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MARINE
ENVIRONMENTAL
CHANGE
NETWORK
Final Report
Compiled by M.T. Frost
Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth, PL1 2PB
September 2005
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Marine Environmental Change Network – Contract No.: CDEP 84/5/311
Executive Summary
The recognition of the importance of long-term time series has been a fairly recent development. In
2002, the Inter-Agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology (IACMST) identified an
urgent need for the continuation, restoration and enhancement of marine observations around the
UK and, in response to this, the Marine Environmental Change Network (MECN) was established.
This report outlines the findings of the pilot phase of the MECN from 2002 to 2005. The report
outlines the original objectives and then shows how each of these objectives has been achieved.
The distinct role of the MECN is important in providing ‘contextual monitoring’ that informs
‘compliance monitoring’ and unique in that the time series being maintained by MECN partners are
some of the longest of any marine time series in the world (decadal to multi-decadal). Through the
network, these time series can be compared over a wide geographical range.
The MECN has grown significantly from 6 original members to a total of 17. Details of data
collected by MECN members have been used to construct a metadata catalogue that is accessible
through the MECN website (www.mecn.org.uk), which also provides a comprehensive search
facility for the catalogue. Quality assurance of the data series has been reviewed to assess the
accuracy of measurements and the comparability between different time series.
Annual monitoring reports have been prepared for the West Coast region by the Scottish
Association for Marine Science (SAMS); for the Irish Sea by Port Erin Marine Laboratory (PEML);
for the North Sea by Dove Marine laboratory and for the Western English Channel by Plymouth
Marine Laboratory (PML) and Marine Biological Association (MBA). These reports are available
as separate documents but a summary of key findings as a result of monitoring in each of the areas
is provided.
Data from time series have been used in a number of investigations, some of which may have
important policy implications. Data from SAMS have shown a general warming trend in UK shelf
waters and, by comparison with PEML data, have shown how this trend mirrors that in coastal
waters. Data from PEML have revealed a potential threat to the well being of the Irish Sea
ecosystem as a result of long-term nutrient enrichment of the Irish Sea which is highly relevant to
the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Analyses of time series data from PML have produced
findings that may have important implications for our understanding of variations in nutrients and
fish larval abundance and could therefore be of importance to fisheries management policies. Data
from the English Channel compared with data from other regions and time series maintained by
Dove Marine Laboratory in the North Sea has helped in our understanding of the relative impacts of
climate change and fishing on the marine ecosystem as a whole.
The pilot phase of the MECN has highlighted the importance of long term time series and the need
for allocation of more resources for long-term data collection if we are not to miss important
changes in the marine environment, such as the rapid rise in sea surface temperature from the late
1980s onwards (particularly evident in the Irish Sea and English Channel) and the two regime shifts
seen in the plankton (1988, 1997). It is now vital that the MECN continues to develop and expand
as a network, making sure links are maintained and developed between the research community and
other initiatives such as the terrestrial Environmental Change Network (ECN) and the Marine
Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP). Continuation of the MECN will contribute to
forecasts of future ecosystem changes and development of an Ecosystem approach to marine
environmental management.
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
List of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................2
LIST OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................5
BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................5
WHAT IS THE MECN (AIMS, SCOPE AND VALUE)? ...........................................................................6
Aims and Objectives .....................................................................................................................6
MECN Scope ................................................................................................................................6
Value.............................................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 2: ESTABLISHING THE NETWORK .....................................................................11
PARTNERS .......................................................................................................................................11
MEMBERSHIP STATUS .....................................................................................................................12
WEBSITE .........................................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 3: COLLATION OF ARCHIVED INFORMATION AND DATABASES ............13
METADATA CATALOGUE .................................................................................................................13
ACCESS POLICY ...............................................................................................................................13
REMOTE SENSING ............................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 4: INTERCALIBRATION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE ...................................14
CHAPTER 5: TIME SERIES MONITORING REPORTS .........................................................16
REPORTING......................................................................................................................................16
KEY FINDINGS: ................................................................................................................................17
Western English Channel: ..........................................................................................................17
North Sea: ..................................................................................................................................18
Irish Sea: ....................................................................................................................................19
Tiree Passage: ............................................................................................................................19
CHAPTER 6. ANALYSIS OF ARCHIVED DATA AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION .......................................................................................................................20
SYNTHESIS CASE STUDIES ...............................................................................................................20
CASE STUDY 1: Climate change and shelf exchange; Tiree Passage and the Ellett Line
(SAMS). ......................................................................................................................................21
CASE STUDY 2: Irish Sea Eutrophication & implications for Water Framework Directive
(WFD).........................................................................................................................................22
CASE STUDY 3: Nutrients in the English Channel – a cautionary tale. ...................................23
CASE STUDY 4: Disentangling fishing & climate ....................................................................24
CHAPTER 7: REPORTING AND DISSEMINATION ...............................................................25
REPORTS .........................................................................................................................................25
Defra Contract Reports ..............................................................................................................25
Scientific Reports........................................................................................................................25
Supplementary Reports ..............................................................................................................26
Reports by MECN partners ........................................................................................................26
Conference presentations ...........................................................................................................27
Publications ................................................................................................................................29
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS OF PILOT PHASE ...................................................................30
CHAPTER 9: MECN CONTINUATION - A FORWARD LOOK ............................................31
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
RISK OF DISCONTINUING MECN.....................................................................................................31
NETWORKING BENEFITS ..................................................................................................................31
MONITORING (TIME-SERIES) ...........................................................................................................32
RESOURCES .....................................................................................................................................32
OUTPUTS .........................................................................................................................................33
FORECASTING AND PREDICTING CHANGE ........................................................................................33
LONG-TERM AIMS (CONTINUATION OF PILOT PHASE AND BEYOND) .................................................33
Contribution of the MECN to the ecosystem approach to environmental management. ...........33
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................36
APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................................37
A PROPOSAL TO DEFRA FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THE PILOT PHASE OF THE UK MARINE
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE NETWORK ............................................................................................37
CONTINUATION OF PILOT PHASE DELIVERABLES: ............................................................................38
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 1: Introduction
Background
There has been a recent renaissance of interest in long-term research1, in contrast to the 1980’s
when extended time-series were very unfashionable and deemed uninteresting science. This is
largely due to the need to understand and manage environmental change caused by factors such as
changing climate and broad-scale human impacts on marine ecosystems (e.g. eutrophication and
fishing).
For UK waters, the urgent need for the continuation, restoration and enhancement of marine
observations and the establishment of a network of parties involved in this work were identified
through an IACMST Review of Current Marine Observations in relation to present and future needs
(IACMST, 2000)2. The Marine Environmental Change Network (MECN) was established in 2002
as a direct response to this need.
The importance of the monitoring and long-term research being undertaken by the MECN is
underlined by a number of important policy directives; some of which have been adopted since the
original IASCMST recommendations. These include international conventions such as the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention for the Protection of the Marine
Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) and the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
At the European level this has been formalised by various Directives (Habitats, Urban Waste Water
and now Water Framework, reformed Common Fisheries Policy) promoting healthy and
sustainably managed seas and coasts. In the UK it is enshrined in the commitment by the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to Marine Stewardship delivered
through an ecosystem-based approach (Defra, 2002)3.
To deliver a marine management scheme that is ‘ecosystem based’ requires an understanding of
how the various ecosystem components interact with each other and how they respond to natural
and anthropogenic drivers. The MECN is a cornerstone for delivering this understanding for the UK
through providing data sets and analysis across ecosystem components and developing our
understanding of ecosystem functioning. In particular, the monitoring and analysis integral to the
MECN allows a greater degree of separation of natural fluctuations from global (climate change),
regional (e.g. eutrophication, fishing) and local (e.g. point source pollution, aggregate extraction)
anthropogenic impacts.
It is difficult to find a standard definition of ‘Long-term research’ but it is sometimes defined ‘as research occurring
over decades or longer’ (e.g. Risser et al, 1991. Current status and future of Long-term Ecological Research. In: Longterm Ecological Research: An International Perspective. 1991, Ed: P. G. Risser, Wiley, UK). Parr et al; (2002. Towards
a long-term integrated monitoring programme in Europe: Network design in theory and practice. Environmental
Monitoring and assessment. 78:253-290) suggest a scientific definition - “…the time scale which enables signals of
environmental change to be distinguished from background noise” and a practical definition where long-term covers –
“..any sites where there is a commitment to maintain scientific and monitoring programmes beyond the usual length of a
scientific research programme”.
2
Portmann, J. E. (2000) Review of Current Marine Observations in relation to present and future needs. Inter-Agency
Committee on Marine Science and Technology (IACMST) Information Document No. 7, 32pp, Southampton.
3
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. (2002). Seas of Change. The Government’s consultation paper
to help deliver our vision for the marine environment. London, Defra.
1
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
What is the MECN (Aims, Scope and Value)?
Aims and Objectives
The MECN network was established in order to ensure delivery and interpretation of long-term and
broad-scale contextual information, including cross-calibration and cross-correlation of results to
inform status, water quality and compliance monitoring. The pilot phase was intended to
demonstrate the benefits of preserving and networking long-term time series data – and most
importantly continuing and enhancing extant programmes and re-starting those in abeyance.
The MECN was set up in 2002 with the following objectives:
i.
Establish a marine environmental change network
ii.
Collate archived information in a database
iii.
Ensure intercalibration and quality assurance of the data network
iv.
Co-ordinate, restart and enhance time series measurements at the following locations:
a. Western English Channel (Plymouth): Marine Biological Association (MBA),
Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), and Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean
Science (SAHFOS)
b. North Sea (Cullercoats): Dove Marine Laboratory, University of Newcastle (Dove
ML)
c. Irish Sea (Isle of Man): Port Erin Marine Laboratory (PEML)
d. Tiree Passage: Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
and integrate these with other programmes and networks (e.g. the Marine Biodiversity
and Climate Change Project (MarClim)), as appropriate
v.
Analyse and cross-correlate data to provide contextual interpretation for informing reports
and integrate these with broader scale remote-sensing and Continuous Plankton Recorder
(CPR) data
vi.
Report and disseminate the above activities
Longer-term aspirations included the adoption of newer technologies (remote sensing, deployment
of moored data-logging buoys) and in order to integrate them with discrete sampling approaches,
particularly in the English Channel.
MECN Scope
It is important to be able to distinguish what makes the MECN unique from the other various UK
monitoring ‘strands’ when considering the role that the MECN is likely to play in the monitoring
framework being currently developed by the Marine Monitoring Coordination Group (MMCG) for
the United Kingdom. Obviously the way in which the current monitoring programmes differ from
one another, the areas in which they overlap, and how they eventually fit together to form a
coherent monitoring strategy will become clearer as the strategy is discussed and developed over
the coming period.
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
The MECN differs fundamentally from many other current monitoring initiatives for the UK in a
number of ways. Firstly, no element of the monitoring being undertaken by the MECN is
‘compliance monitoring’,4 specifically targeted at quality issues or driven by the need to meet any
requirements (i.e. such as those arising under commitments to conventions such as the OSPAR
Joint Assessment Monitoring Programme5, (JAMP)). This is in contrast to the aims of monitoring
programmes such as the National Marine Monitoring Programme (NMMP). The main drivers of the
NMMP as outlined in the NMMP methods manual6 are:
1. To meet temporal trend monitoring requirements of the OSPAR international agreement
2. For compliance with EC directives
3. To meet research and development needs
- which may be driven by OSPAR or nationally.
4. For local monitoring
A recent report of the NMMP7 also states that it “was designed to fulfil the UK’s mandatory
monitoring requirements under the OSPAR JAMP and provides data in support of EC Directives”.
Although the NMMP necessarily contains components that just measure natural environmental
variability (e.g. during the first phase of the NMMP, offshore reference sites were used to compare
with impacted estuaries8) it is still, as a subgroup of the Marine Environment Monitoring Group
(MEMG) reporting on the Marine Environmental Quality monitoring sector (see Charting Progress
Report 19), largely concerned with quality issues10.
The MECN, however, is concerned with ‘contextual monitoring’, which is able to inform
‘compliance’ or ‘commitment’ monitoring11 (Figure 1). This means that compliance monitoring, for
example, will allow you to tick a box (e.g. if a particular pollutant is present above a certain
threshold concentration or not), however, this does not necessarily provide us with an understanding
as to the processes causing this effect (which could be diverse). The decadal time series in MECN
each monitor key component parts of the marine ecosystem (e.g. temperature, salinity, nutrients,
zoo- and phytoplanktonic communities) at various points around the UK to attempt to provide this
understanding. By combining these different elements, we can gain greater understanding of marine
ecosystems in order to better assess marine ecosystem health, hence the need for the network. By
providing this understanding, contextual monitoring will allow better interpretation of
measurements taken from sites established for compliance or other targeted monitoring purposes.
We know, for example, that the type of measurements collected by the MECN can be used to
inform issues such as those related to climate change and eutrophication. It should also be noted
that these issues were not those envisaged when many of the time series were initiated.
Defined by the Water Quality Monitoring Council as ‘A type of monitoring done to ensure the meeting of immediate
statutory requirements’.
5
Oslo and Paris Commission. 1995 (1997). The Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme: as amended by ASMO
1997
6
UK National Marine Monitoring Programme (2003) Green Book.
7
Marine Environment Monitoring Programme (2004). UK National Marine Monitoring Programme Second Report
(1999-2001)
8
Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group (1998). 5 th Report. Towards 2000: Marine Monitoring in the 1990s.
9
Marine Environment Monitoring Group (2005). Marine Environment Quality. Report 1 of 5 contributions to Charting
Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas, 162pp.
10
This may change in the future, however, as the NMMP undergoes a significant redesign with one of the aims being to
‘moving from a pollution focus to an environmental management focus, involving a whole ecosystem approach’
(NMMP website: http://www.cefas.co.uk/monitoring/page-c3.asp)
11
The authors use the term ‘Commitment’ monitoring to refer to monitoring that is not ‘statutory’ but is targeted
according to commitments/obligations such as those made under OSPAR.
4
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
There is some inevitable potential overlap between some of the MECN monitoring sites and other
programmes (see figure 2). Just as it has been recognised by the IACMST Global Ocean Observing
System Action Group (GOOS AG) (responsible for the Climates and Processes Sector - see
Charting Progress Report 212) that some of the NMMP monitoring and some of the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC) monitoring may feed into its programme, this potential overlap
with other programmes is also true for the MECN.
Blueskies
research
ing
ann
c
S
n
izo
r
o
H
DEFRA
Policy (e.g. 5 yr status reporting)
MECN
Sta
tuto
ry r
epo
rtin
g (c
.1y
NMMP
Strategic
long-term
research /
monitoring
r)
Compliance /
‘targeted’
monitoring
Figure 1. Diagram comparing the roles of the MECN and NMMP in terms of UK monitoring strategy.
Another issue is scale: MECN provides information on intermediate (shelf-wide and coastal seas)
scales (Figure 2). This allows it to inform monitoring being coordinated by GOOS at the wider
global oceans scale, either as part of the regional contribution to GOOS through IACMST GOOS
AG and EuroGOOS or as an adjunct to this13. Most importantly, MECN monitoring allows local
conditions (some of the NMMP sites) to be assessed in the light of changes in the wider
environment (MECN - ‘contextual monitoring’).
For detail on the current relationship of the MECN to the four UK monitoring sectors and its
possible future contribution, see section 9.
12
Inter-Agency Committee for Marine Science and Technology (2005). Marine Processes and Climate, Report 2 of 5
contributions to Charting Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas, 132pp.
13
The MECN is also likely to feed into the Coastal Ocean Observations Module (COOM) of GOOS depending on how
this module develops. See “The Integrated, Strategic Design Plan for the Coastal Ocean Observations Module of the
Global Ocean Observing System. GOOS Report No.125; IOC Information Documents Series No.1183: UNESCO 2003.
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
Global
COOP (COOM)
GOOS
EuroGOOS
Regional
(European)
MECN
National
Marclim
GOOS AG
MEMG - NMMP
Local
Habitats
Intertidal &
Estuarine
Coastal /
Nearshore
Coastal /
Offshore
Shelf
Oceanic
Figure 2. Diagram showing the relationship between the MECN and other monitoring programmes to scale of
investigation. GOOS = Global Ocean Observing System; COOP = Coastal Oceans Observations Panel (COOM =
Coastal Ocean Observations Module). MEMG = Marine Environment Management Group. Habitats = the type of
monitoring being undertaken by nature conservation agencies and others (see: Charting Progress: An integrated
Assessment of the State of UK seas, Defra, 2005). N.B. The CPR programme run by SAHFOS covers National,
European and some global waters from nearshore to oceanic realms.
Value
The MECN time-series are unique. Firstly, this is due to the duration over which the measurements
have been collected. In the marine waters of the British Isles, there are only a handful of time series
which extend over multi-decadal scales. These have been maintained by MBA, PEML, Dove ML,
SAMS, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Fisheries Research
Services (FRS) and SAHFOS. Additionally, University of Wales Bangor (UWB) has managed to
compile a time series out of ad hoc student projects which have been undertaken over many years.
Secondly, the MECN time-series are unique in terms of their location and wide geographical range.
All of the time series in MECN are operationally serviceable (i.e. despite being offshore all
sampling can be undertaken in a day rather than as part of a research cruise) and this was often a
key factor in their original location. A key element of contextual monitoring is to provide broadscale understanding. To do this well, time series need to be situated sufficiently far from the coast to
minimise variability in the data associated with coastal ‘noise’ which can mask signals from broadscale environmental changes (e.g. eutrophication, climate change). This is the case with all the
funded MECN time series and is particularly important as the paucity of offshore sites away from
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
anthropogenic influence being sampled under current UK monitoring programmes has recently
been noted14
The MBA/PML measurements are for the western English Channel Ecosystem15 and studies here
over the past 100 years have contributed much of the current understanding of how marine
ecosystems function; they are situated on the interface of oceanic and nearshore waters . The MBA
sites provide boundary conditions for the rest of the English Channel. The PEML Cypris station is
located in the Irish Sea gyre and appears to describe the dynamics of this seasonally stratified region
well16. The Dove sites reflect much of the benthos of the North Sea17.
14
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (2005). Marine Habitats and Species. Report 3 of 5 contributions to Charting
Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas, 188pp.
15
Southward, A. J. (1980). The Western English Channel – an inconstant ecosystem. Nature. 285: 361-366.
16
Scientific Report no.2. Long-term environmental studies in the Irish Sea: a review. Evans et al (2003).
17
Clark, R.A. & Frid, C. L. J. (2001). Long-term changes in the North Sea Ecosystem. Environmental Reviews. 9:131187.
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 2: Establishing the Network
Partners
The original MECN partnership consisted of 6 members. This clearly did not represent the full
range of marine time series in waters around the British Isles. A consultation of marine institutions
and university departments in the British Isles identified those collecting long-term marine data and
these were approached regarding membership of the network. There are now 17 partner
organisations in the network, which we believe represents all the major groups involved with longterm measurements in the UK and Isle of Man. The location of all partner institutions is shown in
Figure 3. The current membership is composed of 13 full and 4 affiliate members 18. The list of
organisations and their membership status is given in table 1.
Figure 3. Map showing location of all MECN partner institutions. See table 1 for full names of
partner institutions.
18
Full members are those members that are responsible for maintaining time series and therefore contribute data to the
network. Affiliate members provide funding and /or scientific input into the MECN but do not supply data from longterm time series.
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
Table 1. Summary table showing MECN partners and membership status. *Full = members
contributing data to the network. **Affiliate = members fully active within the network but
not actually contributing data.
Organisation
Marine Biological Association (MBA)
Partners
(Original)
Partners
(New)
Membership
Status
Full*
Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)
Full
The Sir Alistair Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science
(SAHFOS)
Full
Dove Marine Laboratory, University of Newcastle
(Dove ML)
Full
Port Erin Marine Laboratory, University of
Liverpool (PEML)
Full
Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
Full
The Centre for Environment Fisheries and
Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)
Full
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
(DARD)
Full
Fisheries Research Service (FRS)
Full
Met Office
Full
Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL)
Full
School of Ocean Science, University of Wales
Full
Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC)
Full
British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC)
**Affiliate
Environment Agency (EA)
Affiliate
Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra)
Affiliate
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
Affiliate
Website
The MECN website (www.mecn.org.uk) was designed and established as part of the start-up
activities of the network. It has been a useful communication tool for MECN and is a valuable tool
for delivering information to the wider community. The site contains details of the MECN
programme and includes both public and member-only areas. The public area includes details of the
network background, work programme and aims; relevant news items (funding opportunities,
workshops, etc.), partnership and contact details; locations and descriptions of long-term research
series, and useful links to other web sites. The members-only area includes the metadata entry form,
network presentations and reports, and data subgroup pages. The fully searchable metadata
catalogue (see next section) was originally a members only facility but has now been made
available on the public pages in order to make the information accessible to as many
people/organisations as possible. It is expected that links will eventually be provided to the Marine
Data Information Partnership (MDIP).
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 3: Collation of archived information and databases
Metadata catalogue
The MECN metadata catalogue has been developed using the ACCESS database software
programme. The catalogue contains information relating to all the long-term time series being
maintained by MECN partners around the UK (i.e. sampling locations, length and frequency of
sampling, parameters sampled, partner organisation responsible for time series and current contacts
for each organisation).
The metadata catalogue is fully accessible through the MECN website where searches can be
performed using the parameter of interest (e.g. salinity, temperature, nitrate) or contributor
information (e.g. organisations such ‘MBA’, ‘Fisheries Research Service’ or by individual if
known). Keywords can also be used to perform a search. It is expected that the metadata catalogue
will continue to be added to and the search facilities improved as part of the next phase of the
MECN, with a commitment to the eventual adoption of the principles outlined in the statement of
intent of the Marine Data Information Partnership (MDIP).
Access policy
Currently, the institution responsible for maintaining the time series holds all the raw data relating
to that time series (eventually much of this data could be supplied to a holding institution such as
the BODC). All data requests, therefore, are sent to the relevant institution and access is dependent
on the access policy of the data holding organisation.
Remote sensing
As part of the MECN pilot phase activities, a proposal was submitted to the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC) Remote Sensing Data Analysis Service (RSDAS) to obtain archived
broad scale satellite data for waters around the British Isles and Ireland. This proposal was
successful (graded α4) and data were supplied to MECN free of charge. The data supplied were sea
surface temperature (SST) from the United States National Aeronautic and Space Administration
(NASA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Pathfinder data set and NASA
chlorophyll a product from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). Data was
provided for the northwest European shelf at a spatial resolution of 9 km (global area coverage).
The SST time series extended from Jan 1985 to Dec 2001 and the chlorophyll a data from Sep 1997
to December 2002. Climatological analysis of this data was undertaken by Dr Nick HardmanMountford to look at seasonal and interannual patterns of spatial and temporal variability. Time
series were extracted for each of the time series receiving funds from MECN: E1, L4 (English
Channel); Cypris, Bayrnagh (Irish Sea); Dove (North Sea) and Tiree (Scottish west coast).
Additionally, multivariate statistical analysis was undertaken using Empirical Orthogonal Functions
(EOF) to show the dominant modes of variability within the data sets. The results of this study are
currently being prepared for publication to Defra as MECN Scientific Report no. 6 (March 2005).
This work forms a preliminary study on the availability of remote sensing time series with
characterisation of MECN time series locations. Climatological fields can be used for contextual
interpretation of in situ data from time series, however, the study has highlighted a number of issues
related to direct comparison of remote sensing and in situ data. The EOF fields have provided the
basis for future work to determine bio-physical regions in British surface waters, with the aim of
defining spatial regions of applicability for long-term time series measurements.
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 4: Intercalibration and quality assurance
An intercalibration exercise was undertaken as part of a time series inter-comparison workshop held
at the Dove Marine Laboratory, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, from 18-19 March 2003. The
goal of this intercalibration exercise was to provide a basic assessment of the consistency of
measurements from CTDs and salinometers in use by different laboratories. The organisations
involved in this exercise were:






Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA)
Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)
Fisheries Research Services (FRS)
Port Erin Marine Laboratory (PEML)
Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
Centre for Applied Oceanography, University of Wales Bangor (UWB)
This study was not intended to check the calibration of instruments used by different laboratories.
The conditions required to perform such a calibration are not simple to obtain and such an exercise
is best carried out by the instrument manufacturers against known standards. Rather, the study
aimed to assess the variability between instruments when taking simultaneous measurements in
seawater. Such an assessment is important to provide confidence limits when comparing data from
different areas.
The results showed that most instruments agreed well, with only a few anomalous measurements
being obtained, probably due to fine scale temperature and salinity gradients within the testing tanks
used for the comparison. Some “noise” in the results obtained demonstrated the level of
environmental variability that can be experienced when sampling water within a particular well
mixed patch in a laboratory although it was concluded that within the marine environment much
higher levels of variability would be expected. “Noise” introduced by sampling variability is much
higher when shipboard measurements are taken. It was concluded, therefore, that care must be taken
when interpreting fine scale temperature and salinity differences from either an individual station or
when comparing between stations.
A full description of the intercalibration exercise along with details of all the results obtained can be
found in:
Scientific Report No. 04 (22nd December, 2004). Report on the intercalibration of marine
temperature and salinity measurements. Hardman-Mountford, N. J. & Halliday, N. Contract
CDEP 84/5/311.
In addition to the calibration exercise, a full inter-comparison of all time series including details of
all methodologies used and parameters sampled was also undertaken. The diverse time series
stations maintained by MECN partners were originally started independently of each other and to
address different questions. Thus, the range of parameters sampled at each station varies. A core set
of parameters which should ideally provide the basis of the measuring programme at each sampling
station to provide a fundamental level of ecosystem understanding was also identified. These
parameters were identified as:






