ICES Benthos Ecology Working Group History 1981-2001

Benthos Ecology Working Group
ICESCIEM

ICESCIEM
1981 Copenhagen
Anastasios (Tasso) Eleftheriou, Chair
ICES Statutory Meeting in Copenhagen 1981
Title: North Sea Benthos Working Group
Group was installed

ICESCIEM
1982 Texel
The North Sea Benthos Working Group met in Texel, The
Netherlands from 8-12 March 1982. 17 participants from
6 countries attended the meeting.
Topics covered included:
• Review state of the art
• Discussion standard methods and comparability
• Data synthesis for comparative mapping of North
Sea benthos
• Plans for North Sea Benthos Survey (NSBS)
• Report by R. Jones, name battle "Benthos WG"
vs."Benthos Methodics WG

ICESCIEM
1983 Hamburg
The Benthos Methodics Working Group met in Hamburg,
Federal Republic of Germany, from 5-8 April 1983. 15
participants from 6 countries attended the meeting.
• Comparative efficiencies of different types of
trawls
• Development of standard methods
• Plans for cooperative sampling programme
• Annotated bibliographies for North Sea Benthos

ICESCIEM
1984 Hirtshals
The Benthos Methodics Working Group met in Hirtshals,
Denmark in 1984.
• Comparative sampling efficiencies trawls, grabs,
stills and video etc.,
• Different methods of preservation
No ICES approval for NSBS !

ICESCIEM
1985 Bremerhaven
The Benthos Methodics Working Group met in
Bremerhaven, Federal Republic of Germany from 25-29
March 1985. 15 participants from 4 countries attended.
• Planning for NSBS by 9 ships and 10 nations on
207(?) stations
• Report on intercalibration exercise
• Request for Benthos-Fish Trophic
Interrelationship Theme with Demersal Fish
Committee

ICESCIEM
1986 Oostende
Carlo Heip, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met at the
Institute for Fisheries Research in Oostende, Belgium
from 12-15 May 1986. 17 participants from 7 countries
attended.
• Texel, grab intercomparison
• North Sea Benthos Survey
• Request from ACMP Point source monitoring

ICESCIEM
1987 Edinburgh
Carlo Heip, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met in Edinburgh,
Scotland, United Kingdom in 1987.
• NSBS 86 first results
• Intercalibration AFDW
• Good feedback from ACMP and BOC

ICESCIEM
1988 Texel
Carlo Heip, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met in Texel, The
Netherlands from 10-13 May 1988. 22 participants
from 7 countries attended.
• NSBS 86 first results
• Effects of bottom trawling, dredging and
extraction of aggregates
• Production of benthos and demersal fish
• Trophic links between benthos-demersal fish
• Recommendations for point source sampling

ICESCIEM
1989 Vigo
Carlo Heip, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met in Vigo, Spain.
• Point source monitoring
• NSBS 86 progress
• Benthic pelagic coupling
• Physical disturbance of sea bed
• COST 647 liaison

ICESCIEM
1990 Lisbon
Carlo Heip, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met in Lisbon,
Portugal.
• ICES/IOC sea going workshop
• Role of mesocosms in benthic research
• Physical disturbance of sea floor
• Recruitment of longlived species
• Links between benthos and demersal fish
• Report NSBS results

ICESCIEM
1991 Halifax
Carlo Heip, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met at the Halifax
Fisheries Research Laboratory, Department of Fisheries
and Oceans, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. There were
26 participants from 9 countries.
• Evaluation of ICES/IOC sea going workshop
benthos and sediment results
• Report on physical disturbance to ACMP
• Final report on NSBS
• Conceptual framework for assessing benthos
changes
• Review of sorting and extraction methods and
their automation

ICESCIEM
1992 Bergen
Paul Kingston, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met in Bergen,
Norway in 1992.
• Role of taxonomy in ecological research
• Review of Bremerhaven ICES/IOC workshop
• Report to ACMP on possible quantification of
physical disturbance
• Theoretical framework for using benthic
communities to assess environmental impacts
• Review COST 647 „Modelling the Benthos“
workshop

ICESCIEM
1993 Kiel
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met in at the
Institut für Meereskünde, University of Kiel,
Germany from 3-8 May 1993. There were 27
participants from 11 countries.
• Disturbance effects on benthos
• Report on benthic data bases, their
compatibility and availability to ongoing
initiatives in Europe and North America
• Possibility of future cooperation with
colleagues from Eastern European States
• Benthic implications of global climatic change

