM, Lindsay SM

Polychaete/amphipod ratio revisited

Author(s): Dauvin JC, Ruellet T

PRIMER v6: User Manual/Tutorial

Author(s): Clarke KR, Gorley RN

Infauna from Zostera marina L

Author(s): Fredriksen S, De Backer A, Böstrom C, Christie H

Seagrass colonization: knock-on effects on zoobenthic community, populations and individual health

Author(s): Do VT, de Montaudouin X, Lavesque N, Blanchet H, Guyard H

A Three-Stage Symbiosis Forms the Foundation of Seagrass Ecosystems

Author(s): van der Heide T, Govers LL, de Fouw J, Olff H, van der Geest M, et al.

The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats

Author(s): Coll M, Piroddi C, Steenbeek J, Kaschner K, Ben Rais Lasram F, et al.

Differential responses of bacteria, meiofauna and macrofauna in a shelf area (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean): role of food availability

Author(s): Albertelli G, Covazzi-Harriague A, Danovaro R, Fabiano M, Fraschetti S, et al.

Complex interactions in a rapidly changing world: responses of rocky shore communities to recent climate change

Author(s): Hawkins SJ, Moore PJ, Burrows MT, Poloczanska E, Mieszkowska N, et al.

The impacts of climate change in coastal marine systems

Author(s): Harley CDG, Hughes AR, Hultgren KM, Miner BG, Sorte CJB, et al.