Lesser Sandeel habitat
The lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus is a key component of the marine ecosystem as it is an important prey species for many seabirds and marine mammals. However, little is known about the distribution of sandeel beyond known fishing grounds in the North Sea. Adult sandeels spend the winter buried in sediment at the seabed, only emerging briefly to spawn. In the summer, sandeel feed in the water column during the day, bury into the sediment at night. Sandeel have specific benthic habitat requirements for burial and this can be used, along with other environmental variables, to locate areas of the seabed that might offer suitable habitat for this species.
Marine Scotland has developed a statistical model that predicts the distribution of seabed habitat that is suitable for buried sandeels in two areas: 1). the northern part of the North Sea and 2). the Northern parts of the Celtic Seas region around the west coast of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. From this model, predicted abundances have also been modelled, indicating the abundances of sandeel that might be found should the habitat be present.
There are four layers showing the results of the predictive model
1) Probability of presence of sandeel in North Sea – the predicted probability of presence of suitable habitat for lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus to bury in Northern parts of the North Sea
2) Probability of presence of sandeel in Celtic Seas – the predicted probability of presence of suitable habitat for lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus to bury in Northern parts of the Celtic Seas region around the west coast of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland
3) Predicted density of sandeel in North Sea – the predicted density of lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus in the sediment in the North Sea region, given buried sandeel are present.
4) Predicted density of sandeel in Celtic Seas – the predicted density of lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus in the sediment in the Celtic Seas region, given buried sandeel are present.
