EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive Research Articles

Predictors of long-term variability in NE Atlantic plankton communities

Anthropogenic pressures such as climate change and nutrient pollution are causing rapid changes in the marine environment. The relative influence of drivers of change on the plankton community remains uncertain, and this uncertainty is limiting our understanding of sustainable levels of human pressures. Plankton are the primary energy resource in marine food webs and respond rapidly to environmental changes, representing useful indicators of shifts in ecosystem structure and function. Categorising plankton into broad groups with similar characteristics, known as “lifeforms”, can be useful for understanding ecological patterns related to environmental change and for assessing the state of pelagic habitats in accordance with the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the OSPAR Commission, which mandates protection of the North-East Atlantic. We analysed 29 years of Continuous Plankton Recorder data (1993–2021) from the North-East Atlantic to examine how trends in plankton lifeform abundance changed in relation to one another and across gradients of environmental change associated with human pressures. Random forest models predicted between 57 % and 80 % of the variability in lifeform abundance, based on data not used to train the models. Observed variability was mainly explained by trends in other lifeforms, with mainly positively correlated trends, indicating bottom-up control and/or shared responses to environmental variability were prevalent. Longitude, bathymetry, mixed layer depth, the nitrogen-to‑phosphorus ratio, and temperature were also significant predictors. However, contrasting influences of environmental drivers were detected. For example, small copepod abundance increased in warmer conditions whereas meroplankton, large copepods and fish larvae either decreased or were unchanged. Our findings highlight recent changes in stratification, reflected by variation in mixed layer depth, and imbalanced nutrient ratios are affecting multiple lifeforms, impacting the North-East Atlantic plankton community. To achieve environmental improvements in North-East Atlantic pelagic habitats, it is crucial that we continue to address climate change and reduce nutrient pollution.

Food web attributes to assess spatial–temporal dynamics in estuarine benthic ecosystem

Threatened benthic ecosystems need urgent tools for effective bioassessment and relevant management. EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) obligates member states to achieve GES (Good Environmental Status) for 11 descriptors of environmental state (MSFD; 2008/56/EC). From all of the descriptors, D4 that focuses on Food Webs is the most functional-oriented indicator, but also the most challenging to implement due to our limited knowledge on benthic interactions. Particularly, it is still unclear how spatially and temporally regulated abiotic variables determine the entire benthic food webs, and which benthic food web attributes best respond to these spatially and temporally derived environmental variations. To fill this gap, we measured the natural isotopic ratios (δ13C and δ15N) of macrobenthic organisms and their food sources and build twelve food web topologies across three distinct sites (Navigator, Gambia, Tróia) in summer and winter during two consecutive years. To assess these food web topologies, we applied isotopic metrics, further integrated with univariate and multivariate analysis to find food web-based indicators that best respond to these spatial and temporal variability.We found clear spatial patterns associated to an increase in primary production and quantity and quality of organic matter (OM). Sites with higher organic load and less quality OM (Navigator and Gambia) had simpler food webs, likely associated to high abundance of opportunistic meiobenthic species. Site located inside protected area (Tróia) with high quality OM had the most complex food web characterized by high diversity of specialist consumers that used more efficiently available resources. Similarity metrics were valuable complementary tool that helped to further disentangle the causes of spatial variability, in this case distinguishing between two food webs (Navigator and Gambia) that had similar structures but different resource utilization.The temporal patterns were not so evident than the spatial patterns, although significant differences were reported between sampling occasions for the same metrics (maximum trophic position and the percentage of carnivores and omnivores, p < 0.05). The most complex Tróiás food web demonstrated greater responsiveness in capturing temporal differences in resource use, suggesting that more complex food webs are better equipped to reflect temporal variability. The integration of isotopic metrics complemented with multivariate and univariate analyses proved to be an important tool for the analysis of different aspects of the benthic food web complexity in a spatial–temporal context providing a promising approach to assess the functional integrity of the estuarine ecosystems, especially in the context of the descriptor 4 within MSFD.

