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Tools to evaluate seafloor integrity: comparison of multi-device acoustic seafloor classifications for benthic macrofauna-driven patterns in the German Bight, southern North Sea

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Abstract

To determine the spatial resolution of sediment properties and benthic macrofauna communities in acoustic backscatter, the suitability of four acoustic seafloor classification devices (single-beam echosounder with RoxAnn and QTC 5.5 seafloor classification system, sidescan sonar with QTC Swathview seafloor classification, and multi-beam echosounder with QTC Swathview seafloor classification) was compared in a study area of approx. 6 km2 northwest of the island of Helgoland in the German Bight, southern North Sea. This was based on a simple similarity index between simultaneous sidescan sonar, single-beam echosounder and multi-beam echosounder profiling spanning the period 2011–2014. The results show a high similarity between seafloor classifications based on sidescan sonar and RoxAnn single-beam systems, in turn associated with a lower similarity for the multi-beam echosounder system. Analyses of surface sediment samples at 39 locations along four transects (0.1 m2 Van Veen grab) revealed the presence of sandy mud (southern and western parts), coarse sand, gravel and cobbles. Rock outcrops were identified in the north-eastern and eastern parts. A typical Nucula nitidosa–Abra alba community was found in sandy muds to muddy sands in the northern part, whereas the southern part is characterised by widespread occurrence of the ophiuroid brittle star Amphiura filiformis. A transitional N. nitidosa–A. filiformis community was detected in the central part. Moreover, the southern part is characterised by a high abundance of A. filiformis and its commensal bivalve Kurtiella bidentata. The high number of A. filiformis feeding arms (up to ca. 6,800 per m2) can largely explain the gentle change of backscatter intensity along the tracks, because sediment composition and/or seafloor structures showed no significant variability.

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Acknowledgements

This study was part of the German framework project “Scientific monitoring concepts for the German Bight (WIMO)”, financed by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment and Climate Protection and the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture. We would like to thank the captains and crews of RV Senckenberg and RV Heincke for support during the cruises. U. Schückel provided additional data from the survey area. Corinna Schollenberger, Astrid Raschke as well as Annette Steudle, Jannick Matschke and Felix Gottschall are thanked for technical assistance. The article benefited from constructive assessments by P. Wintersteller and an anonymous reviewer..

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  1. Senckenberg am Meer, Department for Marine Research, Südstrand 40, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany

    Peter Holler, Edith Markert, Alexander Bartholomä, Ruggero Capperucci & Ingrid Kröncke

  2. Alfred Wegener Institut, Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Wattenmeer Station Sylt, Hafenstrasse 43, 25992, List, Germany

    H. Christian Hass & Finn Mielck

  3. Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und ländliche Räume, Hamburger Chaussee 25, 24220, Flintbek, Germany

    H. Christian Reimers

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  1. Peter Holler
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Holler, P., Markert, E., Bartholomä, A. et al. Tools to evaluate seafloor integrity: comparison of multi-device acoustic seafloor classifications for benthic macrofauna-driven patterns in the German Bight, southern North Sea. Geo-Mar Lett 37, 93–109 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-016-0488-9

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