Sensitivities of marine macrozoobenthos to environmental pressures in the Netherlands

The relative sensitivities of 309 common invertebrate species in Dutch marine waters are presented for environmental and anthropogenic pressures like organic enrichment, sedimentation and fisheries. The species were furthermore appointed to trophic groups like suspension and deposit feeders. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment uses these data when calculating the Benthic Ecosystem Quality Index 2 and the Infaunal Trophic Index. These metrics aid in the mandatory monitoring of ecological quality for example for the European Water Framework Directive. The common Dutch species were selected based on their abundance according to, 1. the mwtl dataset including results of on-going monitoring programs issued by the Ministry, 2. the monitoring by volunteer scuba-divers for the anemoon Foundation and 3. the monitoring of fouling plates for the project setl.