Temperature
Salinity
Nutrients (Nitrate, Phosphate, Silicate)
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton
Benthos (epi- and infauna)
14
MECN Final Report – May 2005
The only group to have measured all of these variables at the same location over multi-decadal time
scales was the MBA (Table 2). PEML measure all but zooplankton and benthos. CEFAS, FRS and
SAMS multi-decadal series are physical variables only (temperature, salinity, currents, with only
SAMS measuring all three), UWB measure temperature, salinity and nutrients. SAHFOS only have
measurements of phytoplankton and zooplankton and Dove only have zooplankton and benthos (the
only multi-decadal benthic time series still being maintained).
Range of
sampling
dates
MBA
Temperature Salinity Nutrients
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton
Benthos
1899-2004
SAHFOS 1946-2004
PEML
1904-2004
Dove ML 1968-2004
SAMS
1975-2004
FRS*
1997-2004
UWB
1963-2004
CEFAS
1880-2004
Table 2. Parameters measured by partners maintaining multi-decadal time series. FRS shown for
information although not multi-decadal.
It is envisaged that where long-term time series do not currently include any of the above
measurements, efforts will be made to secure funding in order for these parameters to be added in
the future, ideally as part of phase 2 of the MECN. Current funding is such that the MBA /PML
(which is the most integrated of the time series) relies on MECN for funding; the Dove (which
includes the best benthic time series) also requires MECN funding; CEFAS and FRS are already
funded by Defra; SAMS and PEML are ineligible for direct Defra funding but do require additional
resources (e.g. through Scottish Executive, Isle of Man Government).
Full details of all the parameters sampled at each time series by each MECN partner along with
methodologies employed and Quality Assurance (QA) procedures used are provided in:
Scientific Report No. 05. (22nd December, 2004). Report on the inter-comparability of longterm time series in the marine environment of the British Isles. Hardman-Mountford N. J.
Joint, I., Walne A. & Kennington, K. Contract CDEP 84/5/311
15
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 5: Time series monitoring reports
Reporting
The MECN has brought together members responsible for maintaining various long-term time
series around the UK. As part of the pilot phase, key time series were initially identified for 4
locations. These were the:

Western English Channel (time series maintained by MBA/PML/SAHFOS).

North Sea (time series maintained by Dove Marine Laboratory)

Irish Sea (time series maintained by PEML

Tiree Passage (time series maintained by SAMS)
Measurements of a number of parameters (see Table 2) have been made for each of these areas over
the course of the pilot phase (2002 – 2005). Full monitoring reports have been produced for each of
these locations and are available as separate documents; these reports are supplied to Defra as
supplements to this report. The monitoring reports will also be made available on the MECN
website. The references for these reports are as follows:
Scientific Report No. 07. 30th April, 2005. WESTERN ENGLISH CHANNEL: Final Report of the
Plymouth Module (MBA, PML, SAHFOS). Ian Joint, Matthew Frost & Nick Halliday. Contract
CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 08. 30th April, 2005. NORTH SEA: Final report of the Dove Marine
Laboratory. Chris Frid. Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 09. 30th April, 2005. IRISH SEA : Final report of Port Erin Marine
Laboratory: Review of PEML long-term monitoring activities 2001-2004. Kev Kennington.
Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 10. 30th April, 2005. WEST COAST: Final report of the Scottish Association
for Marine Science. Colin Griffiths. Contract CDEP 84/5/311
16
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Key Findings:
A summary of key findings is now given for each location and, where possible19, these findings are
commented on with regard to long term trends. To see the full reports on which these summary
findings are based see above.
Western English Channel:

Sampling of zooplankton, phytoplankton and nutrients has continued at Station L4, a near
shore station close to Plymouth (available at http://www.pml.ac.uk/L4). Sampling has been
at weekly intervals since 1988, so providing a time series of more than 16 years. The data
are being analysed by a number of groups and show interesting trends in interannual
variability of zooplankton and the timing of the spring bloom in relation to the North
Atlantic oscillation (NAO).

At station E1, which is further offshore than L4 and not influenced by river run-off,
measurements have been made of salinity and temperature throughout the water column,
from the sea surface to close to the sea bed. The penetration of different water masses in
2002 and 2003 was indicated by differences in both temperature and salinity. This is a larger
degree of interannual variability than has previously been described but more measurements
will be required before it will be possible to say which, if any, might be the typical condition
for the English Channel. As more data become available, it will be possible to fully assess
the degree of variability in water mass and how this relates to the abundance of warm-water
indicator species of zooplankton and larval fish.

