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A Zonal Environmental Appraisal (ZEA) commenced in 2010 with the purpose of identifying the location of individual windfarms within the zone. During the ZEA benthic survey campaign 643 benthic grabs samples were analysed and 428 taxa were identified, with an average of 70 individuals and 16 taxa recorded per sample. Of these grabs, 48 were taken within East Anglia THREE and 49 were taken within East Anglia FOUR.
2.
Annelids (worms) were the most abundant taxa present (contributing to 58% of the species) and were the most diverse group, making the largest contribution to the taxonomic richness (41%) across the zone. Echinoderms (brittlestars, starfish and sea urchins) made the largest contribution to biomass (as ash‐free dry weight (AFDW) in grams) in the benthic samples (37%) followed by annelids (32%) (EAOW, 2012b).
3.
Within the top ten taxa recorded, the most abundant across the zone were the Ross worm Sabellaria spinulosa (Figure 2), brittlestars (ophiurodea) and the white furrow shell Abra alba. Together these accounted for nearly 40% of the total abundance. Abundance overall across the Zone was low with the majority of samples containing less than 210 individuals. Only 22 samples contained 701 or more individuals. The majority of samples supporting the high numbers of individuals were located in the western side of the zone (East Anglia THREE and FOUR are located in the east of the Zone, see Figure 1 below).
Evidence Plan Benthic Ecology Method Statement
East Anglia THREE & East Anglia FOUR Offshore Windfarms