The ACCOBAMS survey initiative: the first synoptic assessment of cetacean abundance in the Mediterranean Sea through aerial surveys

The “ACCOBAMS Survey Initiative” (ASI) is a pilot programme aimed at establishing an integrated and coordinated monitoring system for cetaceans across the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic (hereafter “ACCOBAMS”) area. Conducted in coordination with Mediterranean coastal countries, it supports the implementation of European and regional policies, in particular the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Ecosystem Approach process. In summer 2018, a synoptic survey was conducted across the Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area, combining visual monitoring from aircrafts with visual and passive acoustic monitoring from vessels. Species density and abundance were estimated through design-based approach in a line-transect sampling framework. Based on data arising from the aerial survey only, uncorrected design-based abundance was obtained for striped (N=426,744, CV=0.13), common (N=65,359, CV=0.4), bottlenose (N=63,333, CV=0.17), and Risso´s dolphins (N=26,006, CV=0.3), Cuvier’s beaked whales (N=2,929, CV=0.4) and long-finned pilot whales (N=5,540 CV=0.4). A merged category of either striped or common dolphins resulted in 212,828 individuals (CV=0.26). Fin whales abundance of 1,749 animals (CV=0.3) was corrected for both availability and perception biases and resulted in 3,282 (CV=0.31). The ASI survey offers an overall picture of the distribution and abundance of cetaceans throughout the Mediterranean basin, providing robust estimates to be considered as a baseline for future regional systematic monitoring programmes. The ASI survey is the first step towards establishing a long-term monitoring program across the entire ACCOBAMS area, and, as such, it sets the basis for further future basin-wide monitoring efforts using systematic, shared, coordinated and comparable methods. The information gathered will further enhance knowledge on cetacean status, facilitating the development of informed conservation and mitigation measures, as well as supporting the implementation of international obligations. Furthermore, the outcomes of this survey will support both place- and threat-based conservation efforts in the ACCOBAMS area, through the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas and Cetacean Critical Habitats. Here the results of the ASI survey are presented and discussed alongside proposed management and conservation actions aimed at ensuring the persistence of cetacean populations in the region.

PRESERVATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL STATE OF THE MARINE COASTAL ZONE OF UKRAINE AS A STRATEGIC GOAL OF BLUE GROWTH

Topicality. Today, the issue of protection and preservation of the marine coastal zone is one of the most important directions in the legislative and scientific sectors of the World, in particular the European Union. Coastal ecosystems are known to be among the most productive on Earth. They provide essential ecosystem services such as coastal protection from storms, fish feeding grounds and others. The convincing relevance and absolute scientific and practical significance of these issues is confirmed by the implementation of EU directives and other regulations in the legislation of Ukraine. The implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/ can serve as one example. On the basis of which the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of October 11, 2021 No. 1240-р approved the Marine Environmental Protection Strategy of Ukraine. In this strategy, special attention is paid to the conservation and restoration of the ecological state of coastal protective strips and the identification of the most dangerous pollutants. Also, further development and approval of a list of measures that should be included, in particular, in the plans for integrated management of the coastal territories of the Azov and Black Seas. Significantly emphasizes the relevance and the fact that, with the support of the European Commission, experts from various sectors of the Black Sea countries are developing conceptual documents. One such document is the Burgas Vision Paper. This document defines the shared vision of the experts and the tasks for approaching the "Blue Growth Initiative for Research and Innovation in the Black Sea".Aim and tasks. The aim of this paper is to analyze the factors of preserving the ecological state of the marine coastal zone as a component of the Marine Environmental Strategy of Ukraine and blue growth. The aim is decomposed into the following main tasks: to determine the general scientific provisions and concepts of the coastal strip and zone, their integrated management, to analyze the strategic aims and priority tasks of the state environmental protection policy in accordance with the concept of blue growth.Materials and Methods. The initial information for the research was the legislative acts in the field of ecology of the European Union and Ukraine, domestic and foreign scientific materials in the direction of blue growth, coastal strips of the seas of Ukraine and integrated coastal zone management. The work used the dialectical method of scientific knowledge, logical analysis of the initial information.Research results. The paper summarizes the identified main scientific provisions and concepts of the coastal protection strip and coastal zone and their integrated management. Based on the conceptual document (Burgas Vision Paper), the general directions of the Black Sea Strategic Research and Innovation Program are described, which is aimed at achieving and maintaining a productive, healthy, resilient, sustainable, and better-valued Black Sea by 2030. An analysis of the strategic goals and priority objectives of the Marine Environmental Strategy of Ukraine was carried out and their relationship to the coastal strip of the sea was highlighted.Conclusion. This paper analyzes the factors of preserving the ecological state of the marine coastal zone as a component of the Marine Environmental Strategy of Ukraine and blue growth. The creation by the European Union of legislative acts, international projects aimed at protecting the environment, monitoring the characteristics of natural resources, the development of the "Blue Economy" in European countries and, in particular, in the Black Sea region is a significant basis for improving the ecological condition of the coastal zone of the seas of Ukraine. With the support of the European Commission, experts from various sectors of the Black Sea countries are developing concept documents. These documents define the joint vision of the experts and the tasks for approaching the "Blue Growth Initiative for Research and Innovation in the Black Sea". Based on the analysis of the priority objectives of all the Strategic goals of the marine environmental policy of Ukraine, it can be stated that almost all of them are directly or indirectly related to the coastal strips of the seas of Ukraine. This means that the research of the coastal strip of the seas of Ukraine has a convincing relevance and indisputable scientific and practical significance of research, in particular, both at the national and regional levels. Described by the mechanisms for achieving the strategic goals of the Marine Environmental Strategy of Ukraine, the development, improvement, and assimilation of which will finally give grounds to regulate the principles of integrated coastal strip management at the legislative level. Also, which is no less important, it will significantly improve the awareness of the population regarding the rational use of coastal natural resources.