Measurements are now being made at E1 of a whole range of phytoplankton pigments.
Previous time series had measured only chlorophyll concentration so the new time series
provides much more detail of changes in pigment composition which are good taxonomic
markers for different phytoplankton species. For example, fucoxanthin (the marker pigment
for diatoms) has been measured in both the spring and autumn. Previously it has been
known that diatoms are important in the spring, forming the major component of the spring
bloom. We now know that diatoms may be an important part of the phytoplankton
assemblage throughout the year.

Nutrient measurements at E1 in 2003 showed depletion in summer when phytoplankton
activity is high, as expected. However, in contrast to the historical time series before 1988,
nitrate was still detectable in surface samples in July; phosphate concentrations were also
higher than expected at the time of year when nutrients have normally been totally depleted
and below the detection limit of chemical analysis. As more data become available, nutrient
concentration data will be analysed in relation to the different water masses that have been
indicated from the salinity and temperature data.

Long term changes in the nitrate to phosphate ratio (Redfield Ratio) at E1 are being
examined and data from 2002-2004 shows a marked decline in this ratio compared with
historical data from the 1930s and 1980s. Part of the difficulty in understanding these
apparent shifts in N:P ratio result from changes in methodology throughout the time series,
particularly with data from the 1930s (see case study 3 – next section). However, methods
19
Although monitoring data has been collected for each of the locations, the status of this data in terms of analysis and
integration with previous data varies between locations. The integration of new data collected as part of the pilot phase
with previous time series data is obviously a key long-term aim of the MECN. It is not always possible to do this
immediately however, as before the MECN was started the datasets held by the various partners were at different stages
of analysis. This means that some are in a better position than others to comment on long-term changes and anomalies.
17
MECN Final Report – May 2005
used today are similar to those used in the 1980s and, as more data become available for E1,
it will be possible to determine if there is less nitrate or more phosphate in the water column
– either of which could have caused the observed lowering in N:P ratio.
North Sea:

Dove Marine Laboratory maintains 3 important time series stations in the North Sea; i) monthly
zooplankton abundance ii) annual benthic abundance at offshore station P (depth 80m) on
fishing ground iii) bi-annual benthic abundance at station M1 (depth 55m)

Analyses of each of these multi-decadal time series have revealed no evidence of major phase
shifts

Both zooplankton and benthos (M1) showed periods of high variation in productivity and
composition over decadal periods but with no association between the 2

Benthic station P showed no association with climatic or biotic forcing but did show effects of
high fishing effort

For the zooplankton, there was a negative association between northerly positions of the Gulf
Stream North Wall (GSNW) and zooplankton abundance. This is the opposite of what is found
in other regions of the North Atlantic. The Dove series samples small zooplankton (copepods
and larvae) which are preyed upon by larger zooplankton (e.g. Sagitta). It is the increase in
abundance of the larger zooplankton that is measured by other studies whereas the Dove series
also measures the concomitant decrease in smaller zooplankton (prey) which leads to an overall
decrease in zooplankton abundance

Long term changes in composition of zooplankton was driven by the effect of productivity on a
small number of top-ranked taxa that seemed to be able to take advantage of an increase in
resources

For the benthos at M1 there was an association between production and community structure
with primary productivity as well as climatic forcing from GSNW position and winter NAO
index. This climatic signal may affect the benthos through winter temperature

For benthos at station P the effects of fishing overrode any extrinsic forcing such as
productivity

indirect affects on benthos at station P may have occurred through replacement of large Gadoids
(piscivores) by fishing, leading to an increase in benthic predators (flatfish and juvenile
gadoids)

The results show the importance of multi-decadal time series for providing ecological
understanding necessary for the ecosystem approach to management. The same climatic and
biotic variables have been shown to associate in different ways with different components of the
shelf sea ecosystem and the same components under different levels of anthropogenic
disturbance

The results are important for management as they illustrate that scale of observation (i.e.
monitoring) is very important when attempting to identify phenomenon such as phase or regime
shifts in systems that are highly complex and variable
18
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Irish Sea:

SST has been measured at key time series in the Irish Sea; the Port Erin Breakwater and the
Cypris and Baynargh stations

SST for 1994-2003 was the warmest for the last 100 yrs of data collection; 8 of the 10 warmest
ranked years occurred since 1994 with 2002 and 2003 being the 4th and 3rd warmest
respectively. Winter 2002 was the 2nd warmest on record.

It appears then that in Isle of Man waters the upward trend in SST is continuing in line with the
general increase observed for the northern hemisphere and global surface temperatures

No historical extremes for salinity were observed between 2002 and 2004 and no long-term
trend has been established within the 37 year dataset although winter salinity values recorded
during the years 1996-1998 and in 2001 were noticably higher than the long term mean.

Measurements of summer Chlorophyll and winter inorganic nutrients were made at the Cypris
and Baynargh stations and showed much intersite variation

There is little evidence of the long-term trend of increases that has been observed by Allen et al,
199820. Concentrations of nitrate recorded at the Cypris station have levelled off in recent years
whilst phosphate appears to have decreased in concentration. Recent analysis of the Cypris data
has shown that the winter nutrient concentrations are strongly influenced by the NAO.

The 54° N transect has also measured winter nutrient maxima and spring chlorophyll maxima
between 1994-2004. Between 2000-2004 the sampling intensity was increased to monthly
surveys during the spring/summer production period. This has enabled a typology for Irish seas
to be developed (see separate Iris Sea monitoring report: Scientific Report No.9)

Analysis has revealed NAO influences many of the variables measured at the Cypris station and
appears to also influence the typologies identified from the 54˚N surveys. With continued
sampling we may be able to separate climate from other anthropogenic effects upon the
hydrography and ecology of the Irish Sea.
The University of Liverpool will cease to operate the laboratory in Port Erin in September 2006.
Negotiations are in hand with the Isle of Man Government with regard to the management of the
Cypris monitoring and other programmes but no confirmation of such an offer has as yet been
made. The long term monitoring programmes currently run by the laboratory are under serious
threat and the continuation of these programmes cannot be guaranteed beyond 2006.
Tiree Passage:

The mooring in the Tiree Passage was restarted in 2002 as part of the MECN (it was first
deployed in 1981) and is the only mooring to the west coast of Scotland being maintained by
SAMS.

Temperature, salinity and currents measurements are currently being analysed
20
Allen, J. R., Slinn, D. J., Shammon, T. M., Hartnoll, R. G., & Hawkins. (1998). Evidence for eutrophication of the
Irish Sea over four decades. Limnology and Oceanography. 43: 1970-1974.
19
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 6. Analysis of archived data and contextual analysis and interpretation
Synthesis Case Studies
The pilot phase of the MECN has produced a number of preliminary case studies as examples of
how analysis of archived data from various MECN partners from a number of long-term time series
can be ‘synthesised’ to reveal significant ecosystem effects, some of which may have important
policy implications. These examples are therefore provided below:

Case Study 1: Climate change and shelf exchange (SAMS)

Case Study 2: Irish Sea Eutrophication & implications for Water Framework Directive (WFD)

