posted on 2017-12-06, 00:00authored byEmma JacksonEmma Jackson, O Langmead, J Evans, P Wilkes, B Seeley, D Lear, H Tyler-Walters
The UK is committed through international agreements and European obligations to the
establishment of an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to
conserve marine ecosystems and biodiversity. The Welsh Assembly Government has committed
to using the new Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) designation provided in the Marine and
Coastal Access Act to create sites afforded a high level of protection. In addition the Marine and
Coastal Access Act allows for the establishment of a system of Marine Spatial Planning in Welsh
waters. The identification of areas of high biodiversity could be helpful for planning both
Marine Protected Areas and for Marine Spatial Planning.
Diverse communities can provide resilience to environmental perturbations (Petchey & Gaston
2009); the identification and protection of areas of high marine biodiversity can contribute to an
ecosystem-based approach to the management of our seas. Furthermore, identifying which areas
are most important for biodiversity not only yields benefits for the maintenance of ecosystem
structure and functioning but can also enable cost effective prioritisation of areas for marine
protection. The current study builds on work from previous studies at a UK-wide and regional
level (Hiscock & Breckels 2007, Langmead et al. 2008) to develop an approach for mapping
marine benthic biodiversity and apply it to Wales’ sea area