ICESCIEM
1994 Yerseke
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met in
Yerseke, The Netherlands from 9-13 May 1994.
There were 28 participants from 12 countries.
• Initial list of indicator species for physical
disturbance impact
• Quality assurance for benthic studies
• Compatibility of databases with view on North
Sea Benthos Database
• Computer aided ID systems

ICESCIEM
1995 Torshavn
Aberdeen at the Marine Laboratory of the Scottish
Office of the Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries
Department, from 3-6 May 1997. There were 25
delegates from 10 countries.
• Plan for North Sea Benthos Survey in 1996
• Evaluation computer aided taxonomic systems
• Methods hard bottom substrates and intertidal
communities
• Indicator species in relation to fishing
disturbance
• Implementation plan for a benthic database at
ICES

ICESCIEM
1996 Aberdeen
Aberdeen at the Marine Laboratory of the Scottish
Office of the Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries
Department, from 1-4 May 1997. There were 25
delegates from 10 countries.
• Effect of sea bed disturbance on benthic
communities
• Final plans for North Sea Benthos Survey
• Progress in computer aids for benthic taxonomy
• Small-scale spatial relationships of benthos
• Review methods for the study of benthos of
hard substrata

ICESCIEM
1997 Gdynia
Karel Essink, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) met in Iraklion at
the Institute of Marine Biology in Crete (IMBC), Greece from 23-
26 April 1997. There were 25 delegates from 10 countries.
• Progress report NSBS
• Results of IMPACT II project
• Small scale distribution of benthic invertebrates
• Review of computer aids to benthic studies
• Methods to increase efficiency and quality of identification
aids in benthos studies
• Status of coding systems with view on ICES application
• Advice to ICES/OSPAR/HELCOM in quality assurance for
benthos; JAMP guidelines
• No participation from Eastern European countries!

ICESCIEM
1998 Heraklion
Karel Essink, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) met in Iraklion at
the Institute of Marine Biology in Crete (IMBC), Greece from 23-
25 April 1998. There were 21 delegates from 10 countries.
• Planning North Sea Benthos Project
• Assessment IMPACT II results
• Computer aids in benthic studies (taxonomic and
operational)
• QA guidance for ICES/OSPAR through case study and
inventory of national guidelines and SOPs
• Guidelines for epifaunal sampling and community
description
• Ecological aspects of introduction of Marenzelleria sp. In NW
European waters
• Review "state of the art" benthic sampling approaches

ICESCIEM
1999 Kristineberg
Karel Essink, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) met at the
Kristineberg Marine Research Station in Kristineberg, Sweden in
April 1999. There were 20 delegates from 11 countries.
• Merits of (new) sampling appraoches and new sampling
devices
• Computer aids in benthic studies (taxonomic and
operational)
• Advice on QA procedures for benthos studies through:
• review of standard operating procedures
• further review of case studies
• inventory of national guidelines
• Guidelines for epifaunal sampling and community
description of epibiota
• Impact of NAO on benthic populations
• Contributions to ICES strategic planning process

ICESCIEM
2000 Walpole
Karel Essink, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) met at the Darling
Marine Centre, Walpole, Maine, USA from 25–29 April 2000.
There were 16 delegates from 8 countries and the ICES HQ.
• The major contribution from BEWG to the work of SGMHM
was to comment on the structure and likely applicability of
the proposed EUNIS habitat classification system.
• Between the WGFTFB, BEWG, and WGECO agreement was
reached on a proposal for co-organising a Theme Session on
this subject at the 2001 ASC.
• Although the BEWG has been unsuccessful in attracting
direct funding for a renewed North Sea Benthos Survey, a
similar, though limited approach, was agreed upon.
• At the request of HELCOM BEWG gave a first evaluation of
the possible secondary effects on benthos in the Baltic Sea
from the dumping of fish offal and fish discards.
• Significant progress was made by the Expert-centre for
Taxonomic Identification (ETI, Amsterdam) in producing
CDROMs of the macrobenthos of the North Sea..

