Resources
Saltmarshes hold great ecological value due to their range of associated plants and animals. The diversity of flora and fauna reflects the interactions between the marine and terrestrial environment.
Phytoplankton utilise sunlight energy and dissolved nutrients converting these into organic materials which are often consumed by higher life forms such as fish.
Macroalgae are good indicators of general pressures including, toxic substances and disturbance. They are ideally suited to monitoring as many are large, widespread and relatively easily identified.
Phytoplankton utilise sunlight energy and dissolved nutrients converting these into organic materials which are often consumed by higher life forms such as fish.
Opportunistic macroalgae are able to utilise excess nitrogen in the environment and outcompete other seaweed species. They are easy to identify and sample so are good for monitoring the effects of nutrient enrichment.
This method has been designed primarily to detect the impact of toxic substances on the distribution of certain species of macroalgae (seaweeds belonging to the group known as 'wracks', and principally members of the genus 'Fucus''). This method monitors the upstream limit of t
Benthic invertebrate communities are good indicators of organic pollution and are also sensitive to toxic pollutants. They are ideally suited to biological monitoring as they are sedentary and either feed upon sediment dwelling animals or the sediment .
Seagrass beds provide habitats for fish, prawns and other invertebrates and provide seafloor stability and are found in the littoral and sub-littoral zones along the coast and estuaries.
A Nickel Bioavailability Tool (NiBAT) has been developed that simplifies the integrated NiBLM (Biotic Ligand Model) but runs in MS Excel. It requires data input for site-specific dissolved organic carbon, pH and calcium.
River Hydromorphology Assessment Technique (RHAT) Training Manual Version 2