title: The monitoring of opportunistic macroalgal blooms for the water framework directive.
abstract: Among the various quality elements which the Water Framework Directive requires should be monitored are macroalgae. One aspect of these is the presence, in transitional waters particularly, of large blooms of opportunistic macroalgae, such as Ulva and Enteromorpha. Within the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (RoI) there are currently no set ecological quality objectives or standards for macroalgae. Nor are there standard methods for monitoring macroalgal blooms, although various combinations of aerial photography, remote sensing and measurements on the ground are used. This paper attempts to set a logical framework for the prioritisation of sites for monitoring, the development of a tiered monitoring procedure and the derivation of thresholds for classification. Draft threshold limits for percentage cover and biomass of macroalgae have been derived from the literature. The importance of secondary effects and physico-chemical parameters is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Greyhope Road, Aberdeen AB11 9RD, United Kingdom. clare.scanlan@sepa.org.uk
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Scanlan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Foden
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Best
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000254:growth & development*; D005068:Eutrophication; D007391:International Cooperation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D007494:Ireland; D011156:Population Density; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity; D006113:United Kingdom