Case Study 3: Nutrients in the English Channel – a cautionary tale

Case Study 4: Disentangling fishing and climate
20
MECN Final Report – May 2005
CASE STUDY 1: Climate change and shelf exchange; Tiree Passage and the Ellett Line (SAMS).
Problem: The shelf and coastal waters to the west of the UK are clearly impacted upon by the
Atlantic Ocean (Figure 1); yet the response of the shelf to changes in climate and source water
composition is poorly known. In particular the Scottish Coastal Current (SCC) supplies the marine
source water for the fjordic sea lochs along the Scottish west
coast. This is a major source of nutrients for these systems, yet
there is little knowledge of how variations in the flow of the
SCC, or the oceanic and Irish Sea inputs to it, contribute to
variability in the productivity of these economically important
systems and adjacent coastal regions.
Evidence: The Tiree Passage mooring has been analysed to:
a) reveal the trend in temperature change on the western UK
shelf over the last quarter century (Figure 2), and b) to
determine, by comparison with the Ellett Line series of
Figure 1: SeaWifs satellite image of
hydrographic sections across the NE Atlantic, and the Port
ocean colour on the Hebridean shelf
Erin time series, the relative degree of influence of Irish Sea
during July 2004 (supplied by Plymouth
and NE Atlantic waters in the SCC (Table 1). Tiree shows
Marine Laboratory). Note the filament of
warming of 0.57 ºC per decade (Figure 2) and, in an integral
high-chlorophyll-a
content
water
sense, the Irish Sea exerts the strongest variation on seasonal
intruding onto the Malin Shelf.
time scales (Table 1).
Interpretation: A clear general warming trend is seen in the Tiree Passage time series since 1980,
with short term cooling in the mid-to-late eighties and early-to-mid nineties. This trend is in broad
agreement with the trend for the upper layers of the NE Atlantic; attributed to an increase in the
influence of Eastern North Atlantic Water over Western North Atlantic in the Rockall Trough over
the same period; this change in itself is perhaps linked to a freshening of the Arctic waters flowing
into the North Atlantic and a concomitant reduction in the production of Labrador Sea Deep Water.
Although long-term trends on the shelf mirror those of the NE Atlantic, on monthly time scale a
larger percentage of the temperature variance of the inner shelf waters are explained by variations in
Irish Sea waters (50%)
than
NE
Atlantic
(11%).
Figure
2:
Temperature
anomalies
from
Tiree
Passage, 1981-2003. Values
are
monthly
anomalies
relative to the monthly
means of the full time series.
Implications:
A
greater understanding of the shelf response to climatic change and oceanic exchange is essential if
we are to be able to discriminate natural changes in coastal productivity from enrichment and
eutrophication arising from increased urbanization and aquaculture development in coastal regions.
MECN TIME SERIES
r2
Tiree Passage and Port Erin
0.50
Tiree and Ellett Line (upper 800m)
0.17
Port Erin and Ellett Line (upper 800m)
0.11
Table 1: r-squared values (significant at 95%)
demonstrating the degree of correlation between
temperature anomalies (1980 -2003)
21
MECN Final Report – May 2005
CASE STUDY 2: Irish Sea Eutrophication & implications for Water Framework Directive (WFD).
Winter SRP data 5 year running mean
Winter Nitrate M 5 year running mean
Problem: The enrichment of the Irish Sea with inorganic nitrate and phosphate has been highlighted
as a potential threat to the well being of the Irish Sea ecosystems and the sustainable use of these
waters for humankind.
Evidence: Data recorded from the Cypris station in the central Irish Sea show that winter nutrient
concentrations increased significantly between the 1960’s and the 1980’s. Since this time
concentrations of phosphate have declined and nitrate concentrations have stabilised (Figure 1).
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Figure 1. Winter concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrate and phosphate recorded at the Cypris
station, Isle of Man.
Interpretation: The increase in nutrient salts recorded between the 1960’s and 1980’s followed the
global increase in nitrate manufacture and application as an agricultural fertiliser and the increased
use of phosphate based detergents. The apparent connection between usage of nitrates and
phosphates by society and the increased concentrations of these salts dissolved in Irish Sea coastal
waters is apparent. However, research undertaken by MECN members has since highlighted other
(climatic) forcing mechanisms that control the amount of freshwater discharge from land, a major
pathway by which nutrient salts enter the Irish Sea coastal zone. These climatic anomalies also play
an important role on the stability of the water column during the spring months and in the
development of the phytoplankton spring bloom (Figure 2).
Figure 2. The influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation upon winter nitrate concentrations and timing of stratification at
the Cypris station in the central Irish Sea.
Policy Implications: Several EU directives (e.g. WFD, Shellfish Hygiene, Habitats, UWWTD,
Nitrates) and international strategies (e.g. OSPAR strategy to combat eutrophication) exist to
safeguard the European shelf seas from disruption caused by the excessive discharge of nutrients to
the coastal zone. Of these, the WFD will have major implications on how the EU member states
manage impacts on the aquatic environment. The WFD emphasises the ecosystem-based approach to
monitoring and management of waters from ‘land to sea’. In order to conform to these directives the
use of databases and time-series held by the MECN members has been instrumental in developing
UK assessment methodologies for coastal and marine waters.
22
MECN Final Report – May 2005
CASE STUDY 3: Nutrients in the English Channel – a cautionary tale.
I believe that probably all the great sea fisheries are inexhaustible;
that is to say, nothing we do seriously affects the number of fish.
T. H. Huxley (1883)
It was inconceivable to T.H.Huxley that the marine fishery could ever be in jeopardy. We now
know that is not the case, but the quotation highlights the problem of forecasting ecosystems; they
may not be as robust as they appear. We can only hope to manage ecosystems if we have sufficient
understanding and data.
Rates of change in ecosystems can vary depending on a number of factors (direct and indirect
drivers) and it is essential to have data over a sufficiently long period to be able to discern natural
variation from anthropogenic-induced change. In the U.K. we are fortunate in having a number of
long time-series datasets for the coastal ocean. One of the longest series is for the English Channel
off Plymouth, where phosphate measurements were first made in 1917 and continued on a regular
basis from 1923. Soon after the start of the time series, it became apparent that there were
interannual differences in phosphate concentration and there seemed to be a correlation of
phosphate with the abundance of young fish. These observations led to the hypothesis that came to
be known as the Russell Cycle. This described systematic changes in phosphate concentration and
pelagic biology; the period prior to 1930 was considered a particularly “rich” time, with high
phosphate concentrations and abundant biota.
µmol P l-1
The studies of nutrient variation in the Russell Cycle rely on an assumption that the data were
accurate and precise. This is a difficult assumption to verify in any historical time-series, let alone
one that exists for 80 years. The methods used in the 1920s and. 1930s were truly pioneering and
involved some brilliant chemistry by W.R.G. Atkins and L.H.N. Cooper. But these colorimetric
procedures were very variable and subject to unpredictable errors. In particular, there was a large
difference in the colour that formed in seawater and in distilled water. In a re-examination of early
papers and laboratory notebooks, Joint et al.
(1997)21 traced the attempts of these early
0.8
chemists to achieve consistence to their
results. We found that correction factors were
retrospectively applied to data from the 20’s
0.6
and 30’s in an attempt to correct for salt
effects in earlier data. As a result, many of the
conclusions about the Russell Cycle were
0.4
based on salt-corrected data. The Figure
shows the effect of the salt correction on
phosphate data from 1923 to 1987, with
0.2
higher values when a salt correction was
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
applied. Joint et al. (1997) replicated the
methods used by Atkins and Cooper and questioned whether it was justified to apply the salt
correction factor. If it is not applied, a statistical analysis showed that there was no evidence of a
trend in the data prior to 1970 that would support the Russell Cycle hypothesis.
Clearly there are difficulties in placing too much emphasis on early data, because the accuracy and
precision is difficult to determine. This study highlights the need for long time-series data of high
quality (and known technology audit trail) if we are to understand variations and trends in the
coastal ocean.
21
Joint I, Jordan MB, Carr MR (1997) Is phosphate part of the Russell Cycle? J. mar. biol. Ass. UK. 77, 625-633.
23
MECN Final Report – May 2005
CASE STUDY 4: Disentangling fishing & climate
Problem: Understanding the relative impacts of climate change and fishing for the marine
ecosystem.
Evidence: Analysis of southern species of fish in the English Channel (originally identified using
PCA) revealed a dominant subset of non-commercial small species that in terms of abundance,
showed a positive correlation with SST (Figure 1a). A subset of large species were also identified
that initially showed the same pattern (up to 1957) but then decreased in abundance as fishing
pressure increased (Figure 1b). Analysis of data from the Bristol Channel showed a similar overall
pattern but with individual species responding differently to those in the English Channel.
13.5
a
13.0
12.5
2
12.0
Mean SST (°C)
4
0
1913-22
1950-57
1968-79
1983-86
2001-02
16,000
transformed
2
12,000
b
8,000
1
4,000
Demersal Landings (tonnes)
[log10(x+1)
Mean CPUEMean
(x+1) transformed]
[log10CPUE
11.5
Blennius ocellaris
Buglossidium luteum
Phrynorhombus spp.
Callionymus maculatus
Cepola macrophthalma
Microchirus variegatus
Scyliorhinus canicula
Merlangius merlangus
Callionymus lyra
Trisopterus minutus
Methods and approach described in:
Genner,
M.J.,
Sims,
D.W.,
Wearmouth, V.J., Southall, E.J.,
Southward, A.J., Henderson, P.A.,
Hawkins, S.J. (2004) Regional climate
warming drives long-term community
changes of British marine fish.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of
London B, 271, 655-661.
Conger conger
Pagellus sp.
Scophthalmus rhombus
Raja sp.
Arnoglossus sp.
0
1913-22
1950-57
1968-79
1983-86
2001-02
1.6
Figurec1. Comparison of commercial and non-commercial Southern species. a) non-commercial species show
appositive response to increase in SST b) commercial species initially show a similar response (1913-22 & 1959-57) but
Molva molva
then any climate signal is overridden by fishing effects.
0.8
Micromesistius poutassou
Gadus morhua
Limanda limanda
Interpretation: Fluctuations in SST due to climate change are prominent drivers of marine fish
assemblages
although for some large commercial species, this factor may be overridden by fishing
0
impacts.
This1950-57
can be 1968-79
seen in 1983-86
figures 2001-02
1a and 1b where from 1968 there is a decoupling from the
1913-22
climate signal for larger commercial fish due to fishing pressure. Almost half of the variation in fish
assemblage composition in the English Channel can be explained by a combination of climate
change and fishing pressure.
These findings are being compared with data from the North Sea where the effect of winter
temperature in structuring nearshore benthic communities off Northumberland is for certain areas
also masked by fishing disturbance.
The comparison with fish assemblages in the English Channel with those in the Bristol Channel
show that it is unwise to make general predictions of species response to climate as this response
can vary depending on the region in which the population occurs.
Policy implications: Long-term time series showing fluctuations in SST along with past data on
fisheries have enabled the relative effects of climate and fisheries to be investigated. The fact that
species show regional variations in their response to climate has important implications for fisheries
management. Comparison of long-term data from English Channel, Bristol Channel and
Northumberland is helping develop a more comprehensive picture of climate and fishing effects in
UK waters.
24
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 7: Reporting and dissemination
There have been a variety of outputs from the MECN in the form of reports, scientific papers and
