Long-term benthic responses to sustained disturbance by aggregate extraction in an area off the east coast of the United Kingdom

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

Volumn 79, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 204-212

  Barrio Froján, Christopher R S ^a   Boyd, Siân E ^a   Cooper, Keith M ^a   Eggleton, Jacqueline D ^a   Ware, Suzanne ^a  

^a CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

macrobenthos; marine aggregates; North Sea; temporal variability

Indexed keywords

ANNUAL VARIATION; COMMUNITY RESPONSE; DATA SET; ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE; ENVIRONMENTAL DISTURBANCE; EXTRACTION METHOD; GRAVEL; HUMAN ACTIVITY; INDUSTRIAL PRACTICE; MACROBENTHOS; MANAGEMENT PRACTICE; MONITORING SYSTEM; TIME SERIES ANALYSIS;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; EURASIA; EUROPE; NORTH SEA; UNITED KINGDOM; WESTERN EUROPE;

EID: 45549092465     PISSN: 02727714     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2008.03.023     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Bale A.J., and Kenny A.J. Sediment analysis and seabed characterisation. In: Eleftheriou A., and McIntyre A.D. (Eds). Methods for the Study of Marine Benthos (2005), Blackwell Publishing 440
2. Boyd S.E., Limpenny D.S., Rees H.L., and Cooper K.M. The effects of marine sand and gravel extraction on the macrobenthos at a commercial dredging site (results 6 years post-dredging). ICES Journal of Marine Science 62 (2005) 145-162
3. Boyd S.E., Limpenny D.S., Rees H.L., Cooper K.M., and Campbell S. Preliminary observations of the effects of dredging intensity on the re-colonisation of dredged sediments off the southeast coast of England (Area 222). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57 (2003) 209-223
4. Boyd S.E., and Rees H.L. An examination of the spatial scale of impact on the marine benthos arising from marine aggregate extraction in the central English Channel. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57 (2003) 1-16
5. Bray J.R., and Curtis J.T. An ordination of the upland forest communities of southern Wisconsin. Ecological Monographs 27 (1957) 325-349
6. Cabioch L. Contribution a la connaissance des peuplements benthiques de la Manche occidentale. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 9 Suppl. (1968) 493-720
7. Clarke K.R., Somerfield P.J., and Chapman M.G. On resemblance measures for ecological studies, including taxonomic dissimilarities and a zero-adjusted Bray-Curtis coefficient for denuded assemblages. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 330 (2006) 55-80
8. Clarke K.R., and Warwick R.M. Similarity-based testing for community pattern: the two-way layout with no replication. Marine Biology 118 (1994) 167-176
9. Connor D.W., Brazier D.P., Hill T.O., Holt R.H.F., Northern K.O., and Sanderson W.G. Marine Nature Conservation Review: Marine Biotopes. A Working Classification for the British Isles (1996), Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough 340 pp.
10. Constable A.J. Ecology of benthic macro-invertebrates in soft-sediment environments: a review of progress towards quantitative models and predictions. Austral Ecology 24 (1999) 452-501
11. Cooper K.M., Boyd S.E., Aldridge J., and Rees H.L. Cumulative impacts of aggregate extraction on seabed macro-invertebrate communities in an area off the east coast of the United Kingdom. Journal of Sea Research 57 (2007) 288-302
12. Desprez M. 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 (2000) 1428-1438
13. Desroy N., Warembourg C., Dewarumez J.M., and Dauvin J.C. Macrobenthic resources of the shallow soft-bottom sediments in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 60 (2002) 120-131
14. DTLR. Guidelines for the Conduct of Benthic Studies at Aggregate Dredging Sites (2002), Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, London. http://www.communities.gov.uk/archived/publications/planningandbuilding/guidelines 117 pp. Available from:
15. de Groot S.J. The physical impact of marine aggregate extraction in the North Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 53 (1996) 1051-1053
16. Gubbay S. Marine Aggregate Extraction and Biodiversity - Information, Issues and Gaps in Understanding. Report to the Joint Marine Programme of the Wildlife Trusts and WWF-UK. The Wildlife Trusts, pp. 20 (2003). Available from: http://www.marinealsf.org.uk/catalogue/result.php?id=19093