Achieving good marine environmental status in the EU – Implications of the marine strategy framework directive for member states and blue economic activities

The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to ensure clean, healthy, and productive oceans and seas as well as sustainable use of the marine environment for current and future generations. The legislation establishes the objective of good marine environmental status, to have been reached by 2020, and a procedural framework for adopting marine strategies in Member States towards that end. Yet, when implemented, the Directive failed to bring about good status in any of Europe’s marine regions by 2020 and to date has little impact in addressing pressures on the marine environment from adverse effects of blue economic activities. One key factor in this respect is the ambiguity of the substantive obligations that the MSFD places on Member States regarding national marine policies and the legal potency of the obligations with respect to permissibility and controls of blue economic activities. Based on a legal doctrinal analysis of the legislation, the article finds that the MSFD could have significantly more teeth when it comes to steering marine policies and controlling activities than has been the case thus far, but this would require increased efforts in national implementation and in enforcement of the Directive by the European Commission.

Relating benthic sensitivity and status to spatial distribution and intensity of trawling in the Eastern Mediterranean

The ecosystem approach to fisheries management needs information of not just where bottom trawlers operate but also on their impact on the seabed, which is also highly relevant to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor D6, seafloor integrity. In this study, we assess the benthic impact of bottom trawling in the Eastern Mediterranean in areas primarily fished by the Greek fleet. Seabed habitat sensitivity was modelled using macrofaunal longevity and biomass relationship based on data from more than 800 locations, representing 9 MSFD benthic habitats, and benthic status was assessed using the relative benthic status indicator. The pressure of seabed trawling was higher in circalittoral mud and circalittoral sand habitats showing a heterogeneous distribution pattern with intensive trawling in localized areas mainly coastal. Benthic status was high for all habitats reflecting the low trawling intensity and impact in most of the study area compared to other regions of Mediterranean or European waters. The results constitute the benchmark for benthic status in relation to trawling intensity in Eastern Mediterranean allowing to identify regions that are most at risk, and to prioritize management actions.

Predicting Coastal Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen Levels by Applying Data-Driven Modelling: The Case Study of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea)

A surfeit of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN), which is defined as the total amount of nitrite, nitrate, and ammonium levels in water, may cause negative effects to the marine environment. For example, elevated levels of DIN may promote surplus production of algae and possible depletion of oxygen in the water column. The DIN in the marine water column is monitored as part of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Nitrates Directive and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Data-driven models have been proved to be an excellent management tool for environmental issues related to coastal water quality protection and management. Based on data-drive models, and specifically the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), the DIN levels from coastal stations in Cyprus were predicted. To do so, three different ANNs models were created, each of them calculating nitrite, nitrate, and ammonium levels respectively with high accuracy (r&gt;0.95). The results derived from these models can be used to identify hot-spot areas with increased DIN levels and to evaluate management scenarios and measures to be implemented in order to maintain the good Environmental Status and quality of the coastal waters.