ICESCIEM
2001 Wimereux
Karel Essink, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group met at the
Station Marine in Wimereux, France from 17-21
April 2001. The meeting was attended by 25
participants from 9 nations.
• The progress of the North Sea Benthos Project
project was reported.
• The BEWG reviewed the impact of trawling on
the marine benthic system.
• TIMES guidelines for epibenthos sampling were
worked on.
• Habitat mapping and description, verification of
EUNIS classification were discussed.
• The group reviewed the final draft of General
Guidelines on Quality Assurance for Biological
Monitoring in the OSPAR Area.

ICESCIEM
2002 Tromsø
Karel Essink, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group meeting was
held at Akvaplan-NIVA in the Polar Environmental
Centre in Tromsø, Norway from 24-27 April 2002.
The meeting was attended by 28 participants
from 10 nations.
• A final text for epibenthos guidelines was
drafted.
• First results of the NSBP were discussed.
• A comparison of ecosystem functioning
innorthern seas vs. North Sea and Baltic was
done.
• EcoQO´s for the North Sea were covered.
• Variability of reference sites in monitoring
programmes was discussed

ICESCIEM
2003 Fort Pierce
Heye Rumohr, Chair
The BEWG met from 28 April-1 May 2003 at the
Smithsonian Institution in Fort Pierce, Florida, USA.
19 participants from 11 countries attended the
meeting.
• First phytobenthos topics in BEWG.
• EcoQO´s sensitive and opportunistic species.
• Off-shore wind energy and benthos studies.
• Progress NSBP 2000.
• Review quality control for zoo- and
phytobenthos .

ICESCIEM
2004 San Sebastian
Heye Rumohr, Chair
The BEWG met from 19-22 April 2004 at AZTI in San
Sebastian, Spain. 19 participants from 8 countries
attended the meeting.
• A brief update on the history of the group was
presented.
• Site selection criteria for dredged material
dumping
• Benthos studies in relation to off-shore wind-
energy installations
• Discussions for phytobenthos sampling
recommendations in TIMES
• Final TIMES doc on epibiota sampling .

ICESCIEM
2005 Copenhagen
Heye Rumohr, Chair
The BEWG met from 19-22 April 2005 at the ICES
Headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. 21
participants from 9 countries attended the
meeting, many of which were new and young
attendees, rejuvenating the group.
• The group discussed the progress of the
SGNSBP and the contents of the planned CRR
which will be finished in 2006.
• In order to contribute to the REGNS process,
soft bottom endobenthos, soft bottom
epibenthos, and hard bottom epibenthos were
considered.
• BEWG recognized the challenge of matching
the aspirational need for a small suite of widely
applicable benthic biological indicators with the
typical local sources of evidence for deter-
mining effectiveness.
• The group decided to tackle environmental
implications from energy generation from wind,
waves and tidal currents under one headline.

ICESCIEM
2006 Heraklion
Heye Rumohr, Chair
The 25th meeting of the Benthos Ecology Working
Group was held in the Hellenic Centre for Marine
Research (HCMR) in Heraklion, Crete. The meeting
was attended by 22 participants from 12 nations,
two of which were new to the group (Russia and
Latvia).
• The group discussed the progress of the SGNSBP
and the contents of the planned CRR which will be
finished in 2006.
• A subgroup formulated a text concerning benthos
as eutrophication indicator where they addressed
the topic regionally in estuaries, Baltic Sea and
Lagoons, Fjords and the open waters
• The initial draft report on dredged spoil disposal
produced by the sub-group illustrated examples
from the work conducted in several countries
including information from Belgium, Germany,
Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the U.S.A.
• Wikispecies, a project supported by the Wikimedia
Foundation with great potential, was introduced.
• A comprehensive list of existing metrics (Hiscock
2004), shall be updated including newly developed
metrics.

ICESCIEM
2007 Wilhelmshaven
Heye Rumohr, Chair
The BEWG held its 2007 meeting at the
Senckenberg Institute Wilhelmshaven, Germany. 18
participants from 7 countries attended.
• The question concerning the effects of
changing hydrodynamics and sea temperature
on benthic communities was discussed.
• A national project in Belgium on Marine
Biological Valuation revealed exciting new ways
to value ecologically important sites in a non-
monetary fashion.
• The final report on the Prestige oil disaster in
NW Spain showed in the end no lasting effects
in the benthic system.
• New improved methodical investigations were
reported as method harmonization and
standardization.
• The SGNSBP presented its final reports in the
form of and CRR draft just submitted to ICES for
publication.

