MACROFAUNA INVESTIGATIONS ALONG A TRANSECT FROM THE INNER GERMAN BIGHT TOWARDS THE DOGGER BANK

During the Bremerhaven Workshop in March 1990 macrofauna samples were taken at 9 stations along a transect from the inner German Bight towards the offshore area of the Dogger Bank. Several statistical methods, univariate and multivariate, were applied to identify and describe changes in the communities along this profile. In general, 3 well-described communities were encountered: the Nucula-nitidosa-community in the inner German Bight, the Amphiura-filiformis-community from the former Pleistocene valley of the River Elbe and the Tellina-fabula-community from the Dogger Bank. These sediment dependent structures combined with changes due to increasing distance from the shore (including increasing water depth) are superimposed on possible additional changes due to pollution or eutrophication and veil them along the gradient investigated. Thus, indications of impact can only be suggested within the communities. However, even the most offshore Dogger Bank station appears to be disturbed.