Ruimtelijke en temporele patronen in de diversiteit van de macrobenthische infauna op het Nederlands Continentaal Plat
Craeymeersch, J.A.; Witbaard, R.; Dijkman, E.; Meesters, H.W.G. (2008). Ruimtelijke en temporele patronen in de diversiteit van de macrobenthische infauna op het Nederlands Continentaal Plat. IMARES Wageningen Report, C070/08. Wageningen UR. IMARES: The Netherlands. 40 pp.
Part of: IMARES Wageningen Report. Wageningen UR. IMARES: IJmuiden
For the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) an overview was made of spatial and temporal patterns and fluctuations of the benthic diversity on the Dutch Continental Shelf. The analyses were based on data of the macrobenthic fauna collected in the period 1991-2005 in the framework of the national monitoring programme MWTL. An analysis of three diversity indices (number of species, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Simpson’s diversity index) shows that the diversity of the macrobenthic infauna in the north (Dogger Bank, the Oystergrounds, the Frisian Front) is higher than in the south (coastal waters, offshore). The results corroborate with earlier findings. The forces accounting for this major depth related division appear to be little changed. Overall, the diversity of the macrobenthic infauna remained rather similar. Fluctuations in the population size of a few species, however, resulted in temporal changes in dominance, reflected in significant fluctuations in Simpson’s diversity index.
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