Description: Understanding the distribution and structure of biotopes is essential for marine conservation according to international legislation, such as the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The biotope ‘Sea Pen and Burrowing Megafuna Communities’ is included in the OSPAR list of threatened and/or declining habitats. Accordingly, the MSFD prescribes a monitoring of this biotope by the member states of the EU. In the German North Sea, however, the distribution and spatial extent of this biotope as well as the structuring of its benthic species inventory is unknown. We used an extensive geo-referenced dataset on occurrence, abundance and biomass of the benthic infauna of the south-eastern North Sea to estimate the distribution of the biotope and to characterize the associated infauna assemblages. Sediment preferences of the burrowing megafauna, comprising decapod crustaceans and echiurids, were identified and the core distribution areas of the burrowing megafauna were modelled using Random Forests. Clusters of benthic infauna inside the core distribution areas were identified by fuzzy clustering. The burrowing megafauna occurred on a wide range of sediments with varying mud contents. The core distribution area of the burrowing megafauna was characterized by elevated mud content and a water depth of 25–55 m. The analysis of the benthic communities and their relation to sedimentological conditions identified four infauna clusters of slightly varying species composition. The biotope type ‘Sea Pen and Burrowing Megafuna Communities’ is primarily located inside the paleo valley of the river Elbe and covers an area of 4980 km2. Dedicated monitoring will have to take into account the spatial extent and the structural variability of the biotope. Our results can provide a baseline for the evaluation of the future development of the environmental status of the biotope. The maps generated herein will facilitate the communication of information relevant for environmental management to authorities and policy makers.

Description: The glacier retreat observed during the last decades at Potter Cove (PC) causes an increasing amount of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the water column, which has a high impact on sessile filter feeder’ species at PC located at the West Antarctic Peninsula. SPM presents a highly-fluctuating dynamic pattern on a daily, monthly, seasonal, and interannual basis. Geostatistical interpolation techniques are widely used by default to generate reliable spatial information and thereby to improve the ecological understanding of environmental variables, which is often fundamental for guiding decision-makers and scientists. In this study, we compared the results of default and configured settings of three geostatistical algorithms (Simple Kriging, Ordinary Kriging, and Empirical Bayesian) and developed a performance index. In order to interpolate SPM data from the summer season 2010/2011 at PC, the best performance was obtained with Empirical Bayesian Kriging (Standard mean = -0.001 and Root mean square standardized = 0.995). It showed an excellent performance (Performance Index = 0.004) improving both evaluation parameters when radio and neighbourhood were configured. About 69% of the models showed improved standard means when configured compared to the default settings following a here proposed guideline.

Description: 1. According to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC), marine protected areas (MPA) should contribute to a good environmental status of the Europeans seas. Measures maintaining or restoring a favourable conservation status of protected species and habitats are mandatory according to the EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). 2. Identification of suitable sites for ecological restoration measures within MPAs is a crucial step towards successful conservation and sustainable MPA management. In terms of species restoration, it is important to restore the respective species with the best possible environment for growth, survival, fitness, and successful recruitment. 3. This study provides a comprehensive list of site-selection criteria for ecological species restoration. Three general categories were chosen: (1) ecological history: evidence for the historical distribution; (2) feasibility of restoration: regulating framework and logistics; and (3) environmental conditions: quality of abiotic and biotic factors. A total of 16 site-selection criteria were identified and applied to biogenic reef restoration, namely for reefs of the native European oyster Ostrea edulis, in the German Bight. 4. The Natura 2000 area Borkum Reef Ground was identified as a suitable site for oyster restoration. It is one of three MPAs in the German Exclusive Economic Zone of the North Sea, which have been declared as Nature Conservation Areas according to national legislation. The conservation objectives include maintenance or, if necessary, restoration of the habitat type ‘reefs’. As a reef-building species, the European oyster O. edulis is of particular importance for this habitat type in terms of nature conservation.