conference presentations and many of these are available from the MECN website at
http://www.mba.ac.uk/MECN/publications.htm. A full list is provided below.
Reports
Defra Contract Reports
Defra Contract Report No. 01. 21st March, 2002. Report on start-up activities (Deliverable 2). N.
J. Hardman-Mountford. Defra contract CDEP 84/5/311
Defra Contract Report No. 02a. 21st March, 2003.Summary report on year 1 activities
(Deliverable 4a). N. J. Hardman-Mountford. Defra contract CDEP 84/5/311
Defra Contract Report No. 02b. 31st March, 2003. Year 1 Report (Deliverable 4b/c). N. J.
Hardman-Mountford & S. J. Hawkins. Defra contract CDEP 84/5/311
Defra Contract Report No. 03. 17th November, 2003. Network Activities Report (Deliverable 5).
N. J. Hardman-Mountford & S. J. Hawkins. Defra contract CDEP 84/5/311
Defra Contract Report No. 04. 30th April, 2004. Year 2 Report (Deliverable 6).
N. J. Hardman-Mountford. Defra contract CDEP 84/5/311
M. T. Frost &
Defra Contract Report No. 05. 30th November 2004. Network Activities Report (Deliverable 7).
M. T. Frost & N. J. Hardman-Mountford. Defra contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Reports
Scientific Report No. 01. 17th November, 2003. A review of long-term research in the western
English Channel. Langmead, O, Southward, AJ, Hardman-Mountford, NJ, Aiken, J, Boalch, GT,
Joint, I, Kendall, M, Halliday, NC, Harris, RP, Leaper, R, Mieszkowska, N, Pingree, RD,
Richardson, AJ, Sims, DW, Smith, T, Walne, AW and Hawkins, SJ. Defra Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 02. 17th November, 2003. Long-term environmental studies in the Irish Sea:
a review. Evans, G.L., Hardman-Mountford, N. J., Hartnoll, R. G., Kennington, K., MitchelsonJacob, E.G., Shammon, T. & Williams, P.J. le B. Defra Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 03. 17th November, 2003. The Tiree Passage Time Series: 1981-2003. Mark
Inall and Colin Griffiths. Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Note: the North Sea report sent to Defra (Clark, R. & Frid, C. L. J., Long term Changes in the North
Sea Ecosystem) is not included, as it forms part of a previously published piece of work and is
therefore subject to copyright.
Scientific Report No. 04. 22nd December, 2004. Report on the intercalibration of marine
temperature and salinity measurements. Hardman-Mountford, N. J. & Halliday, N. Contract CDEP
84/5/311.
25
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Scientific Report No. 05. 22nd December, 2004. Report on the inter-comparability of long-term
time series in the marine environment of the British Isles. Hardman-Mountford N. J. Joint, I., Walne
A. & Kennington, K. Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 06. In prep. Report on climatological remote sensing of sea surface
temperature and chlorophyll for the North West European Shelf. Hardman-Mountford N. J.
Contract CDEP 84/5/311
The following reports are to be submitted as supplementary scientific reports with the present final
report.
Scientific Report No. 07. 30th April, 2005. WESTERN ENGLISH CHANNEL: Final Report of the
Plymouth Module (MBA, PML, SAHFOS). Ian Joint, Matthew Frost & Nick Halliday. Contract
CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 08. 30th April, 2005. NORTH SEA: Final report of the Dove Marine
Laboratory. Chris Frid. Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 09. 30th April, 2005. IRISH SEA : Final report of Port Erin Marine
Laboratory: Review of PEML long-term monitoring activities 2001-2004. Kev Kennington.
Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Scientific Report No. 10. 30th April, 2005. WEST COAST: Final report of the Scottish Association
for Marine Science. Colin Griffiths. Contract CDEP 84/5/311
Supplementary Reports
Supplementary Report No. 01. 30th June, 2003. Concept note on future funding of the Marine
Environmental Change Network. N. J. Hardman-Mountford & S. J. Hawkins. Contract CDEP
84/5/311
Supplementary Report No. 02. 31st October, 2004. Discussion Document A. Marine
Environmental Change Network (MECN): A brief summary of plans for the further development of
the MECN in phase 2. Frost, M. T., Hardman-Mountford, N. J. & Hawkins, S. J. Contract CDEP
84/5/311
Supplementary Report No. 03. 30th June, 2003. Response to Questions on MECN from Beth
Greenaway, Defra. N. J. Hardman-Mountford, M. T. Frost, & S. J. Hawkins. Contract CDEP
84/5/311
Reports by MECN partners
Kennington, K. & Rowlands W.L. (2005 in prep). Strategic Environmental Assessment of SEA area
6 (Irish Sea). 1) Plankton. Report to the Dti.
Kennington, K., Shammon, T.M., Wither, A. Kraberg, A, Jones, P., Harrison, A. & Hartnoll, R.G.
(2004). The distribution of nutrients and phytoplankton in the northern Irish Sea during 2002.
Environment Agency Technical Report. E –1049/TR6
Kennington, K., Shammon, T.M., Wither, A. Kraberg, A, Jones, P., Harrison, A. &
Hartnoll, R.G. (2005). The distribution of nutrients and phytoplankton in the
26
MECN Final Report – May 2005
northern Irish Sea during 2003. Environment Agency Technical Report. E
–1049/TR7
Kennington, K., Wither, A., Shammon, T.M. Jones, P. Kraberg A.C. & R.G. Hartnoll. (2003). The
distribution of phytoplankton and nutrients in the North East Irish Sea during 2001. Environment
Agency of the U.K. R & D Technical Report E1-049/TR5. 23pp.
Shammon, T.M., & Hartnoll, R.G. (2002). Long Term Studies of the Irish Sea: Environmental
monitoring and contamination. Summary of results for the years 2000 and 2001. Reports to the
Department of Local Government and the Environment, Isle of Man Government. (Port Erin
Marine Laboratory).
Shammon, T.M. & R.G. Hartnoll. (2003). Long term studies of the Irish Sea: Environmental
monitoring and contamination. Summary of results for years 2000 and 2001. Report to Department
of Local Government and Environment, Isle of Man. No 9 & 10, 76 pp.
Shammon, T.M., Kennington, K. & Hartnoll, R.G. (2004). Long Term Studies of the Irish Sea:
Environmental monitoring and contamination. Eleventh Report. Summary of results for the years
2002 and 2003. Report to the Department of Local Government and the Environment, Isle of Man
Government. (Port Erin Marine Laboratory). 91 pp.
Conference presentations
Bonnet, D. & Frid, C. Is zooplankton abundance still recovering in the North Sea?
COMMUNICATION, 3rd International Zooplankton Production Symposium, 20-23 May 2003,
Gijon, Spain.
Frid,C. & Bonnet, D. Seven copepod species considered as indicators of water mass influence and
change: Results from a Northumberland coastal station. Oral Presentation. Gijon Zooplankton
production symposium, May 2003, Spain.
Frid, C., Paramor, O., Robinson, L. & Scott, C.‘Long term changes in the North Sea ecosystem:
Disentangling fisheries, climate and eutrophication’. Invited key note paper in the session Human
Dimension of Ecosystem Change at the 12th Annual Pacific Marine Sciecne Conference, Souel,
Korea, October 2004.
Frost, M. T., Hardman-Mountford, N. J. & Hawkins, S. J. The Marine Environmental Change
Network. Poster presentation. International Conference: Climate Change and Aquatic Systems;
Past, Present and Future, 21-23 July 2004, Plymouth, UK.
Griffiths, C. R., Inall, M. E. and Ribeiro, C. Intrusions of Slope Current Water onto the NW
European Shelf. Oral presentation, European Geophysical Society, April 2003, Nice.
Hardman-Mountford, N. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Oral presentation.
IACMST GOOS meeting, November 2003, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK.
Hardman-Mountford, N. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Oral presentation.
Workshop on an ecosystem-based approach to the management of the Irish Sea, March 2003.
Hardman-Mountford, N. J. Establishment of a Marine Environmental Change Network. Oral
presentation. Joint IACMST / MPMMG open discussion meeting on Marine Monitoring, 21st May,
2002, Great Minster House, London.
27
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Hardman-Mountford, N. J. & Hawkins, S. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Poster
presentation Challenger Society Biennial Conference: Marine Science, 9th - 13th September 2002,
Plymouth, UK.
Hardman-Mountford, N. J. & Hawkins, S. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Poster
presentation. Coastal Futures, 2003, London.
Hawkins, S. J. Climate change and temperate reef ecosystems: integrating space and time. Oral
presentation. International Temperate Reefs Symposium, Jan 2003, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Hawkins, S. J. Hardman-Mountford, N. J. Sims, D. W., Genner, M. J., Mieszkowska, N., Leaper,
R., Kendall, M. A., Burrows, M. T., & Southward, A. J. Long-term changes in the western English
Channel recorded by the Marine Biological Association: making the case for time series. Oral
presentation. 2003, Amsterdam, Holland.
Hawkins, S. J. Hardman-Mountford, N. J. Sims, D. W., Genner, M. J., Mieszkowska, N., Leaper,
R., Kendall, M. A., Burrows, M. T., & Southward, A. J. Long-term changes in the western English
Channel recorded by the Marine Biological Association: making the case for time series. Oral
presentation. The Linnaen Society, October, 2003, London, UK.
Hawkins, S. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Oral presentation. The Worshipful
Company of Fishmongers, 2003, London, UK.
Hawkins, S. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Oral presentation. May, 2003, English
Nature, Peterborough UK.
Hawkins, S. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Oral presentation. May, 2003, Defra,
London, UK.
Hawkins, S. J. Climate Change and marine biodiversity. Oral presentation. 2002, Exeter, UK.
Hawkins, S. J. Climate Change and marine biodiversity. Oral presentation. 2002, Plymouth, UK.
Hawkins, S. J. Climate Change and marine biodiversity. Oral presentation. 2002, Southampton
Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK.
Hawkins, S. J. Climate Change and marine biodiversity, Oral presentation. Chartered Institution of
Water and Environmental Management meeting, 2002. Weston-Super-Mare, UK.
Hawkins, S. J. Hawkins, S. J. Climate Change and marine biodiversity. Oral presentation. Marine
Conservation Society annual conference, 26th October, 2002, Royal Museum, Edinburgh.
Hawkins, S. J. The Marine Environmental Change Network. Oral and Poster presentation. British
Association: Festival of Science, September 2002, Leicester.
Inall, M. E., Griffiths, C. R. and Ribeiro, C. How frequently does water of oceanic origin impinge
onto the NW European Continental Shelf? Poster presentation. ELOISE meeting, March 2003,
Gdansk.
28
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Publications
This is a selection of published research papers that have used data from time series maintained by
MECN partners.
Bremner, J., Frid C. & Rogers. (2003). Assessing marine ecosystem health: the long-term effects of
fishing on functional biodiversity in North Sea benthos. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and
Management. 6 (2):131-137.
Clark, R.A. and C.L.J. Frid. (2001). Long-term changes in the North Sea ecosystem. Environmental
Reviews. 9: 131-187.
Evans, G.L., Williams, P.J. le B. & E.G. Mitchelson-Jacob. (2003). Physical and anthropogenic
effects on observed long-term nutrient changes in the Irish Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf
Science. 57, 1159-1168.
Gowen, R.J. (In press). The Irish Sea: nutrient status and phytoplankton. Journal of Sea Research.
Gowen, R.J., Hydes, D.J., Mills, D.K., Stewart, B.M., Brown, J., Gibson, C. E., Shammon, T.M.,
Allen, M., & Malcolm, S.J. (2002) Assessing trends in nutrient concentrations in coastal shelf seas:
a case study in the Irish Sea. Estuarine and Coastal Science Shelf. 54:927-939
Hartnoll, R.G., Shammon, T. & K. Kennington. (In press). The Port Erin long term monitoring
programme – appreciation at last? ECSA Proceedings
Hartnoll, R.G., Kennington, K. & Shammon, T. (2002). Eutrophication in the Irish Sea – a threat to
biodiversity? In, J.D. Nunn (Ed.), Marine Biodiversity in Ireland and Adjacent Waters, Ulster
Museum, MAGNI Publ. 008, 121-130.
Kennington. K, J. Waniek, T.M. Shammon, D.J. Slinn, R.D.M. Nash, R. Prien & R.G.
Hartnoll. (2005 Submitted). Biogeochemical signature of recent climate variability in the Irish Sea.
Limnology and Oceanography.
Kennington, K. Wither, A., Shammon, T.M., Jones, P.D. & Hartnoll, R.G. (2002). Nutrient Inputs
into the Irish Sea: Spatial and temporal perspectives. Hydrobiologia. 475/476: 29-38.
Robinson, L. & Frid, C. (Submitted). Extrinsic control of shelf sea ecosystems: Multi-decala
dynamics in the North Sea- Implications for management. Ocean Shelf Sea Interactions:
Implications for Biology and Fisheries.
Shammon, T.M. & Hartnoll, R.G. (2002). The winter and summer partitioning of dissolved
nitrogen and phosphorus. Observations across the Irish Sea during 1997 and 1998. Hydrobiologia
475/476, 173-184.
29
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 8: Conclusions of pilot phase
The MECN has:

