Track: Oceanography, Coastal Zone, Marine Resources
Habitats in the Coastal Zone: A Layer Concept
Johan F. RuiterDefining Issue: Researchers and policy makers often want to know the effect of certain measurements on a single life-form or on an ecosystem level. Defining habitats for all life-forms in the coastal zone is a complicated problem as surveying all life-forms in these areas is too complicated and expensive. GIS Solution: RIKZ is developing a UNIX ArcInfo application using the ARC GRID module. This provides the researchers and policy makers a GIS toolbox to manage this issue. Application and Methodology: In the Dutch coastal zone a number of abiotic parameters (like depth, grain size, water current, salinity) are surveyed. All these parameters influence the different life-forms in a certain way. Between each parameter and life-form a relation table has been made, and this is used to produce a nonparametric habitat grid. For all the other relevant parameters this is repeated. In this way a number of layers is produced. The next step is the combination of the different simple habitat grids into a complex habitat grid. The application offers the possibility to change one or more parameter values (like salinity or a new current pattern) so the effect of a changing policy or construction activities can be tested on the different life forms in the area. Moreover, the application may serve as a spatial model to test the knowledge of researchers on relations between parameters and life-forms, both statistical and intuitive knowledge. In a similar way it is possible to make ecotope maps of the coastal zone. Software: The application is written in AML and form menus are being used. The menu interface is designed to be easy to use by researchers and policy makers who don't have knowledge of GIS or ArcInfo. The concept of producing habitat maps this way appears to be revolutionary. The purpose of the paper is to present the methodology, discuss this with colleagues, and perhaps improve the methodology.
Johan F. Ruiter
National Inst for Coastal and Marine Mgmt
POBox 207
Haren, NL 9750 AE
THE NETHERLANDS
Telephone: 0031505331363
Fax: 0031505340772
E-mail: j.f.ruiter@rikz.rws.minvenw.nl