Modelled biomass, production and species richness of benthic invertebrate communities in Welsh coastal waters
Soft-sediment benthic invertebrate communities in the coastal zone of Wales were modelled using a size-based model. Biomass, production and species richness were modelled as a function of local environmental conditions and bottom trawling disturbance. Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) contributed to a PhD at the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University entitled. The socio-economic and ecological implications of inshore fisheries management (project FC 73-02-740). The final part of this PhD includes an evaluation of the economic impacts of different types of fisheries management, including No Take Zones (NTZs) and areas where no fishing with towed gears is permitted. In order to base this economic analysis on realistic scenarios, data was needed concerning the locations which would most benefit from the protection described. The state of the benthic community was modelled using bottom trawl data up to 2003 and therefore represents the state in 2003. Predictions for a situation without trawling are not time specific. Values represent a yearly average. The model that was used was validated for the North Sea and explained 39% of the observed variation there. No data was available for validation of model predictions in the Irish Sea.
- Identification
- Extent
- Distribution
- Quality
- Keywords
- Spatial Reference System
- Content
- Constraints
- Maintenance
- Metadata
Identification
- Identifier
- NRW_DS110042
- Alternative Title
-
- Modelling the state of soft-sediment benthic communities in Welsh coastal waters
- Metadata Language
- English
- Lineage
-
A size-based model of the response of soft-sediment benthic communities to trawling disturbance was used to predict the recovery time of these communities after trawling was used. The model contained 32 state variables, in two faunal groups (soft and hard bodied macrofauna). Growth of the population biomass in each body mass - organism type compartment was modelled by modifying Lotka-Volterra competition equations to give the population biomass flux for a compartment. The interaction between habitat type and trawling effects was modelled by including relationships between growth and mortality and the environment in the model. We included the effect of sediment type on trawling mortality, the effect of bed shear stress on population growth rate, the effects of chlorophyll a content of the sediment on carrying capacity and the effects of sediment erosion on mortality. Recovery in the model can only take place through growth of the local populations, as the model assumes that there is no migration between adjacent areas.
- Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
- 2006-03-31
Temporal Extent
- Begin date
- 1998-01-01
- End date
- 2004-12-31
- Topic category
-
- Environment
Extent
Extent
- Geographic Extent
- Wales (WLS)
))
Vertical Extent
- Medin Extent Keyword
-
benthic boundary layer
Distribution
- Format Type and Description
-
-
Documents
(
)
- Specification
-
[A] Published summary report - Paper and electronic version (PDF & MS Word) [B] Map of distribution of biomass, production and species richness of benthic invertebrate communities, with and without trawling [C] Paper maps in report and digital polygon data (Arcview 3 shapefile)
-
Documents
(
)
Quality
Data quality
- Quality Scope
- Dataset
- Conformity
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
- Explanation
-
This dataset has not been assessed for conformance to the referenced INSPIRE regulation.
- Degree
- false
- Lineage
-
A size-based model of the response of soft-sediment benthic communities to trawling disturbance was used to predict the recovery time of these communities after trawling was used. The model contained 32 state variables, in two faunal groups (soft and hard bodied macrofauna). Growth of the population biomass in each body mass - organism type compartment was modelled by modifying Lotka-Volterra competition equations to give the population biomass flux for a compartment. The interaction between habitat type and trawling effects was modelled by including relationships between growth and mortality and the environment in the model. We included the effect of sediment type on trawling mortality, the effect of bed shear stress on population growth rate, the effects of chlorophyll a content of the sediment on carrying capacity and the effects of sediment erosion on mortality. Recovery in the model can only take place through growth of the local populations, as the model assumes that there is no migration between adjacent areas.
Keywords
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-01
Keywords
-
NRW Thesaurus
-
- production
- marine and freshwater inventory
- Irish Sea
- Biomass
- benthic communities
- bottom trawling
- benthic species
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2026-08-27
Keywords
Spatial Reference System
- Code
- NONE
Content
Content Information
NRW Profile
Custom Elements
- NRW Related Title
-
Modelling the state of soft-sediment benthic communities in Welsh coastal waters
Constraints
Constraints
Limitations on Public Access and Use
- Restriction type
- Other restrictions
Access Constraints Directive
- Limitations
- no limitations
Access Constraints Text
- Other constraints
-
There are no access restrictions to this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely.
Use Constraints
- Use constraints type
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
-
© CNC/NRW 1999. There are no use restrictions on this data. Recipients may re-use, reproduce, disseminate this data free of charge in any format or medium, provided they do so accurately, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright, and do not use it in a misleading context. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose, that dissemination or publishing does not result in duplication, and that it is fairly interpreted. Advice on interpretation should be sought where required. To avoid re-using old data, users should periodically obtain the latest version from the original source.
Metadata
Metadata
- File Identifier
- 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313130303432 XML
- Metadata Language
- English
- Resource type
- Dataset
- Metadata Date
- 2026-09-28T11:51:27.607Z
- Metadata Standard Name
- NRW
- Metadata Standard Version
-
1.0