Beschreibung: The concept of the marine ecological community has recently experienced renewed attention, mainly owing to a shift in conservation policies from targeting single and specific objec- tives (e.g. species) towards more integrated approaches. Despite the value of communities as dis- tinct entities, e.g. for conservation purposes, there is still an ongoing debate on the nature of spe- cies associations. They are seen either as communities, cohesive units of non-randomly associated and interacting members, or as assemblages, groups of species that are randomly associated. We investigated such dualism using fuzzy logic applied to a large dataset in the German Bight (south- eastern North Sea). Fuzzy logic provides the flexibility needed to describe complex patterns of natural systems. Assigning objects to more than one class, it enables the depiction of transitions, avoiding the rigid division into communities or assemblages. Therefore we identified areas with either structured or random species associations and mapped boundaries between communities or assemblages in this more natural way. We then described the impact of the chosen sampling design on the community identification. Four communities, their core areas and probability of occurrence were identified in the German Bight: AMPHIURA-FILIFORMIS, BATHYPOREIA-TELLINA, GONIADELLA-SPISULA, and PHORONIS. They were assessed by estimating overlap and compactness and supported by analysis of beta-diversity. Overall, 62% of the study area was characterized by high species turnover and instability. These areas are very relevant for conservation issues, but become undetectable when studies choose sampling designs with little information or at small spatial scales.

Beschreibung: Bioturbation is one of the key mediators of biogeochemical processes in benthic habitats that can have a high contribution to seafloor functioning and benthic pelagic coupling in coastal waters. Previous studies on bioturbation were limited to point locations and extrapolations in single regions, but have not accounted for regional differences under changing environmental conditions, though there are indications that species contributions will differ across regions or with biotic and abiotic context. To capture those differences and assess global patterns and commonalities, multi-regional analyses are imperative. Here for the first time, bioturbation potential (BPc), a functional indicator of benthic community bioturbation, was estimated based on macrofauna data from four regions (i.e. German Baltic Sea, German North Sea, Belgian part of the North Sea and the Eastern English Channel). For each region and sediment type we identified key species contributing to BPc. Comparison within and across regions demonstrated regional differences, and both overlap and mismatch between species that are functionally important and those that are dominant in biomass. Knowledge on the functionally important species is crucial when management objectives include the protection of certain ecosystem functions. Available environmental layers were used as predictors to model the spatial distribution of BPc for each area and to explore the underlying drivers of differences. Random forest models were trained using as response variables either i) BPc initially calculated per station; or ii) BPp – the species-specific contribution to BPc – for key species (with subsequent summation of their predicted full-coverage distributions to BPc). Maps of BPc distribution predicted by random forest were compared with those generated using natural neighbour interpolation. Overall, derived BPc values increased towards the German parts of the North and Baltic Seas. The relevance of BPc for ecosystem processes and functions, however, vary with biotic and abiotic settings. Results revealed a strong association of BPc with species diversity and region, but less with sediment grain size. A large range of BPc occurred when species richness was low. This suggests that the provisioning of high bioturbation activity is possible also under low diversity, where it is vulnerable due to reduced resilience. The executed multi-regional analysis allowed identifying regional differences in performance of macrofauna, suggesting the need for regionspecific conservation and management strategies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105945 Received 26 July 2019; Received in revised form 12 November 2019; Accepted 14 November 2019 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: mayya.gogina@io-warnemuende.de (M. Gogina). Ecological Indicators 110 (2020) 105945 1470-160X/ Crown Copyright © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T

Beschreibung: Large-scale/high-resolution integrated marine ecological information systems combine diverse ecological and environmental data with high resolution in space, time and ecological structure (biodiversity, trophic relationships etc.). This holistic approach opens new ways for analysing and modeling ecological patterns and processes and creates a platform for the development and the application of advanced management and conservation tools. Within the North Sea benthic system, species occurrence patterns and benthic processes are shaped and changed by natural and anthropogenic drivers. Knowledge on species or group specific “natural corridors of variation” in space and time are important to discriminate anthropogenic effects from natural background variability, particularly as the benthos contributes to numerous ecosystem goods and services (biodiversity, food resources etc.). Rare and endangered species play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity of benthic systems. In 2013, the “red list”, the status of endangered species in German waters, was revised and published. Regrettably, the red list classification of marine benthic species often lacks a scientifically sound foundation, due to insufficient occurrence data. We use an extensive information system on benthic invertebrates in the German North Sea (〉9000 stations x 〉740 species) for analysis of occurrence and spatial distribution of benthic species. We evaluate (a) how rare “red listed” species really are, (b) their spatial distribution, and (c) their functional role in the system by their biological traits. Our ‘red list’ case study shows that large-scale/high-resolution information systems constitute a sound scientific base for improved monitoring assessments and ultimately for a sustainable ecosystem management.

Beschreibung: This R package is for multivariate regression and classification with spatial objects. It was developed for species-distribution modelling, but there's nothing biology-specific to it. Use it on spatially distributed continious quantities (as well as count and presence/absence data), featuring random forest, gbm.step, and gbm, gam, and maxent. It provides means for crossvalidation, various model performance metrics and helper functions for null models, spatial autocorrelation, etc., and a number of convenience functions.

Beschreibung: Biodiversität wird als eines der wichtigsten Services von marinen Ökosystemen gesehen, und seltene und bedrohte Arten spielen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Erhaltung der Biodiversität. Besonders in flachen Küstengewässern wie der Nordsee tragen benthische Organismen signifikant zur marinen Biodiversität bei. Daher ist das Wissen um biologische Charakteristika und die räumlicher Verteilung benthischer Biodiversität und seltener benthischer Arten essential für ein nachhaltiges Ökosystemmanagement sowie für den Schutz von bedrohten Arten. Grundlage der naturschützerischen Bewertung benthischer Ökosysteme ist die rote Liste bedrohter Arten, die 2013 überarbeitet und neu publiziert wurde. Problematisch an der roten Liste ist, dass die Entscheidung über den Status einer Art bisher häufig auf der Basis unzureichender Daten, insbesondere mit Blick auf ihre räumliche Verteilung, getroffen wurde. Wir nutzen ein umfangreiches Informationssystem benthischer Invertebraten in der Deutschen Ausschließlichen Wirtschaftszone (AWZ) der Nordsee (〉9000 Stationen x 〉740 Arten) für hochdetaillierte und großskalige Analysen des Vorkommens und der räumlichen Verteilung von Arten der Rote Liste. Erstmalig evaluieren wir anhand dieses Informationssystems, wie selten diese Arten sind, welche funktionelle Rolle sie haben und analysieren ihre räumliche Verteilung in der AWZ. Schließlich identifizieren wir potentielle sensitive Areale, in denen bedrohte Arten gehäuft vorkommen. Diese Informationen bieten eine wissenschaftlich solide Grundlage für ein nachhaltiges Ökosystemmanagement.