GEOGRAPHIC-COVERAGE: Northern coastal part from Klaipeda city in the southeast of the Baltic Sea (data set limits: 55 54 - 56 00N; 20 55 - 21 08E)

Macroalgae and seagrass taxonomy-related counts

The aims of the surveys - to evaluate the stocks of macrophytobenthos, the spawning grounds and benthic biotopes of the Baltic Sea coastal zone. Macrophytobenthos is one of the most important hydrobiological parameters of marine environmental monitoring programme, which influences the feeding and spawning base of fish and reflects the ecological state of a water basin. Main objectives of the research: to monitor the spatial variability in species composition, abundance and biomass within the research area as well as to evaluate long-term variations in macrophytobenthos. The macrophytobenthos mapping and sampling from 1993 to 1998 were carried out each year in a wide net of stations (unfixed) along the northern part of coastal zone from Klaipeda during different expeditions. Since 1998 the research has been carried out once in 2000 at Karkle marine reserve, and in 2003 from Palanga to Butinge coastal zone. Methods according to HELCOM (1988) and 'Manual for biological analyses methods of sea water and sediments data (1980)' were used. The data are quality controlled by participations in international intercalibrations. All data is stored in archives (written form) and also is saved on hard and CD disks.

Coastal Research and Planning Institute
Klaipeda University H. Manto 84
Klaipeda

LT 92294
Lithuania