Benthic Fauna, Ecological Status and Ecosystem Functions

3 Benthic Fauna, Ecological Status and Ecosystem Functions 

FIGURE 17.17 Development of abundance and biomass (a) and species number and Shannon diversity (b) at the monitoring station 109 (K4 or BY2) in the central Arkona Sea from 1991 to 2005. The water depth is 48 m. [For 1996 and 1999, no data exist.] 

This is also indicated by the Shannon diversity index and its temporal changes as 

In the last years different other biotic indices have been designed to assess the ecological quality of coastal waters. The development of biological indicators as a tool for the assessment and hence protection of biological diversity in European coastal and marine ecosystems has been advanced due to the implementation of the Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive (WFD). 

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