ICESCIEM
2008 Torregrande
Heye Rumohr, Chair
The BEWG held its 2008 meeting at the International Marine
Centre (IMC) in Torregrande, Sardinia, Italy. 17 participants
from 10 countries attended .
• The working group completed "the assessment of
changes in the distribution and abundance of marine
species in the OSPAR maritime area in relation to
changes in hydrodynamics and sea temperature".
• It was agreed that a workshop is appropriate as a
starting point for the organization of the new North Sea
Benthos Project.
• There were the different reports linking benthos with
fisheries and a aquaculture.
• Benthic indicators have always been a strong point,
linking the work of the group to several other interested
parties. The London Symposium (Environmental
Indicators: Utility in Meeting Regulatory Needs ) stressed
the importance of incorporating multiple indicators.
• The results of the Workshop on Benthos Related
Environmental Metrics (WKBEMET), a spin-off of the
work done within the BEWG on benthic indicators, were
discussed.

ICESCIEM
ICESCIEM
2009 Askö
Heye Rumohr, Chair
The BEWG held its 2009 meeting at the Askö Laboratory of
the University of Stockholm, Askö, Sweden. 20 participants
from 12 countries attended.
• The group reviewed some new developments and
challenges in environmental metrics.
• Recent work on long-term changes in benthos was
presented. The group discussed and decided that
hypotheses, regarding the effects of climate change on
the benthos, should be selected from the WKCBNS that
are feasible to be dealt with using long-term series.
• The SGCC request on the possible con-tribution of the
BEWG to the ICES position paper on Climate Change was
high-lighted.
• Harmonisation of the JAMP Eutrophication monitoring
guidelines with the ISO 16665 guidelines was conducted.

ICESCIEM
2010 Edgewater/Oostende
Steven Degraer, Chair
Because of the eruptions of the Icelandic Eyjafjallajökull
volcano, the BEWG organized a multi-venue 2010
meeting, with one group meeting at SERC in Edgewater,
MD, USA (8 participants), a second group at ILVO-Fisheries in
Oostende, Belgium (7 participants) and a third group,
scattered all over Europe (7 participants). Collaboration and
interaction between all three groups was maximized through
daily web conferences, facilitated by ICES HQ. The group
represented a total of 10 countries.
• A literature review from 2008 served as a basis for the
BEWG contribution to the ICES Position Paper on Climate
Change.
• The BEWG further discussed the conclusions from the
Study Group on Climate related Benthic processes in the
North Sea (SGCBNS).
• A review was done on the intersessionally drafted BEWG
view point paper “The use of benthic indicators in
Europe: from the Water Framework Directive to the
Marine Strategy Framework Directive”.

ICESCIEM
2011 Florida
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) held its
2011 meeting at Fort Pierce (FL, USA). The meeting was
attended by 18 members, representing 7 countries.
• The meeting was structured along three BEWG core
business issues: climate change and benthos, benthos-
related environmental quality assessment and marine
habitat modelling and mapping. The group further
discussed possibilities for future internal and external
BEWG collaboration, commented on the report from
the ICES Workshop on Marine Biodiversity and made
suggestions for contributions to the ICES Marine
Strategy Framework Directive Steering Group and the
ICES Strategic Initiative on Area Based Science and
Management.
• The BEWG also decided to write a review paper on SDM
and its relevance for ecosystem management in a marine
realm.
• The BEWG further reviewed the report of the
“Workshop on Marine Biodiversity (WKMARBIO):
furthering ICES engagement in biodiversity issues”

ICESCIEM
2012 Sandgerði
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) held its 2012
meeting at the Marine Station of the University of Reykjavik in
Sandgerði, Iceland. The meeting was attended by 26 participants,
representing 12 countries.
• Future work will be firmly embedded within the Benthos
Long-Term Series network (BeLTS-net), with the aim of fostering
collaborative work on long-term benthos data. The BeLTS-net
website content and layout was fine tuned during the meeting.
• The status of the BEWG manuscript “The myths of indicators:
“The crux with indicator species” was reviewed and plans for
finalisation were agreed upon.
• The manuscript on “Species distribution modelling and
mapping in the marine environment and its relevance for
ecosystem management” was presented and plans for its
finalization were made.
• Other business comprised a review of the key stone species
concept, an evaluation of the usefulness of fish stomach data to
provide information on spatio-temporal patterns in the benthos
and an introduction to BEWG outreach initiatives (e.g. workshops,
conferences) from the recent past and future.

