Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (CBESS) individual bioturbation potential in mudflat and saltmarsh habitats

The location of the sample sites was determined by randomly allocated quadrats. Twenty two 1 x 1 m quadrats were randomly allocated to each mudflat and saltmarsh site using R (R Development Core Team, 2014) to specify four different spatial scales (A = 1 quadrat only, B = 3 quadrats at 1 m to 10 m apart, C = 6 quadrats at 10 m to 100 m apart, D = 12 quadrats at 100 m to 1000 m or site maximum).

3 cylindrical cores of sediment (10cm depth and diameter) were taken at each quadrat and fixed in 4 percent buffered formalin in seawater. The cores were then sieved on a 0.5mm mesh and the residue retained and preserved in 70 percent Industrial Methylated Spirit (IMS). Using a stereo microscope, all the animals were picked out of the residue, identified to species level (or appropriate taxon). To obtain the abundance data, each individual of each species was counted and stored in vials containing 70 percent IMS. In cases where specimens had been damaged (any badly damaged specimens or parts of specimens where no head was present were separated into major group debris (annelid, mollusc and crustacea) pots and a YES/NO presence noted. To obtain the biomass data, the individuals of each taxon (from one replicate) were blotted on tissue paper to remove any excess IMS. They were then weighed on a balance and the weight was recorded to 0.0001g. In situations where the animals were too light to register on the balance, a weight of 0.0001g was recorded. (The same method was used to obtain biomass values for major group debris.)

The abundance and biomass data was then multiplied by 127.323955 to give results in m squared (abundance to the nearest whole individual and biomass to 0.0001g). This was then used to calculate BPi as follows:

BPi = (square root Bi) x Mi x Ri

Where Bi = individual biomass. Mi = individual species mobility. Ri = individual species reworking

This dataset is included in the following collections

Biological, ecological and physical data collected from salt marsh and mudflat sites on the West and East coast of England during the winter and summer of 2013 by the Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (CBESS) project