Status of pelagic habitats within the EU-Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Proposals for improving consistency and representativeness of the assessment

Anthropogenic activities have transformed the pelagic habitat in the last decades with profound implications for its essential functions. While the EU-Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC and the Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848 have set criteria and methodological standards for the assessment and determination of Good Environmental Status (GES) for pelagic habitats in EU waters, there is strong evidence that Member States have not yet harmonized the pelagic GES assessment across EU marine waters. Today, pelagic habitats are assessed by evaluating whether good status is achieved by each of the pelagic indicators, but this approach fails to observe the high variability of the pelagic environment. To this end, GES is not estimated at pelagic habitats scale but only for each individual indicator. This paper synthesises the latest developments on pelagic habitats assessment and identifies the main factors limiting the consistency of the assessment across Member States: i) coarse spatial and temporal scales of sampling effort as regards to the pelagic habitat dynamics, ii) little consideration of the whole range of plankton (and, to some extent, of zooplankton) size and trophic spectra, iii) lack of integrated hydro-biogeochemical and biological studies and collaboration among experts from different scientific fields, iv) limited availability of pressure-based indicators, and v) lack of integration methods of the pelagic indicators’ status for the GES determination. This analysis demonstrates the importance of maintaining a consistent sampling frequency and a spatially extensive network of stations across the gradient of anthropogenic pressures, where spatial environmental data can help objectively extrapolating field data.

Evaluation of a marine mammal status and trends contaminants indicator for European waters

Marine mammals are vulnerable to the bioaccumulation, biomagnification and lactational transfer of specific types of pollutants, such as industrial polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), due to their long-life spans, feeding at a high trophic level and unique fat stores that can serve as depots for these lipophilic contaminants. Currently, European countries are developing indicators for monitoring pollutants in the marine environment and assessing the state of biodiversity, requirements under both Regional Seas Conventions and European legislation. As sentinel species for marine ecosystem and human health, marine mammals can be employed to assess bioaccumulated contaminants otherwise below current analytical detection limits in water and lower trophic level marine biota. To aid the development of Regional Seas marine mammal contaminants indicators, as well as Member States obligations under descriptor 8 of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the current study aims to further develop appropriate methodological standards using data collected by the established UK marine mammal pollutant monitoring programme (1990 to 2017) to assess the trends and status of PCBs in harbour porpoises. Within this case study, temporal trends of PCB blubber concentration in juvenile harbour porpoises were analysed using multiple linear regression models and toxicity thresholds for the onset of physiological (reproductive and immunological) endpoints were applied to all sex-maturity groups. Mean PCB blubber concentrations were observed to decline in all harbour porpoise Assessment Units and OSPAR Assessment Areas in UK waters. However, a high proportion of animals were exposed to concentrations deemed to be a toxicological threat, though the relative proportion declined in most Assessment Units/Areas over the last 10 years of the assessment. Recommendations were made for improving the quality of the assessment going forward, including detailing monitoring requirements for the successful implementation of such an indicator.

Mapping of contamination problem areas in Europe’s seas using a multi-metric indicator-based assessment tool

We report identification and mapping of areas in Europe’s seas and coastal areas impacted by contaminants, i.e., areas with concentrations above internationally agreed threshold values. The study is based on (1) a state-of-the-art data set anchored in national monitoring activities, (2) internationally agreed target values and (3) an updated version of the CHASE assessment tool (originally: the HELCOM Chemical Status Assessment Tool). The spatial cover of data enabled us to classify 1,518 spatial assessment units, with 80% of the area assessed determined to be “problem areas”. We have demonstrated that it is possible to make an integrated assessment of contaminants spanning over four marine regions, and 10 marine sub-regions (sensu the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive), including marine and coastal waters of 30 European countries. The power of combining data of different sources and contaminant categories over larger geographical scales, is potentially and in a long-term perspective the way forward for wider use of multi-metric indicator-based assessment tools supporting informed decision-making.

