Rapid preliminary assessment of seabed biodiversity for the marine and coastal mining industries: Fid-Bau Portal

Rapid preliminary assessment of seabed biodiversity for the marine and coastal mining industries

Ellis, Derek V. / Macdonald, Valerie I.

A protocol for rapid preliminary assessment of seabed biodiversity has been developed for the mining industry, and applied to the tailings placement area of the recently closed (1995) Island Copper Mine, Canada. The protocol succeeded in providing, during the time of the field work, quantitative data on the number of apparent species present in a grab sample (0.05/m²) washed through a #30 mesh screen (approx. 0.5 mm), the total number of organisms/m² collected, and the number of individuals of the most abundant species (five species at each sampling station). Numerical criteria for coding and interpreting biodiversity levels as Impoverished, Low, Moderate, or High were developed for the site. The system was tested against the conventional assessment protocol (identification to species) used by the mine since 1970. It was necessary to process three replicate samples (as opposed to one only, or a subsample) for the interpretation of biodiversity level to be consistent between rapid and conventional protocols. Both protocols showed during the surveys that, 9 months after mine closure, the biodiversity of tailings‐affected areas was in successional stages with characterizing opportunistic species. Biodiversity was at levels ranked as Low, Moderate, or High. The rapid assessment protocol can provide this type of information during a seabed biodiversity survey, with formal reporting possible within a few days as opposed to the conventional wait of many months. Results can be verified by a conventional full species‐identification analysis.