ICESCIEM
2013 A Coruña
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) was hosted by the
Instituto Español de Oceanografía and held its 2013 meeting at
the Rectorado of the Universitada da Coruña, both in A Coruña,
Spain. The meeting was attended by 16 participants, representing 8
countries.
• The work done by the Study Group on Climate-related changes in
the Benthos of the North Sea (SGCBNS) was reviewed and
agreements were made to further the work initiated within
BEWG.
• The launch of the initiative to facilitate the analysis of benthic
long-term series (BeLTS-net), shared among BEWG and SGCBNS,
was prepared for.
• The review comments on the draft BEWG research paper “On the
myths of indicator species: issues and further consideration in
the use of static concepts for ecological applications” were
evaluated.
• The draft BEWG review paper on “Species distribution
modelling and mapping (SDM) in the marine environment and
its relevance for ecosystem management” was reviewed.

ICESCIEM
2014 Dinard
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) was hosted by
Ifremer and held its 2014 meeting at the Station marine de Dinard -
CRESCO, both in Dinard, France. The meeting was attended by 26
participants, representing 10 countries.
• Six initiatives were further developed during the workshop:
• Further planning of the ongoing work already initiated under
the SGCBNS.
• Getting the Benthic Long-term Series Network (BeLTS-net) launched.
• Initiation of the investigation of benthic indicators’ comparability
and complementarity.
• Final revision of the BEWG review paper: “Species distribution
modelling and mapping in the marine environment and its
relevance for ecosystem management”.
• Further development of the link between ecosystem functioning
and benthic diversity.
• Further development of the position paper on “Linking benthic
ecology to ecosystem services”.
• Four new initiatives (case studies) were developed and
launched during the workshop

ICESCIEM
2015 Calvi
Silvana Birchenough, Chair
The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) was hosted by STARESO
and held its 2015 meeting at the Station de Recherches Sous-marines
et Océanographiques at Calvi in Corsica, France. The meeting was
attended by 30 participants, representing 8 countries and the
ICES Secretariat.
The group continues to provide insights on the field of benthic
ecology, with main emphasis on:
• Long-term series and climate change considering the
methodological aspects of time-series;
• Ensuring that the Benthic Long-term series Network (BELTS-Net)
engages with existing initiatives (e.g. EMODnet);
• Further developments of species distribution modelling and mapping;
• Enhanced understanding on the linkages between ecosystem
biodiversity and functioning;
• Developments in effective monitoring programmes (including design,
harmonization and quality assessments);
• Understanding benthic biodiversity and conservation: the role of
MPA’s;
• Providing expert advice and support to the OSPAR COBAM’s request in
relation to indicator work on benthic habitats.

ICESCIEM Publications

ICESCIEM
ToR a) Long-term benthic series and climate change
ToR b) Species distribution modelling and mapping
ToR c) Benthos and legislative drivers
ToR d) Benthic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
ToR e) Benthic Biodiversity and conservation: to review the role of benthic ecology in MPA’s
ToR f) 2015/4 Support for the development of common and candidate OSPAR biodiversity indicators for benthic habitats:
Benthic habitats. Done in 2015.
ToR g) Produce four short paragraphs for the ICES Ecosystem Overviews on the benthic habitat (geology, dynamics and
diversity), one para-graph for each of the following ICES ecoregions: Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas, Bay of Biscay & the Iberian
coast and Baltic Sea. Done in 2015.
ToR h) Produce four short paragraphs for the ICES Ecosystem Overviews on the benthic community, one para-graph for each of
the following ICES ecoregions: Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas, Bay of Biscay & the Iberian coast and Baltic Sea- Done in 2015.
ToR I) a) Recommend a scoring process (or relevant options for processes) for sensitivity of habitats, which should also include
rules on:
How to scale-up sensitivity to a c-square resolution of 0.05o x 0.05o
How to treat variation in habitat type when evaluating sensitivity within c-square resolution of 0.05o x 0.05o
How to interpolate and/or extrapolate information on sensitivity when habitat data is missing
Based on TOR a, provide input to WGMHM

ICES Benthos Ecology Working Group History 1981-2001

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ICES Benthos Ecology Working Group History 1981-2001