To understand the full benefits of EMODnet, users are kindly asked to describe how EMODnet supports them in their daily work and activities.
If you have developed an application using EMODnet products that you would like to share with us or if you use EMODnet data for other purposes, submit your use case by contacting secretariat@emodnet.ec.europa.eu.
Outcomes: Authors present a framework to assess the impacts of mobile fishing gear on the seabed and benthic ecosystems, the principles of which are applicable to all benthic habitats and trawl fisheries, and can be used across a wide range of spatial scales.
How EMODnet Seabed Habitats helped the user:EMODnet provided EUNIS Level 3 habitat maps across European waters.
Outcomes: Authors were able to propose methods for assessing representativity across European MPA's, suggesting the use of biozones and benthic habitats within EUSeaMap as a primary data source. Moreover, assessment habitat classes (revised broad habitats) are proposed based on the crosswalk of MSFD broad habitat types with respect to EMODnet Folk 5 substrate and seabed biological zone classes
Authors identified that boundaries of successful no-take MPAs may still be zones of high stress for habitat forming species such as maerl. Additionally, authors suggested that MPA designations should re-consider boundaries in areas with low-resilience, key-forming habitat species.
Outcomes: Researchers were able to produce GIS maps showing the spatial overlap between high discard rate areas and seabed habitats in case study areas of the Mediterranean. This fed into a wider project, with the overall goal of eliminating discards in European marine fisheries.
How EMODnet Seabed Habitats helped the user:Data on seabed habitats were available in all study areas of the project.
Outcomes:Assessors highlighted environmental covariates with the greatest influence on porpoise density distribution models. Resulting distribution maps were then used to propose areas suitable for protection of these marine mammals in Swedish waters.
How EMODnet Seabed Habitats helped the user:EUSeaMap provided some of the data used in the habitat distribution models
Outcomes: Authors were able to create predictive mapping relating to the supporting seabed habitats for inshore wintering waterfowl (IWW) in Scotland. The results identified the location and extent of some prey species and habitats that support the inshore wintering waterfowl, and these will, in turn, inform the management of proposed marine Special Protection Areas (pSPA).
Outcomes: Authors were able to predictively model the extent of protected Annex I features within Scottish Marine Protected Areas, Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protected Areas, where survey data did not exist.
How EMODnet Seabed Habitats helped the user:Data on physical variables were freely available for the areas of interest.
Outcomes:. Authors were able to identify that differences in diet of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) reflect regional differences in physical habitat features.
How EMODnet Seabed Habitats helped the user:Sediment and depth data were derived utilising output of the EUSeaMap 2016.
This study was published by authors from a range of universities and research institutes. The lead author is a representative of the Department of Biology of Universidade de Aveiro, a Portuguese university.