Improving assessments of coastal ecosystems – Adjusting coastal fish indicators to variation in ambient environmental factors

The application of ecological indictors for assessing the environmental status of ecosystems play an important role for effective management. However, natural variability may limit the indicators’ ability to provide relevant information about anthropogenic pressures and guide management action. Coastal fish species are not only a resource for commercial and recreational fisheries but also key ecosystem components in the Baltic Sea, and is therefore used as management objectives within the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. A challenge, however, is that the distribution and abundance of coastal fish populations in Baltic Sea is also influenced by spatial and temporal variation in ambient environmental factors. Here, using 16 years of monitoring data, over a latitudinal range of 56 – 66°N along the Swedish Baltic Sea coast, we evaluated the effect of variability in water temperature and depth, and wave exposure for three indicators of environmental status assessment in the Baltic Sea: Abundance of perch, Abundance of Cyprinids, and Abundance of Piscivores. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) revealed an overall positive linear relationship between water temperature for all indicators, and overall negative linear relationships to depth and wave exposure. When adjusting indicator values using the parameter estimates from the GLMM models, the variability and 95 % confidence interval for all three indicators were reduced. The adjustment, however, did not have a strong impact on the assessment of the ecological state of the indicator. Our results suggest that adjusting coastal fish indicators to variation in local ambient environmental factors will increase their precision, and hence, the confidence in the assessment of environmental status.

Integrated spatial models foster complementarity between monitoring programmes in producing large‐scale bottlenose dolphin indicators

AbstractOver the last decades, large‐scale ecological projects have emerged that require collecting ecological data over broad spatial and temporal coverage. Yet, obtaining relevant information about large‐scale population dynamics from a single monitoring programme is challenging, and often several sources of data, possibly heterogeneous, need to be integrated. In this context, integrated models combine multiple data types into a single analysis to quantify the population dynamics of a targeted population. When working at large geographical scales, integrated spatial models have the potential to produce spatialized ecological estimates that would be difficult to obtain if data were analysed separately. In this study, we illustrate how spatial integrated modelling offers a relevant framework for conducting ecological inference at large scales. Focusing on the Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), we combined 21,464 km of photo‐identification boat surveys collecting spatial capture–recapture data with 24,624 km of aerial line transect following a distance sampling protocol. We analysed spatial capture–recapture data together with distance sampling data to estimate the abundance and density of bottlenose dolphins. We compared the performances of the distance sampling model and the spatial capture–recapture model fitted independently to our integrated spatial model. The outputs of our spatial integrated models inform bottlenose dolphin ecological status in the French Mediterranean Sea and provide ecological indicators that are required for regional‐scale ecological assessments like the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. We argue that integrated spatial models are widely applicable and relevant to conservation research and biodiversity assessment at large spatial scales.

Ask the shark: blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) as a sentinel of plastic waste on the seabed

The presence of plastic waste in the marine environment has driven the scientific community to make significant efforts to study and mitigate its possible effects. One of the critical aspects is to determine if and how an increase in ingestion events may occur as a result of the accumulation of plastic waste on the seabed. In this study, G. melastomus is examined for its ability to indirectly provide information on the amount of macroplastics accumulating on the seafloor. Plastic ingestion is explored by describing the feeding habits of the species, which have the potential to provide very useful information regarding biological or ecological issues. The diet of G. melastomus mainly consisted of cephalopods, bathypelagic fishes, and decapod crustaceans, increasing in diversity during growth. The generalist-opportunistic feeding behaviour of this species leads to the incidental ingestion of plastic particles (N = 47, with a mean (± SD) of 1.47 ± 0.28 per specimen) which can be indirectly associated to the presence of macroplastics on the seafloor. Indeed, our results indicate a significant relationship between the amount of macroplastics present on the seabed and the frequency of ingestion of plastic particles by blackmouth catshark. We propose G. melastomus as an excellent candidate for developing a valid monitoring strategy for the presence of plastics on the seabed, as requested by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Evaluating Strategies for Managing Anthropogenic Mortality on Marine Mammals: An R Implementation With the Package RLA

