reanalysed for this assessment using PRIMER V6. This allowed a consistent approach to defining communities for this assessment rather than having three different analyses as reported in Appendix 10.2, Appendix 10.3, Appendix 10.4). The combined infaunal data set included 566 grab samples from the East Anglia Zone survey, 49 from the East Anglia THREE and FOUR survey and 39 samples from the East Anglia ONE cable corridor survey (total 654).
72.
The infauna identified and enumerated within the combined data set are displayed as number of individuals in each class in Diagram10.1 and by number of species in each class in Diagram10.2.
73.
By far the most numerate class were the polychaetes accounting for 57% of all individuals identified across the East Anglia Zone and offshore cable corridor. They were also the most numerate class in terms of species identified with 43% of all species identified as polychaetes.
74.
The most numerous polychaete in the combined data set was S. spinulosa with a total of 8,702 individuals present across 108 sample stations. The greatest number found in a single sample was 1,660 and in total 12 station samples contained more than 100 individuals. Further detail about S. spinulosa and its importance within the study areas is provided in sections 10.5.5 and 10.6. Spiophanes bombyx was also very numerous with 3,697 individuals identified across the East Anglia Zone and offshore cable corridor. This species was less numerous overall than S. spinulosa, however, it was identified at over four times as many sample stations (423). Other species of polychaete, which were not as abundant at individual sample stations as S. spinulosa, but were identified at a greater number of sample stations include:
Nephtys cirrosa (987 individuals found at 418 stations);
Nephtys species which could only be identified to genus (355 individuals found at 194 sample stations);
Glycera sp. (406 individuals found at 177 sample stations); Ophelia borealis (943 individuals found at 270 sample stations);
Ophelia sp. which could not be identified to species level (789 individuals found at 152 sample stations); and
Scoloplos armiger (640 individuals found at 198 sample stations).
75. Malacostracan crustaceans were the next most numerate (5,026 individuals identified) class both in terms of individuals and number of species (145 species
Preliminary Environmental Information May 2014
East Anglia THREE Offshore Windfarm
Chapter 10 Benthic Ecology Page 32
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