Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T05:04:37.221Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spatial distribution of macrofaunal assemblages along the English Channel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2008

S.G. Bolam ,
J. Eggleton ,
R. Smith ,
C. Mason ,
K. Vanstaen  and
H. Rees
S.G. Bolam*
Affiliation:
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Remembrance Avenue, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8HA, UK
J. Eggleton
Affiliation:
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Remembrance Avenue, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8HA, UK
R. Smith
Affiliation:
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Remembrance Avenue, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8HA, UK
C. Mason
Affiliation:
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Remembrance Avenue, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8HA, UK
K. Vanstaen
Affiliation:
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK
H. Rees
Affiliation:
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Remembrance Avenue, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8HA, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: S.G. Bolam Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture ScienceRemembrance Avenue, Burnham-on-Crouch Essex, CM0 8HA, UK email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The present study investigates the species distribution patterns and macrofaunal assemblages along the English Channel and the environmental factors contributing to observed patterns. Seven distinct macrofaunal assemblages were identified based on Hamon grab samples. In the western Channel, an Echinocyamus/Nemertea assemblage dominated, giving way to an Abra/Scalibregma assemblage in inshore waters. A Verruca/Sabellaria assemblage was identified to occupy large regions of the mid-Channel while those of the east Channel were more spatially variable. While variations in depth, sediment particle size and wave and tidal stress were significantly related to variations in assemblage structure, temperature did not appear to be greatly influential. In addition, acoustic data obtained for each station sampled allowed us to determine how representative the observed biological communities are over spatial scales somewhat larger than the sampling points. In contrast to earlier comparable studies using anchor dredges, the biological communities sampled in this study did not exhibit a large east–west distinction; the most abundant species and key assemblages were found to be present along the length of the Channel. The possible reasons for these differences with earlier studies are discussed.

