Benthic long-term change in the Wadden Sea
Compared are assessments of intertidal and subtidal benthos in the northern Wadden Sea conducted decades ago with the benthos encountered today. Observed differences are interpreted with respect to fisheries, eutrophication, species introductions and climate change.
Macrobenthic zonation 1932 and 2002 at a sheltered shore of the island of Sylt between mean high and low tide level from a saltmarsh (1) to mats of bluegreen bacteria (2) or a sandy beach (8) to an amphipod (3) and lugworm (4) flat, a seagrass belt with Zostera noltii (5) and Z. marina (6), fucoid algae (7) and green algal mats composed of Enteromorpha (9), Chaetomorpha (10) and Ulva (11). Effects of eutrophication and sea level rise explain most of the change.