Established a network that has increased from 6 to 17 partners within its pilot phase

Provided a user friendly website as a means of communication within the network as well as
providing information to the wider public.

Promoted data sharing and provided a meta-data catalogue with comprehensive search
facility

Ensured intercalibration and quality assurance of data through a number of workshops

Identified key locations or ecosystem components not adequately covered by any existing
sampling programme

Has ensured continuation of key long term data series (e.g. Dove Marine Laboratory) and
enabled the restarting (Plymouth E1, L5) and expansion (Plymouth L4) of other series

Actively encouraged the maintenance and enhancement of key time series (e.g. PEML,
SAMS)

Made extensive use of monitoring data to address key areas of research that have significant
policy implications

Produced accessible reports that have informed stakeholders and policy makers and have
been extensively used in the State of the Seas reports

Produced high quality peer reviewed outputs based on syntheses of the data sets
30
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Chapter 9: MECN continuation - a forward look
Risk of Discontinuing MECN
The MECN has brought together staff from diverse laboratories and science disciplinary
backgrounds via its workshops to share good practice and data. It has also highlighted the need for
continuation of time-series and their integration over broader spatial scales via a networking
approach. There is no point, however, in a network without the component Laboratories still
gathering data – especially with the current rate of environmental change.
The need for full time-series is well illustrated by the following example. In the late 1980s there
was a rapid change in sea-surface temperatures both in the English Channel but also in the Irish
Sea. Unfortunately, the MBA offshore time-series was discontinued in 1987. Had that programme
been continued early warnings of rapid response to climate change would have been apparent in the
early 1990s, highlighting need for adaptation strategies at a much earlier stage. When sampling off
Plymouth resumed with MAFF / Defra support in 2000 it became very clear that marked change
had occurred by then. A superb opportunity was missed in measuring the phasing of response of
various components of the ecosystem to climate change impacts.
The work of SAHFOS (e.g. Beaugrand et al. (2000)22; Beaugrand et al. (2002a)23; Beaugrand et al.
(2002b)24; Reid et al. (1998)25; Reid et al. (2001)26) has subsequently highlighted a possible regime
shift in the late 1980s in the seas around the British Isles. These papers did not emerge until the late
1990s early 2000s. A fully funded MECN would enable real-time evaluation of changing state with
the power to show congruence in responses throughout British waters.
Networking benefits
It is envisaged that the MECN will play a significant role in aiding other initiatives being developed
that are significant for the future of Marine Science in the UK. For example, the Marine Climate
Change Impacts Partnership is a positive initiative which needs to include the MECN as this
network has an overview of UK monitoring and involves both collectors of data and end–users.
However, to know exactly how the Climate Change Impacts Partnership should involve MECN will
become clearer as details of the aims and terms of reference for this group emerge (MECN Partners
should be involved in discussions from the earliest stages). This positive initiative will be enhanced
by the continuation of MECN as it provides an overview of UK marine environment climate
records and its partners are involved in maintaining these records. This would ensure delivery to
end-users.
An advantage of many of the longer (multi-decadal) MECN time series is that they are situated far
enough away from the coast to minimise “noisy” coastal variability and reflect longer term (incl.
22
Beaugrand, G., F. Ibanez, et al. (2000). "Long-term and seasonal fluctuations of plankton in relation to hydroclimatic
features in the English Channel, Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay." Marine Ecology Progress Series 200: 93-102.
23
Beaugrand, G., P. C. Reid, et al. (2002a). "Major reorganisation of North Atlantic pelagic ecosystems linked to
climate change." GLOBEC International Newsletter 8(2): 30-33.
24
Beaugrand, G., P. C. Reid, et al. (2002b). "Reorganization of North Atlantic marine copepod biodiversity and
climate." Science 296(5573): 1692-1694.
25
Reid, P. C., B. Planque, et al. (1998). "Is observed variability in the long-term results of the Continuous Plankton
Recorder survey a response to climate change?" Fisheries Oceanography 7(3-4): 282-288.
26
Reid, P. C., M. F. De Borges, et al. (2001). "A regime shift in the North Sea circa 1988 linked to changes in the North
Sea horse mackerel fishery." Fisheries Research 50(1/2): 163-171.
31
MECN Final Report – May 2005
climatic) changes (as already discussed). This is not possible with data within the 3 mile monitoring
limit used for compliance monitoring. Furthermore, MECN provides data on an intermediate scale
(as previously noted), and emphasises ecosystem responses to climate in UK waters. It is informed
by the global scale analysis being undertaken by GOOS.
The MECN will also continue to provide vital links for knowledge transfer with the Natural
Environment Research Council (NERC) environment. All the NERC Marine Centres and
Collaborative Centres involved in time series monitoring around the UK are already involved in
MECN (PML, POL, SOC, SAMS). The MBA also receives substantial funding from NERC. Thus,
MECN is already making use of the knowledge and expertise held in these research centres. The
MECN actively encourages all groups (NERC and non-NERC) with relevant data to be involved in
the network and contribute relevant data.
One of the advantages of MECN is its ideal position to translate the results from NERC-funded
research (normally very process oriented) into understanding to inform compliance monitoring.
MECN sits halfway along the continuum between process oriented research and compliance
monitoring (see Figure 1). For this synergy to work well, aspects of the work which are primarily in
support of management of the marine environment (maintaining time series of hydrography,
nutrients, plankton, benthos) need Defra funding, while those aspects which could be termed
“strategic blue-skies research” require NERC funding (e.g. understanding the processes driving
seasonal and interannual variability of climatically-important, biologically-produced gases).
It is also envisaged that in the future links will be developed to other initiatives such as the
Environmental Change Network, which undertakes monitoring in the terrestrial (and freshwater)
environment.
Monitoring (Time-series)
As well as the networking benefits discussed above, another main contribution of the MECN has
been to establish a forum to assess quality assurance issues as regards long-term time series. As the
MECN continues to increase its membership and more time-series are identified or restarted, the
issue of quality assurance will be very important as comparisons are made between time-series. The
MECN will continue, therefore, to promote quality assurance as a central issue of a monitoring
network, as well as encouraging organisations responsible for time-series to include in their
sampling where possible, the parameters identified as being important in order to provide a
fundamental level of ecosystem understanding (see part 4).
Resources
The pilot phase highlighted the level of resource required to deliver an effective MECN. It is clear
that the co-ordination of the network requires a full-time post, not a 0.5 position as at present. Fulltime staffing would allow liaison with and responsive mode delivery to end-users of information
products from MECN (reporting cards – see below).
Eventually (i.e. beyond the pilot phase continuation), there will also be a need for full-time postdoctoral level workers to act as data collators and synthesisers. These could also include helping
rescue data held on obsolete formats. Such positions would enable meta-analyses of the data
holdings of the network partners.
Commitment to the network by unfunded partners (e.g. DARD, FRS, SOC, UWB, JNCC, BODC,
SAHFOS) was seen by good attendance at meetings, but the lack of financial support for these
32
MECN Final Report – May 2005
partners made involvement outside of major workshops unfeasible. Improved future funding for
networking would encourage greater collaboration.
Outputs
Reports will continue to be made available to policy makers, the wider scientific community and
the public (through the MECN website). Up-to-date information can also be supplied in the form of
reporting cards. As more data becomes available from time series, then it is expected that high
quality scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals will continue to be produced.
Forecasting and Predicting change
Long-term data sets can allow forecasts of future conditions to be made and, through analyses of
process and mechanisms, enable predictive statistical and numerical models to be developed. Many
of the long-term data sets (e.g. MBA, Port Erin) encompass periods of warming (e.g. the 1950s) and
periods of cooling (the 1960s and 1970s). This give better predictive power than data sets
commencing only in the 1960s when a cool period was followed by a warm period.
An example of simple statistically based forecast is given using the Plymouth time series on fish
which are commercially exploited (Sims et al., unpublished). Here the likelihood of occurrence of a
suite of southern species is given in response to temperature regimes recorded at various times since
the 1913 off Plymouth. Using UKCIP scenarios it is possible to forecast that these species will be
encountered on every trawling occasion in 2080 if the medium-high scenario occurs.
A National Centre for Ocean Forecasting (NCOF) has recently been formed as a partnership
between the UK Met Office, PML, POL and SOC. The predictive models being developed by this
partnership rely heavily on these long-term data sets for validation of models and these statistical
relationships for parameterisation. MECN will work closely with NCOF to obtain maximum benefit
from these long-term time series.
A proposal for the continuation of the pilot phase of the MECN is provided in the appendix.
Long-term aims (continuation of pilot phase and beyond)
One of the key aims of the MECN as mentioned in the introduction to this report (Chapter 1) is to
deliver an increased understanding of the marine ecosystem. This long-term aim is now elaborated
along with details of how the MECN would contribute to ecosystem monitoring as outlined in the
State of the Seas report 200527
Contribution of the MECN to the ecosystem approach to environmental management.
The UN convention on biological diversity (United Nations 1992)28 lays a responsibility on
signatories to protect biological diversity and the function systems that support it. The supporting
text makes specific reference to the failure of single species management regimes and encourages
the adoption of more holistic frameworks for environmental protection. The reform of the Common
Fisheries Policy and the Bergen declaration issued following the conference of North Sea ministers
2002 both make a policy commitment to the adoption of an ecosystem approach to marine
27
28
Charting Progress: An Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas. Defra, 2005.
United Nations (1992) Convention on Biological Diversity, UN, New York, 31pp
33
MECN Final Report – May 2005
management with the aim of ensuring protection of biological diversity by 2010 (Danish Presidency
2002)29.
The ecosystem approach has been defined as "the comprehensive integrated management of human
activities based on best available scientific knowledge about the ecosystem and its dynamics, in
order to identify and take action on influences which are critical to the health of the marine
ecosystems, thereby achieving sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services and maintenance of
ecosystem integrity”30.
An ecosystem approach to environmental management recognises that species within the system
interact with each other, that the dynamics of the system are influenced by extrinsic factors (such as
climatic variations) and that man should be regarded as a part of the ecosystem. Furthermore,
development of the ecosystem approach is often seen as an opportunity to develop more inclusive,
participatory, governance regimes. This places two sets of demands on science. Firstly there is the
need to understand, and ideally predict, the consequences of changes in one factor/species on the
rest of the ecosystem. This is considerably more demanding than the current suite of, for example
single species fish stock assessment models. Secondly, there is the need to inform policy makers
and stakeholders about the consequences of various management actions. This is essential if the
participatory governance regime is also to meet the criteria of being objective and evidence based.
At present, ecosystem based management is being advanced via the development of a Ecological
Quality Objective system, lead by OSPAR but heavily reliant on technical input from ICES (e.g.
ICES, 2003)31 and simultaneously attempts to incorporate ecosystem considerations into fisheries
management, particularly in the stock recovery plans and in the management of industrial fisheries
(Frid et al. 2003)32.
Frid et al. (2004)33 have recently reviewed the extent to which current science is able to inform and
support the aim of delivering ecosystem-based fisheries management under the reformed CFP.
They conclude that there are a number of areas where current science programmes are insufficient
to support an ecosystem approach. Amongst these is the paucity of data series that allow the role of
long term, extrinsic drivers to be understood and the lack of knowledge of dynamics and
interactions between all major ecosystem components. The MECN has already contributed to both
these areas in the pilot phase and an expanded programme for phase 2 (2007 onwards) will go
further to meeting deficiencies. As such it will allow the UK to be better able to develop ecosystem
based management for its waters and to lead by example in international negotiations.
As part of the move towards an ecosystem based approach to marine monitoring, a number of
‘monitoring sectors’ within the UK have contributed to a ‘State of UK Seas’ report34. There was
also an integrated Regional Assessment35. The four UK Marine Monitoring Sectors that contributed
29
Danish Presidency (2002) Presidency conclusions of the meeting "Towards a strategy to protect and conserve the
marine environment". eu2002.dk
30
EU Marine Strategy Stakeholder Workshop, Denmark, 4-6 December, 2002
31
ICES (2003) Report of the ICES Advisory Committee on the Ecosystem. Report No. ICES CRR 262, from ICES,
Copenhagen, 241pp.
32
Frid CLJ, Banks RM, Lietz G, Paramor OAL, Scott CL, Seal C, Zaharia M (2003) The fish meal and fish oil industry:
its role in the common fisheries policy. A report to the European Parliament (Contract no. IV2003/11/01)from
University of Newcastle and Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management, Newcastle upon Tyne, 148pp
33
Frid CLJ, Paramor OAL, Scott CL (2004) Ecosystem-based fisheries management: progress in the NE Atlantic.
Marine Policy in press
34
Charting Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas. Defra, 2005. 120pp
35
Integrated Regional Assessments (IRA). Portmann, J. E. (2005), Integrated Regional Assessment, Report 5 of 5
contributions to Charting Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas, 175pp
34
MECN Final Report – May 2005
to the assessment are 1) Environmental Quality36, 2) Processes and Climate37, 3) Habitats and
Species38, and 4) Fish and Fisheries39. The MECN would be able to make long-term contributions
to each of these sectors as follows:

Environmental Quality – Long-term data sets maintained by MECN partners provide
baselines by which environmental quality or health (e.g. eutrophication effects) can be
assessed and deliver contextual information enabling regional level interpretation of
environmental changes. For example, assessing whether increased eutrophication in one area
is linked to broader scale changes or is purely a local phenomenon.

Processes and Climate – The MECN is included in the Marine Processes & Climate Report
as one of the monitoring networks providing essential information on marine physics and
climate.

Habitats and Species – The lack of offshore benthic time-series, particularly for the western
side of the UK is discussed in the Marine Habitats and Species report. It is also noted that
most monitoring is compliance monitoring and occurs inshore or in estuaries. The eventual
establishment of a benthic module within the MECN framework would, therefore, be
invaluable in addressing the gap for offshore benthic habitats. This would have uses such as
providing information from non-impacted sites that could be compared to impacted areas,
enabling a more informed assessment. More generally, environmental data held by MECN
partners could provide contextual information to interpret changes in benthic communities.
A number of suitable benthic sites exist where repeat surveys have been undertaken (e.g. L4
– Allen, Todd, Kaiser and Spencer) that should be continued as time series. Repeats could
also be made of the broad-scale surveys by Holme (1961, 1966)40 41to provide spatial
information on long-term change in benthic communities.

Fish and Fisheries – Data from the MECN is helping unravel climate and fishing effects and
understand their interactions. The difficulty of disentangling these factors is mentioned a
number of times in the Marine Fisheries Sector Report.
As previously observed (see: networking benefits), the MECN can also contribute to the assessment
of the influence of climate in the marine environment by working with and providing vital
information to MCCIP on changes observed in the marine environment. These may be changes that
can be directly linked to climate or changes due to other factors that need to be taken into account
when assessing climate effects.
36
Marine Environmental Quality (MEQ). Marine Environment Monitoring Group (2005), Marine Environment Quality,
Report 1 of 5 contributions to Charting Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas, 162pp
37
Marine Processes and Climate (MPC). Inter-Agency Committee for Marine Science and Technology (2005), Marine
Processes and Climate, Report 2 of 5 contributions to Charting Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK
Seas, 132pp
38
Marine Habitats and Species (MHS). Joint Nature Conservation Committee (2005), Marine Habitats and Species,
Report 3 of 5 contributions to Charting Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas, 188pp
39
Marine Fish and Fisheries (MFF). Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (2005), Marine
Habitats and Species, Report 4 of 5 contributions to Charting Progress: an Integrated Assessment of the State of UK
Seas, 52pp
40
Holme, N. A. (1961). The bottom fauna of the English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the
United Kingdom. 41: 397 – 461.
41
Holme, N. A. (1966). The bottom fauna of the English Channel. Part II. Journal of the Marine Biological Association
of the United Kingdom. 46: 401 – 493.
35
MECN Final Report – May 2005
Acknowledgements
Contributions by a number of personnel to the work of the MECN are gratefully acknowledged.
Dan Lear is thanked for his help in developing the metadata catalogue and providing valuable web
support. He has also helped with the preparation of GIS based maps. Nick Halliday has been
responsible for the collection and analysis of the zooplankton data from the MBA sites and has
contribute information for the monitoring reports. Georgina Budd has done the same thing for the
phytoplankton. Finally, Dave Sims is thanked for his contribution to the case study on the relative
impacts of fishing and climate found in section 5 of this report.
36
MECN Final Report – May 2005
APPENDIX
A proposal to Defra for the continuation of the pilot phase of the UK Marine Environmental
Change Network
Prepared by the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Scottish Association
for Marine Science, University of Newcastle, University of Liverpool.
Defra supported a pilot scheme (2002-2005) to investigate the viability of creating a network of
marine time series and of insuring continuation or restarting of some time series. The aim of the
network being to provide consideration of the scale of natural and anthropogenic changes occurring
in the UK marine environment. The developing policy agenda makes the need for a Marine
Environmental Change Network (MECN) even more important.
The achievements of the MECN pilot phase (2002-2005) are listed below along with aims both for
the continuation of the pilot phase (2005 – 2007) and phase 2 (2007 onwards).
MECN network
The MECN pilot phase has:






Enabled the network to grow from 6 to 17 institutions
Encompassed projects and scientists spanning the spectrum from “blue skies” research,
through strategic long-term science programmes to those to those concerned with
monitoring to fulfil statutory requirements
Developed common access agreements and promoted data sharing
Provided a meta-data catalogue and www interface
Held 3 workshops to identify common trends and consider quality assurance of data
Has identified key locations or ecosystem components not adequately covered by any
existing sampling programme
The Continuation of the pilot phase will:
 Continue all the above activities plus:
 Further develop links with other relevant UK (e.g. ECN, UKMCIP) and European (MarBEF)
networks and fora.
 Contribute to the development of a UK Marine Monitoring Strategy
 Archive oceanographic data with BODC and biological data through the MBA/Marlin benthic
data archive according to the principles of MDIP
MECN measurements
The MECN pilot phase has:




Promoted collaboration and intercalibration between institutes and development of new
initiatives to meet identified data gaps in ecosystem monitoring
Has ensured continuation of key long term data series (e.g. Dove Marine Laboratory)
Enabled the restarting (Plymouth E1, L5) and expansion (Plymouth L4) of some series
Has actively lobbied in support of time series under threat (e.g. Port Erin)
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MECN Final Report – May 2005
The Continuation of the pilot phase will:

Continue collection of key long-term series identified in the pilot phase, wherever possible
via co-funding initiatives
MECN synthesis and interpretation.
The MECN pilot phase has



Produced accessible reports that have informed stakeholders and policy makers and have
been extensively used in the State of the Seas reports
Produced high quality peer reviewed outputs based on syntheses of the data sets
Produced hypotheses derived from observations that can be advanced by more ‘blue skies’
research funded by NERC and other funding agencies.
The Continuation of the pilot phase will:


Continue all of above plus:
Produce summary reports based on high quality scientific data that can be utilised by policy
makers
Continuation of pilot phase Deliverables:




High quality data sets of marine ecosystem components in UK waters.
An enlarged network of marine environmental data collectors working to common standards
Workshops with network members and stakeholders/end-users to address issues such as (i)
linking monitoring to policy including the contribution to a national report card scheme (ii)
MECN contribution to a long-term monitoring strategy for the UK
Information for report cards for policy makers that provide clear accessible summaries of
key aspects of marine environmental change
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