Keywords

macrofaunaspatial distributioncommunity assemblagesEnglish Channelenvironmental variablesbaseline
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Issue 4 , August 2008 , pp. 675 - 687
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allen, E.J. (1899) On the fauna and bottom deposits near the thirty-fathom line from Eddystone grounds to Start Point. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 5, 365–542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anonymous (2005) Environmental impacts resulting from disposal of dredged material at Rame Head disposal site, SW England: an analysis of existing data and implications for environmental management. Lowestoft: Cefas, 120 pp.Google Scholar
Boyd, S.E., Limpenny, D.S., Rees, H.L., Cooper, K.M. and Campbell, S. (2003) Preliminary observations of the effects of dredging intensity on the recolonisation of dredged sediments off the southeast coast of England (Area 222). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57, 209–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyd, S.E., Barry, J. and Nicholson, M. (2006) A comparative study of a 0.1 m2 and 0.25 m2 Hamon grab for sampling macrobenthic fauna from offshore marine gravels. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 86, 1315–1328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bremner, J., Rogers, S.I. and Frid, C.L.J. (2006) Matching biological traits to environmental conditions in marine benthic ecosystems. Journal of Marine Systems 60, 302–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, C.J., Cooper, K.M., Meadows, W.J., Limpenny, D.S. and Rees, H.L. (2002) Small-scale mapping of the seabed assemblages in the eastern English Channel using sidescan sonar and remote sampling techniques. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 54, 263–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, C.J., Hewer, A.J., Meadows, W.J., Limpenny, D.S., Cooper, K.M. and Rees, H.L. (2004) Mapping seabed biotopes at Hasting Shingle Bank, eastern English Channel. Part 1. Assessment using side scan sonar. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 84, 48–488.Google Scholar
Buchanon, J.B. (1963) The bottom fauna communities and their sediment relationships off the coast of Northumberland. Oikos 14, 154–175.Google Scholar
Cabioch, L. (1968) Contribution á la connaisance des peuplements benthiques de la Manche occidentale. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 9 (Supplement), 493S–720S.Google Scholar
Callaway, R., Alsvag, J., de Boois, I., Cotter, J., Ford, A., Hinz, H., Jennings, S., Kroncke, I., Lancaster, J., Piet, G., Prince, P. and Ehrich, S. (2002) Diversity and community structure of epibenthic invertebrates and fish in the North Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 59, 1199–1214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (1997) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, 144 pp.Google Scholar
Connor, D.W., Gilliland, P.M., Golding, N, Robinson, P., Todd, D. and Verling, E. (2006) UKSeaMap: the mapping of seabed and water column features of UK seas. Peterborough, UK: Joint Nature Conservation Committee.Google Scholar
Cooper, K., Boyd, S., Eggleton, J., Limpenny, D., Rees, H. and Vanstaen, K. (in press) Recovery of the seabed following marine aggregate dredging on the Hastings Shingle Bank off the southeast coast of England. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science.Google Scholar
Davies, A.M. and Aldridge, J.N. (1993) A numerical model study of parameters influencing tidal currents in the Irish Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research 98, 7049–7069.Google Scholar
Day, J.H., Field, J.G. and Montgomery, M.P. (1971) The use of numerical methods to determine the distribution of benthic fauna across the continental shelf of North Carolina. Journal of Animal Ecology 40, 93–126.Google Scholar
Desprez, M. (2000) Physical and biological impact of marine aggregate extraction along the French coast of the eastern English Channel: short- and long-term post-dredging restoration. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57, 1428–1438.Google Scholar
Foster-Smith, R.L., Brown, C.J., Meadows, W.J., White, H.W. and Limpenny, D.S. (2004) Mapping seabed biotopes at Hasting Shingle Bank, eastern English Channel. Part 2. Comparison of two acoustic ground discrimination systems. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 84, 489–500.Google Scholar
Giberto, D.A., Bremec, C.S., Acha, E.M. and Mianzan, H. (2004) Large-scale spatial patterns of benthic assemblages in the SW Atlantic: the Rio de la Plata estuary and adjacent shelf waters. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 61, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, J.S. (2001) Antarctic marine benthic biodiversity in a world-wide latitudinal context. Polar Biology 24, 633–641.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holme, N.A. (1961) The bottom fauna of the English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 41, 397–461.Google Scholar
Holme, N.A. (1966) The bottom fauna of the English Channel. Part II. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 46, 401–493.Google Scholar
James, J.W.C., Coggan, R.A., Blyth-Skyrme, V.J., Morando, A., Birchenough, S.N.R., Bee, E., Limpenny, D.S., Verling, E., Vanstaen, K., Pearce, B., Johnston, C.M., Rocks, K.F., Philpott, S.L. and Rees, H.L. (2007) The eastern English Channel marine habitat map. Science Series Technical Report, Cefas Lowestoft 139, 191 pp.Google Scholar
Kaiser, M.J., Armstrong, P.J., Dare, P.J. and Flatt, R.P. (1998) Benthic communities associated with a heavily fished scallop ground in the English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 78, 1045–1059.Google Scholar
Kunitzer, A., Basford, D., Craeymeersch, J.A., Dewarumez, J.M., Dorjes, J., Duineveld, G.C.A., Eleftheriou, A., Heip, C., Herman, P., Kingston, P., Niermann, U., Rachor, E., Rumohr, H. and de Wilde, P.A.J. (1992) The benthic infauna of the North Sea: species distribution and assemblages. ICES Journal of Marine Science 49, 127–143.Google Scholar
Labrune, C., Gremare, A., Amoroux, J.-M., Sarda, R., Gil, J. and Taboada, S. (2007) Asssessment of soft-bottom polychaete assemblages in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) based on a mesoscale survey. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71, 133–143.Google Scholar
Lance, G.N. & Williams, W.T. (1967) A general theory of classificatory sorting strategies. Computer Journal 9, 373–380.Google Scholar
Newell, R.C., Seiderer, L.J. and Hitchcock, D.R. (1998) The impact of dredging works in coastal waters: a review of the sensitivity to disturbance and subsequent recovery of biological resources on the sea bed. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 36, 127–178.Google Scholar
Oele, E. (1978) Sand and gravel from shallow seas. Geologie en Mijnbouw 57, 45–54.Google Scholar
Olden, J.D. and Rooney, T.P. (2006) On defining and quantifying biotic homogenisation. Global Ecology and Biogeography 15, 113–120.Google Scholar
Osuna, P. and Wolf, J. (2004) Results from a one-year run of a wave model for the UK continental shelf. Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Internal Document No. 170.Google Scholar
Pielou, E.C. (1984) The interpretation of ecological data. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Pingree, R.D. (1980) Physical oceanography of the Celtic Sea and English Channel. In Banner, F.T., Collins, M.B. and Massie, K.S. (eds) The north-west European shelf seas: the seabed and the sea in motion 2. Physical and chemical oceanography and physical resources. New York: Elsevier, p. 638.Google Scholar
Pingree, R.D. and Griffiths, D.K. (1978) Tidal fronts on the Shelf Seas around the British Isles. Journal of Geophysical Research 83, 4615–4622.Google Scholar
Pingree, R.D. and Griffiths, D.K. (1979) Sand transport paths around the British Isles resulting from M2 and M4 tidal interactions. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 59, 497–513.Google Scholar
Platt, T. and Sathyendranath, S. (1992) Scale, patterns and processes in marine ecosystems. In Giller, P.S., Hildrew, A.G. and Raffaelli, D.G. (eds) Aquatic ecology: scale, pattern and processes. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 649 pp.Google Scholar
Rees, H.L., Pendle, M.A., Waldock, R., Limpenny, D.S. and Boyd, S.E. (1999) A comparison of benthic biodiversity in the North Sea, English Channel, and Celtic Seas. ICES Journal of Marine Science 56, 228–246.Google Scholar
Rees, H.L., Eggleton, J.D., Rachor, E. and Vanden Berghe, E. (2007) Structure and dynamics of the North Sea benthos. ICES Cooperative Research Report No. 228. 258 pp.Google Scholar
Sanvicente-Anorve, L., Lepretre, A. and Davoult, D. (2002) Diversity of benthic macrofauna in the eastern English Channel: comparison among and within communities. Biodiversity and Conservation 11, 265–282.Google Scholar
Snelgrove, P.V.R. and Butman, C.A. (1994) Animal-sediment relationships revisited: cause versus effects. Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 32, 111–177.Google Scholar
Sokal, R.R. and Wartenberg, D.E. (1981) Space and population structure. In Griffith, D.A. and Mackinnon, R. (eds) Dynamic spatial models. Netherlands: Alpher Van Der Rijn, pp. 186–213.Google Scholar
Swart, D.H. (1974) Offshore sediment transport and equilibrium beach profiles. Delft Hydraulics Laboratory, Publication 131.Google Scholar
Warwick, R.M. and Uncles, R.J. (1980) Distribution of benthic macrofauna associations in the Bristol Channel in relation to tidal stress. Marine Ecology Progress Series 3, 97–103.Google Scholar