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Comparison of long-term trends in benthic and pelagic communities of the North Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

M. C. Austen ,
J. B. Buchanan ,
H. G. Hunt ,
A. B. Josefson  and
M. A. Kendall
M. C. Austen
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL 3DH
J. B. Buchanan
Affiliation:
Dove Marine Laboratory, Cullercoats, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE30 4PZ
H. G. Hunt
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL 3DH
A. B. Josefson
Affiliation:
National Environmental Research Institute, Jaegersborg Alle 1 B, DK–2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark
M. A. Kendall
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL 3DH
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Extract

Species abundance data for benthic communities, collected during 1971–1988 off Northumberland on the north-east coast of England (western North Sea) and the Skagerrak (eastern North Sea), and pelagic data collected in corresponding areas during 1958–1988 by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey have been subjected tomulti-dimensional scaling ordination. Changes in community structure at the two benthic stations show a high degree of similarity, characterised by a transition in the late 70s. Similarly, there is a less marked transition between the 70s and 80s in pelagic community structure from the eastern North Sea but pelagic data from the western North Sea shows no discernible patterns. Benthic community biomass data, available only for the Skagerrak station, enabled abundance/biomass comparison curves to be constructed which demonstrated a change from un-disturbed communities in the early and mid 70s to moderately disturbed communities in the late 70s and 80s. North Sea macrofaunal abundance, and, in the Skagerrak, macrofaunal biomass appear to co-vary with phytoplankton colour and total zooplankton abundance, although there are insufficient data for statistical testing. A number of factors including eutrophication and/or pollution may be responsible for these changes in community structure.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 71 , Issue 1 , February 1991 , pp. 179 - 190
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1991

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