Historical records of the past distribution, extent and form of European native oyster (Ostrea edulis) reef ecosystem

This dataset assembles historical information existing in public and private documentary archives. Taken together, these data contribute to the building of a knowledge base of the historical presence, extent and biogenic formations of European flat oyster ecosystems prior to and during the intensification of bottom fishing activities. To identify and recover such information requires significant resources and expertise. The establishment of a Historical Ecology Working Group under the umbrella of the Native Oyster Restoration Alliance in early 2020 presented a unique opportunity to coalesce interdisciplinary expertise and resources from multiple European countries to collate and interrogate historical data sources. To date, this is the only known dataset that evidences the past distribution, extent and characteristics of this seabed ecosystem across its full biogeographic range.

The described datasets present qualitative and quantitative extracts from written records published between 1524-2022, which show: (1) estimated locations of past oyster fisheries and/or reef habitat across its full biogeographical range, with associated levels of confidence; (2) recorded extent of past reef habitats, and; (3) species associated with these habitats.

This comprehensive historical analysis demonstrates that oyster reefs were once a dominant three-dimensional feature along much of the European coastline and some shallow shelf seas.

Simple

Date (Creation)
2023-10-17
Date (Revision)
Date (Publication)
2024-04-25
Date (Publication)
Citation identifier
f9ab77bc-11c1-43e1-96ae-b30702159263
Code
DOI:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6884167
Other citation details

Thurstan, R.H., McCormick, H., Preston, J., Ashton, E.C., Bennema, F.P., Bratoš Cetinic, A., Brown, J.H., Cameron, T.C., da Costa, F., Donnan, D., Ewers, C., Fortibuoni, T., Galimany, E., Giovanardi, O., Grancher, R., Grech, D., Hayden-Hughes, M., Helmer, L., Jensen, K.T., Juanes, J.A., Latchford, J., Moore, A.B.M., Moutopoulos, D.K., Nielsen, P., von Nordheim, H., Ondiviela, B., Peter, C., Pogoda, B., Poulsen, B., Pouvreau, S., Roberts, C.M., Scherer, C., Smaal, A.C., Smyth, D., Strand, Å, Theodorou, J.A., zu Ermgassen, P.S.E. (in review) Historical records reveal past distribution, extent and form of a now collapsed biogenic reef ecosystem.

Point of contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role
University of Exeter Originator of Dataset
University of Edinburgh Originator of Dataset
Flanders Marine Institute

data@vliz.be

Author
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
SeaDataNet Agreed Parameter Groups
SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary
MEDIN data format categories
Keywords
    Access constraints
    Other restrictions
    Other constraints
    no limitations to public access
    Use limitation

    Conditions for access and use apply
    Use constraints
    Other restrictions
    Other constraints

    CC-BY 4.0
    Language
    English
    Character set
    UTF8
    Topic category
    • Oceans
    Begin date
    1600-01-01
    End date
    1910-12-31
    N
    S
    E
    W
    thumbnail




    Unique resource identifier
    WGS 1984

    Spatial representation info

    No information provided.
    Distribution format
    Name Version
    Delimited

    1
    Geographic Information System

    1
    Text or Plaintext

    1
    OnLine resource
    Protocol Linkage Name

    WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

         		https://cloud.emodnet-ingestion.eu/index.php/s/n4f62ZHvlBuwFoN

    WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset

    Conformance result

    Title

    COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1205/2008 of 3 December 2008 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards metadata

    Date (Publication)
    2010-12-08
    Explanation

    See the referenced specification
    Pass
    No

    Conformance result

    Title

    Corrigendum to INSPIRE Metadata Regulation published in the Official Journal of the European Union, L 328, page 83
    Date (Publication)
    2010-12-08
    Explanation

    See the referenced specification
    Pass
    No

    Conformance result

    Title

    Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services

    Date (Publication)
    2010-12-08
    Explanation

    See the referenced specification
    Pass
    No
    Statement

    Records were sourced from scientific, popular media, government, and archaeological publications and collections published between 1524 and 2022. These provided 1,667 records of oyster fisheries, habitat structure or presence, dating from 200 BC to 2008, with the majority of records (n=823) referring to observations recorded between 1850 and 1899

    Metadata

    File identifier
    f9ab77bc-11c1-43e1-96ae-b30702159263 XML
    Metadata language
    English
    Character set
    UTF8
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset
    Date stamp
    2025-05-09T00:00:00
    Metadata standard name

    ISO 19115:2003/19139
    Metadata standard version

    1.0
    Metadata author
    Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role
    University of Edinburgh Point of contact
     
     

    Overviews

    Spatial extent

    thumbnail

    Keywords

    GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

    Oceanographic geographical features
    MEDIN data format categories

    Delimited Geographic Information System Text or Plaintext
    SeaDataNet Agreed Parameter Groups

    Biota abundance, biomass and diversity Habitat
    SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary

    Fishery characterisation Habitat characterisation SeaDataNet biological format biotic parameters


    Provided by

    Access to the catalogue