Benthos Density in the German Bight: Macrozoobenthic Species Distribution, 1997-2011

The German Bight in the North Sea is the geographic scope for this dataset on the spatial distribution of selected macrozoobenthic species. It aggregates data from environmental impact assessments and research cruises conducted between 1997 and 2011, processed by the Alfred Wegener Institute. The product provides gridded statistics on species density, including mean, median, and standard deviation.

Use Cases

• Modeling species distribution and habitat suitability based on gridded density statistics.
• Assessing long-term changes in benthic communities based on data spanning 1997 to 2011.
• Analyzing the impact of offshore wind farm development based on data from associated environmental impact assessments.
• Comparing sampling methodologies and their results based on the use of van Veen grabs, box corers, beam trawls, and dredges.

Strengths

• Data spans a 15-year time period from 1997 to 2011.
• Combines data from two sources: standardized environmental impact assessments and dedicated research cruises.
• Provides multiple statistical aggregations (minimum, maximum, mean, median, standard deviation) for density values.

Limitations

• Last updated 2019-01-01 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect temporal bias, as sampling is noted to be mainly in spring and autumn for one source.

Provenance

Source

Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) permit procedures and Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) research.

Collection Method

Sampling using van Veen grabs, box corers, beam trawls, and dredges, following StUK and ICES standards.

Time Range

1997 to 2011

Freshness

Last updated 2019-01-01 00:00:00

Geography

German Bight, North Sea Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)