Objectif This project's main aim is to elucidate long-term, large-scale variations in benthic communities along the North Atlantic and North Mediterranean coasts; these baseline data will allow proper interpretation of local changes resulting from the impact of human activities on benthic communities. In this way these communities provide an indication of the general health of coastal ecosystems.The main aim of this work is to elucidate long term, large scale variations in benthic communities along the North Atlantic and North Mediterranean coasts. These baseline data allow proper interpretation of local changes resulting from the impact of human activities on benthic communities. In this way these communities provide an indication of the general health of coastal ecosystems.Even though they have not yet been analysed to the fullest extent, significant space and time data series are now available for many benthic communities around European coasts.On the basis of these zoobenthic surveys, a biological quality index has been developed for estuaries.A prominent element of the project rationale is the key species concept. Whilst this approoach seems to have application in the rocky intertidal zone, no one has yet been able to pinpoint the real key species in a soft bottom community. Further, great geographical variability has been demonstrated in the make up of the classic Abra and Amphiura communities and it may be more pertinent to look to the identification of functional equivalents, and intercomparing their population dynamics, rather than focussing on species per se.Perhaps the most tangible outcome is the fact that there is now a functioning organization studying benthic ecology on a pan-European scale.This project also belongs to another EC research and development programme, BRIDGE. CURRENT STATUS This project involves coordinated, comparable measurements on benthic communities along the above coasts. The three objectives are: -to study the spatial and time scales of natural variations in benthic communities; -to study community dynamics; -to study biological changes in benthic communities over time. The work is carried out by five Working Parties, each with its own project coordinator and each concentrating on a specific habitat, i.e.: - subtidal rock; - intertidal rock; - subtidal sediments; - intertidal sediments; - posidonia community (in the North Mediterranean only). To attain these objectives, baseline measurements must be taken over a long time (between ten and twenty years). This continues to present funding problems at national level. Global problems (e.g. marine eutrophication, climate change, etc.) have prompted a reassessment of the COST 647 rationale. The 1990 COST 647 Concertation Committee meeting agreed that, whilst more traditional COST 647 work should be maintained as a minimum base for all participants, groups/laboratories with common biological foci (and similar/reciprocating capabilities) should combine to investigate the more functional aspects of the targeted benthic communities. Such increased collaboration is being explored, notably with respect to the subtidal sediment "habitat". Programme(s) IC-COST - European cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research (COST), 1971- Thème(s) Data not available Appel à propositions Data not available Régime de financement Data not available Coordinateur University College Galway Contribution de l’UE Aucune donnée Adresse Galway Irlande Voir sur la carte Coût total Aucune donnée
