Articles | Volume 21, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1973-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1973-2024
Research article
 | 
22 Apr 2024
Research article |  | 22 Apr 2024

Bottom fishery impact generates tracer peaks easily confused with bioturbation traces in marine sediments

Stefan Forster, Claudia Runkel, Josephin Lemke, Laura Pülm, and Martin Powilleit

Cited articles

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Amoroso, R. O., Pitcher, C. R., Rijnsdorp, A. D., and Jennings, S.: Bottom trawl fishing footprints on the world's continental shelves, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 115, E10275–E10282, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1802379115, 2018. 
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Short summary
During an investigation on the effects of bottom trawling, we found that otter boards which keep nets open bury surface sediment at a few centimeters of sediment depth. This is also done by animals living in the sediment (bioturbation), a process that is considered very important for sediment ecosystem integrity. We try to differentiate between the two and estimate that natural bioturbation is much more likely than otter board sediment reversal in our investigation area.
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