The Benthos Ecology Working Group (BEWG) was hosted by the Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA) and held its 2016 meeting at IPMA’s Department of Sea and Marine Resources in Lisbon, Portugal. The meeting was attended by 28 participants, rep-resenting eleven countries.The meeting was structured along the four BEWG core business issues. The group con-tinues to provide insights on the field of benthic ecology, with main emphasis on:• Long-term series and climate change considering the methodological aspects of time-series;• Ensuring that the Benthic Long-term Series Network (BELT-Net) engages with existing initiatives (e.g. EMODnet);• Further developments of species distribution modelling and mapping;• Enhanced understanding on the linkages between ecosystem biodiversity and functioning;• Developments in effective monitoring programmes (including design, harmo-nisation and quality assessments);• Understanding benthic biodiversity and conservation: the role of MPA’s;• Providing expert advice and support to the OSPAR COBAM’s request in rela-tion to the sensitivity of benthic habitats to fishing effects.There are also eight ongoing initiatives developed and discussed during the meeting:• Case study: “Potential methodological issues in long-term comparability”;• Case study: “Towards a benthic ecosystem functioning map: interregional comparison of two approaches”;• Case study: “Variability in expert assessment of benthic species tolerances /sensitivities”;• Case study: “Proposal for a joint /co-ordinated monitoring: outcomes of the benthic work under the Joint Monitoring Programme”;• Case study: “Changes in functional composition along sediment gradients”;• Case study: “To identify the links between benthic functions and ecosystems services”;• Case study: “Meeting benthic functional indicator needs of the MSFD”;• Case study: “A benthic ecology perspective for evaluating the effectiveness of MPA’s”.There were also dedicated recommendations for consideration under the ICES Council, these are provided in detail in Annex 3.
History
Published under the auspices of the following ICES Expert Group or Strategic Initiative