Quantifying the Physical Impact of Bottom Trawling Based on High-Resolution Bathymetric Data

Schönke, Mischa; Clemens, David; Feldens, Peter

doi:10.3390/rs14122782

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In relation to bottom-contact fishing, these datasets only map the biomass brought ashore, not the biomass (including bycatch) actually removed from the habitat [ 100 , 101 , 102 ]. For the scale of this study, it currently remains the best available data source, though for small case studies, acoustically derived bottom-contact fishing indices can be the best alternative [ 103 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baseline Inventory of Benthic Macrofauna in German Marine Protected Areas (2020–2022) before Closure for Bottom-Contact Fishing

Gogina,

Hahn,

Ohde

et al. 2024

Biology

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The response of benthic habitats and organisms to bottom-contact fishing intensity is investigated in marine protected areas (MPAs) of the German EEZ in the North and Baltic Seas. We examined the current state of macrofauna biodiversity in 2020–2022. Comparative analysis for macrofauna (in- and epifauna) inhabiting nine Natura 2000 MPAs constitutes a baseline to assess the effects of bottom-contact fishing exclusion in the future. Aspects of spatial and temporal variability are briefly summarized and discussed. We provide a species list for each region, including 481 taxa, of which 79 were found in both regions, 183 only in the North Sea, and 219 only in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea dataset surprisingly included higher numbers of taxa and revealed more Red List species. The share of major taxonomic groups (polychaetes, bivalves and amphipods) in species richness showed peculiar commonalities between the two regions. In the North Sea, multivariate analysis of community structure revealed significantly higher within-similarity and stronger separation between the considered MPAs compared to the Baltic MPAs. Salinity, temperature and sediment fractions of sand were responsible for over 60% of the variation in the North Sea macrofauna occurrence data. Salinity, mud fraction and bottom-contact fishing were the most important drivers in the Baltic Sea and, together with other considered environmental drivers, were responsible for 53% of the variation. This study identifies aspects of macrofauna occurrence that may be used to assess (causes of) future changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baseline Inventory of Benthic Macrofauna in German Marine Protected Areas (2020–2022) before Closure for Bottom-Contact Fishing

Gogina,

Hahn,

Ohde

et al. 2024

Biology

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“…Nevertheless, due to limitations in our ability to adequately quantify the magnitude of this pressure in this area (c.f. [ 49 ]), its potential influence on species richness was not quantified here and needs to be addressed in future studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substrate Heterogeneity as a Trigger for Species Diversity in Marine Benthic Assemblages

Romoth

Darr

Papenmeier

et al. 2023

Biology

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Many studies show that habitat complexity or habitat diversity plays a major role in biodiversity throughout different spatial scales: as structural heterogeneity increases, so does the number of available (micro-) habitats for the potential species inventory. The capability of housing species (even rare species) increases rapidly with increasing habitat heterogeneity. However, habitat complexity is not easy to measure in marine sublittoral sediments. In our study, we came up with a proposal to estimate sublittoral benthic habitat complexity using standard underwater video techniques. This tool was subsequently used to investigate the effect of habitat complexity on species richness in comparison to other environmental parameters in a marine protected area situated in the Fehmarn Belt, a narrow strait in the southwestern Baltic Sea. Our results show that species richness is significantly higher in heterogeneous substrates throughout all considered sediment types. Congruently, the presence of rare species increases with structural complexity. Our findings highlight the importance of the availability of microhabitats for benthic biodiversity as well as of the study area for regional ecosystem functioning.

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“…These areas were separated by a distance of 1.7km, featured water depths ranging from 19-25m, encompassed an area of 4.7km² for MPA and 3.7km² for REF, respectively (Fig. 1a), and were characterised by sediment predominantly composed of sandy silt, with a ne sand component (Tauber 2012;Schönke et al 2022). Notably, the areas were situated northwest of an abrasion platform.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baseline studies on meiofauna in the Baltic Sea before bottom-trawl fisheries exclusion I. Comparison of communities in the Fehmarn Belt (western Baltic Sea), with special reference to the Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda)

Packmor,

George,

Schönke

et al. 2024

Preprint

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As part of the DAM pilot mission “MGF Ostsee”, the meiobenthic communities of a protected area and a reference area in the Fehmarn Belt (Baltic Sea, Germany) were compared, with both study areas currently permitting mobile bottom trawling (MGF). Meiobenthic data were recorded at the major taxon level, with a special focus on the Copepoda Harpacticoida, which was further examined at the species level. This data collection will serve as a baseline for future assessments, after the planned exclusion of MGF in the protected area in 2024 to identify potential impacts of MGF on meiofaunal communities. In assessing the meiobenthic data in relation to trawling impact, a trawling index derived from multibeam data for the Fehmarn Belt was employed, developed in an early stage of the project. Comparison of major taxonomic levels did not reveal significant differences between the protected and reference areas in terms of taxa composition, abundance values or diversity. However, analysis of the Harpacticoida community at the species level showed that the compared areas differ significantly in species composition and abundance but not in diversity. These differences in the distribution of harpacticoid species indicate a small-scale heterogeneity of different (a)biotic factors. The initial correlation analyses between trawling intensity and both the main taxonomic levels and the Harpacticoida community did not reveal statistically significant results, which is attributable to the relatively small number of samples all recovered in an area affected by trawling. Nevertheless, a higher variance in total abundance between replicates was observed with increasing trawling intensity.

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Quantifying the Physical Impact of Bottom Trawling Based on High-Resolution Bathymetric Data

Cited by 13 publications

References 30 publications

Baseline Inventory of Benthic Macrofauna in German Marine Protected Areas (2020–2022) before Closure for Bottom-Contact Fishing

Baseline Inventory of Benthic Macrofauna in German Marine Protected Areas (2020–2022) before Closure for Bottom-Contact Fishing

Substrate Heterogeneity as a Trigger for Species Diversity in Marine Benthic Assemblages

Baseline studies on meiofauna in the Baltic Sea before bottom-trawl fisheries exclusion I. Comparison of communities in the Fehmarn Belt (western Baltic Sea), with special reference to the Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda)

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