Bycatch, the undesirable and non-intentional catch of non-target species in marine fisheries, is one of the main causes of mortality of marine mammals worldwide. When quantitative conservation objectives and management goals are clearly defined, computer-based procedures can be used to explore likely population dynamics under different management scenarios and estimate the levels of anthropogenic removals, including bycatch, that marine mammal populations may withstand. Two control rules for setting removal limits are the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) established under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Removals Limit Algorithm (RLA) inspired from the Catch Limit Algorithm (CLA) developed under the Revised Management Procedure of the International Whaling Commission. The PBR and RLA control rules were tested in a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) framework. A key feature of PBR and RLA is to ensure conservation objectives are met in the face of the multiple uncertainties or biases that plague real-world data on marine mammals. We built a package named RLA in the R software to carry out MSE of control rules to set removal limits in marine mammal conservation. The package functionalities are illustrated by two case studies carried out under the auspices of the Oslo and Paris convention (OSPAR) (the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic) Marine Mammal Expert Group (OMMEG) in the context of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The first case study sought to tune the PBR control rule to the conservation objective of restoring, with a probability of 0.8, a cetacean population to 80% of carrying capacity after 100 years. The second case study sought to further develop a RLA to set removals limit on harbor porpoises in the North Sea with the same conservation objective as in the first case study. Estimation of the removals limit under the RLA control rule was carried out within the Bayesian paradigm. Outputs from the functions implemented in the package RLA allows the assessment of user-defined performance metrics, such as time to reach a given fraction of carrying capacity under a given level of removals compared to the time needed given no removals.

The Plankton Lifeform Extraction Tool: a digital tool to increase the discoverability and usability of plankton time-series data

Abstract. Plankton form the base of the marine food web and are sensitive indicators of environmental change. Plankton time series are therefore an essential part of monitoring progress towards global biodiversity goals, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Targets, and for informing ecosystem-based policy, such as the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Multiple plankton monitoring programmes exist in Europe, but differences in sampling and analysis methods prevent the integration of their data, constraining their utility over large spatio-temporal scales. The Plankton Lifeform Extraction Tool brings together disparate European plankton datasets into a central database from which it extracts abundance time series of plankton functional groups, called “lifeforms”, according to shared biological traits. This tool has been designed to make complex plankton datasets accessible and meaningful for policy, public interest, and scientific discovery. It allows examination of large-scale shifts in lifeform abundance or distribution (for example, holoplankton being partially replaced by meroplankton), providing clues to how the marine environment is changing. The lifeform method enables datasets with different plankton sampling and taxonomic analysis methodologies to be used together to provide insights into the response to multiple stressors and robust policy evidence for decision making. Lifeform time series generated with the Plankton Lifeform Extraction Tool currently inform plankton and food web indicators for the UK's Marine Strategy, the EU's Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and for the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) biodiversity assessments. The Plankton Lifeform Extraction Tool currently integrates 155 000 samples, containing over 44 million plankton records, from nine different plankton datasets within UK and European seas, collected between 1924 and 2017. Additional datasets can be added, and time series can be updated. The Plankton Lifeform Extraction Tool is hosted by The Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data (DASSH) at https://www.dassh.ac.uk/lifeforms/ (last access: 22 November 2021, Ostle et al., 2021). The lifeform outputs are linked to specific, DOI-ed, versions of the Plankton Lifeform Traits Master List and each underlying dataset.

Quantifying pressures from Swedish industries impacting Sweden’s Environmental Quality Objectives

ABSTRACT This study finds that industries and other permit requiring activities (PRA) exert a significant cumulative pressure on 20 out of 34 examined specifications to the Swedish Environmental Quality Objectives (EQO), affecting the fulfilment of 12 out of 16 of these EQOs. PRA undergo thorough examination before receiving permits, and the permits come with detailed conditions. The permitting process is hence an important opportunity to contribute to the achievement of the EQOs. However, this opportunity has so far not been employed to any great extent since the quantitative significance of environmental impact from PRA on the national EQOs has not been well-known or expressed. We suggest that quantification of activities that can be regulated by environmental permitting may be of importance for the achievement of other instances of management by objectives in general, such as the global sustainable development goals and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the ecological status regulated by the European Water Framework Directive.

Fish sounds and boat noise are prominent soundscape contributors in an urban European estuary

Passive acoustic monitoring is a valuable tool for non-intrusive monitoring of marine environments, also allowing the assessment of underwater noise that can negatively affect marine organisms. Here we provide for the first time, an assessment of noise levels and temporal soundscape patterns for a European estuary. We used several eco-acoustics methodologies to characterize the data collected over six weeks within May 2016 - July 2017 from Tagus estuary. Biophony was the major contributor dominated by fish vocalizations and the main driver for seasonal patterns. Maritime traffic was the major source of anthropogenic noise, with daily patterns monitored using 1584 Hz third-octave band level. This indicator avoided biophony and geophony, unlike other indicators proposed for the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Furthermore, the frequency overlap between anthropophony and biophony demands precautionary actions and calls for further research. This study provides an assessment that will be useful for future monitoring and management strategies.

