Marine coastal ecosystems are among the most productive and
diverse communities on Earth and are of global importance to
climate, nutrient budgets, and primary productivity. Yet, these
ecosystems, and in particular sedentary benthic (bottom-living)
invertebrate communities at their base, are compromised by
human-induced stresses, including overfishing, habitat
destruction, and pollution. Emerging environmental legislation
such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has the potential to
significantly improve the ecological status of Europes aquatic
ecosystems, from rivers to the sea. However, depending upon how
it is interpreted and implemented, it has the potential to
impact many activities in coastal systems, including flood
defence, coastal development, dredging, aquaculture and fishing.
There is a critical need for a set of biogeochemical measures to
assist in the characterisation of ecological function, status
and potential in coastal benthic ecosystems. The FP6-funded
Coastal Ocean Benthic Observatories