Abstract
In this chapter, we describe the formation and mapping of marine benthic underwater habitats in offshore waters. We characterize the respective biotopes and discuss the anthropogenic pressures acting upon them. A variety of different classification systems have been developed within the last decades that, depending on the respective aim and scale, significantly differ in complexity and splitting rules. An accepted system has been developed and adapted to specific conditions in the Baltic Sea. The advantage of the so-called HELCOM Underwater Biotope and Habitat Classification System (HUB) is the clear definition of splitting rules between the different modalities within all six hierarchical levels. Despite the fact that some of them could be the result of artificial separations due to the different hierarchical systems, we have found an impressive expression of the biotope diversity in the southern Baltic Sea and its ecological potential.
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Zettler, M.L., Darr, A. (2023). Benthic Habitats and Their Inhabitants. In: Schubert, H., Müller, F. (eds) Southern Baltic Coastal Systems Analysis. Ecological Studies, vol 246. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13682-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13682-5_8
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