A Drop in the Ocean: Patchy Evidence on the Societal Benefits of Marine Litter Reduction

The benefits of marine litter reduction to society, which are mostly non-market ones, need to be valued and quantified in monetary terms to be included in cost benefit analyses required by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This article investigates the extent to which these benefits can be derived from existing studies. We review the available empirical evidence and analyze its key characteristics based on descriptive statistics. Comparing the availability of estimates with the requirements for the EU Member States, we find a striking mismatch between the data available and the information required, which cannot be alleviated by benefit transfer. This finding is valid for both, ex-ante and ex-post, evaluation attempts. We conclude that the evidence available at present is too patchy to derive country-wide policy implications to the extent necessary to comprehensively conduct the evaluations required by the Directive.

Suitability of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) as indicators for detecting intertidal bivalve beds in the Wadden Sea

Germany is an EU member state and is thus obliged to monitor and protect its marine and coastal areas in the context of international treaties (e.g. EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, EU Natura2000 directives, Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Programme, OSPAR) to achieve the good environmental status (GES). Suitable indicators thus need to be developed to assess the status of relevant ecosystems. Intertidal bivalve beds belong to the most productive habitats in the shallow coastal waters of the Wadden Sea but are highly dynamic and difficult to monitor. Extensive benthos and sediment sampling are required to study their development and distribution. We therefore evaluated the suitability of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) as a bioindicator species for monitoring these habitats. As flexible and opportunistic top-predators, herring gulls prefer to forage on intertidal flats and feed on bivalves (Cerastoderma edule, Mytilus edulis, Ensis leei) and crustaceans, with intertidal habitats near the breeding colony preferred during the incubation period. We used state of the art tracking devices to analyse habitat selection by herring gulls, and assessed how this was driven by biotic and abiotic factors. We then designed a habitat model to predict the occurrence of intertidal bivalve beds for directed monitoring, based on GPS logger data from herring gulls and hydrodynamic data. Both methods showed high correlations of herring gull foraging patterns with bivalve biomass and inundation time, depending on the distance from the breeding colony. The movement patterns of herring gulls clearly mirrored intertidal bivalve distributions. These results showed that combining GPS-logger data for top-predators, such as birds, with environmental data has great potential for monitoring and assessing the GES. We propose that herring gulls may be used as an indicator to locate bivalve beds in the Wadden Sea and to detect changes in the food web.

Potential Micro-Plastics Dispersal and Accumulation in the North Sea, With Application to the MSC Zoe Incident

The fate and effects of microplastics in the marine environment are an increasingly important area of research, policy and legislation. To manage and reduce microplastics in the seas and oceans, and to help understand causes and effects, we need improved understanding of transport patterns, transit times and accumulation areas. In this paper, we use a particle tracking model to investigate the differences in dispersal and accumulation of microplastics with different properties (floating and sinking) in the North Sea. In these simulations, particles were released with a uniform horizontal distribution, and also from rivers at rates proportional to the river runoff. The results showed that floating particles can accumulate temporarily on salinity fronts and in gyres, and are deposited predominantly on west-facing beaches. Sinking particles moved more slowly and less far, accumulated in deeper areas associated with fine sediments, and were deposited more on west- and north-facing beaches. The model was also applied to the MSC Zoe incident of 1 January 2019, in which 342 containers were lost north of the Dutch Wadden islands in the southern North Sea, tracking two types of microplastics with similar properties (∼5mm floating HDPE pellets and ∼0.6mm sinking PS grains) to identify release locations and potential accumulation areas. We used field observations collected by a citizen science initiative (waddenplastic.nl) to constrain the model results. For these simulations, particles were released along the ship’s trajectory and at locations on the trajectory where debris was found. The simulations of the MSC Zoe incident showed that over 90% of floating (∼5mm) HDPE pellets beached within 3–7 weeks, and predominantly on the more eastern Dutch Wadden Islands in agreement with the field observations, and that most of the sinking (∼0.6mm) PS grains were still at sea after 6 weeks, and a large proportion may have been deposited on German shores. The work is relevant to Descriptor 10 (Marine Litter) of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.