17. Gubbay S. A Review of Marine Aggregate Extraction in England and Wales, 1970-2005 (2005), The Crown Estate, London. http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/1401_sue_gubbay_report.pdf 37 pp. Available from:
18. Hill M.O. Diversity and evenness: a unifying notation and its consequences. Ecology 54 (1973) 427-432
19. Hitchcock, D.R., Drucker, B.R., 1996. Investigation of benthic and surface plumes associated with marine aggregates mining in the United Kingdom. In: The Global Ocean - Towards Operational Oceanography. Proceedings of the Oceanology International 1996 Conference II, Spearhead, Surrey, pp. 221-234.
20. Holme N.A., and Wilson J.B. Faunas associated with longitudinal furrows and sand ribbons in a tide-swept area in the English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 65 (1985) 1051-1072
21. Kenny A.J., and Rees H.L. The effects of marine gravel extraction on the macrobenthos: results 2 years post-dredging. Marine Pollution Bulletin 32 (1996) 615-622
22. Kenny A.J., Rees H.L., and Lees R.G. An Inter-regional Comparison of Gravel Assemblages off the English East and South Coasts: Preliminary Results (1991), International Council for the Exploration of the Sea CM Papers and Reports 1991/E:27, p. 16.
23. Newell R.C., Hitchcock D.R., and Seiderer L.J. Organic enrichment associated with outwash from marine aggregates dredging: a probable explanation for surface sheens and enhanced benthic production in the vicinity of dredging operations. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38 (1999) 809-818
24. Newell R.C., Seiderer L.J., and Hitchcock D.R. 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 (1998) 127-178
25. Pearson T.H., and Rosenberg R. Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 16 (1978) 229-310
26. R Development Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing (2006), R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna
27. Rees H.L., Boyd S.E., Schratzberger M., and Murray L.A. Role of benthic indicators in regulating human activities at sea. Environmental Science and Policy 9 (2006) 496-508
28. Rees H.L., and Pearson T.H. An Approach to the Setting of Environmental Quality Standards at Marine Waste Disposal Sites (1992), International Council for the Exploration of the Sea CM Papers and Reports 1992/E:33, p. 16
29. Rees H.L., Pendle M.A., Limpenny D.S., Mason C.E., Boyd S.E., Birchenough S., and Vivian C.M.G. Benthic responses to organic enrichment and climatic events in the western North Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 86 (2006) 1-18
30. Ricciardi A., and Bourget E. Weight-to-weight conversion factors for marine benthic macroinvertebrates. Marine Ecology Progress Series 163 (1998) 245-251
31. Rumohr H., Brey T., and Ankar S. A compilation of biometric conversion factors for benthic invertebrates of the Baltic Sea. Baltic Marine Biologists Publication 9 (1987) 1-56
32. Seiderer L.J., and Newell R.C. Analysis of the relationship between sediment composition and benthic community structure in coastal deposits: implications for marine aggregate dredging. ICES Journal of Marine Science 56 (1999) 757-765
33. Singleton G.H. Marine aggregate dredging in the UK: a review. Underwater Technology 25 (2001) 3-11
34. Snelgrove P.V.R., and Butman C.A. Animal-sediment relationships revisited: cause versus effect. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 32 (1994) 111-177
35. The Crown Estate and British Marine Aggregate Producers Association (BMAPA). Marine Aggregate Dredging, The Area Involved - eighth Annual Report (2005), The Crown Estate, London. http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/marine_aggregates Available from:
36. Van Hoey G., Degraer S., and Vincx M. Macrobenthic community structure of soft-bottom sediments at the Belgian Continental Shelf. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 59 (2004) 599-613
37. Warwick R.M., and Clarke K.R. Increased variability as a symptom of stress in marine communities. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 172 (1993) 215-226
38. Warwick R.M., and Uncles R.J. The distribution of benthic macrofauna associations in the Bristol Channel in relation to tidal stress. Marine Ecology Progress Series 3 (1980) 97-103
39. Whiteside P.G.D., Ooms K., and Postma G.M. Generation and decay of sediment plumes from sand dredging overflow. In: van Dam V.L. (Ed). Proceedings of the 14th World Dredging Congress (1995), World Organisation of Dredging Associations (WODA), Amsterdam 877-892