Document of dataset 5715

Dataset record

Type

Dataset

title in English

Intertidal epibenthos and demersal fish monitoring in function of a foreshore suppletion at the Belgian coast, period 2013-2016

Description in English

This dataset contain the epibenthos and demersal fish data collected in the intertidal area. The epibenthic and demersal fish fauna are the biota living on the sea bottom and which are catched with a bottom trawl in this study. The sampling design for the monitoring is following the BACI-design (Before After Control Impact), with a control area with similar habitat characteristics outside the influence of the suppletion activity. There is sampled before the suppletion and in the following two years after suppletion. In this BACI-monitoring, the seasonal aspect is taken into account, by taking samples in spring (March) and autumn (September). The amount of sampling locations was determined by the client and contains six tracks for each sampling moment. In the intertidal, the sampling start 2 hours before low water until 3 hours after low water, to have a representative sample of the migrating fauna. The samples were taken with a 2m beam trawl (10mm mesh size), over the bottom by two persons in the surfzone of the beach, parallel with the coastline and at a water depth of 1m. One track takes around 20-30 minutes to execute a fixed distance (400m). The distance (100m) of the track was set out on the beach and covered 4 times. The content of the net was worked out immediately by determining and counting the species. The entire catch was handled for determining and counting the fish and epibenthic species. The length of the fish species were measured and the biomass of the epibenthos was based on wet weight measurements. The density and biomass values were standardized to 1000m².

Abstract in English

What ecological effects does a foreshore suppletion, and a beach suppletion, have on the marine ecosystem in the intertidal and shallow surf zone (<6 m depth)? The foreshore suppletion (400.000m³) was by means of an experimental set-up in the shallow coastal zone (-1 to -2m TAW) of Mariakerke. Beside it, a beach nourishment was conducted at Mariakerke (681243m³) and Middelkerke (968754m³). For the Mariakerke area, we collect biological and sedimentological samples in the impact area and in a control area (Bredene), before as after the suppletion, whereas for Middelkerke only the data after suppletion was part of the study. We monitor the marine ecosystem with a focus on the fauna within the sediment (macrofauna) and on the sediment (hyperbenthos, epi- and demersal fish fauna) in the intertidal zone and subtidal zone. In both studies, the subtidal area is the zone between the low water line and the 6m depth line and the intertdial area is the zone between low and high tide water line.

License

https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html

bibliographicCitation

Marine Biology research group; University of Ghent, Belgium; (2017): Intertidal epibenthos and demersal fish monitoring in function of a foreshore suppletion at the Belgian coast, period 2013-2016