HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

Red List ofBiotopes and Habitats

HELCOM HABITATRiga, Latvia

14-17 May 2013

Lena AvellanProject Officer

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HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

HELCOM Red List of Biotopes and Habitats- current status, products to complete

Presentation to changes of Initial Threat Assessments

(document 4/11 Add.1)

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Presentation content

HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

Red List of Biotopes and Habitats– products to complete

3. Red List Report BSEP XXX; rough outline discussed by RL Biotope Expert workshop 10/2013, to be completed by the end of July, HOD 42/2013 to accept for publication

4. Biotope Information Sheets (BIS) to be done for every red listed (CR-NT) biotope; first example to be discussed by the Meeting, input by national experts needed, to be completed by end of July,HOD 42/2013 to accept for publication

14-15 May 2013

HELCOM HABITAT 15/201314-15 May 2013

Red List of Biotopes and Habitats- current status

• Red List Report currently only roughly drafted• Threat assessments underway, the final assessments

to be decided by e-mail discussion 20.-24.5. by RED LIST Biotope Expert Group

• Suggested to ask for any national expertise outside the RED LIST Biotope Expert Group, national experts to be contacted by the Secretariat to complete the Red List products; Report and Biotope Information Sheets

HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

Red List of Biotopes and Habitats- current status

• Questionnaire 1circulated in December 2012 – January 2013Recieved 11 answers, two additional answers later

• Initial Threat Assessments made by RED LIST Biotope Expert Group 9/2013 meeting

• Questionnaire 2circulated 26 April – 12 May 2013No official answers by the DL,some expert comments

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HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

HELCOM Red List categories- current status

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HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

HELCOM Initial Red List of Biotopes and Biotope Complexes

- current status

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1 (1 %) 11 (5 %)

3 (2 %)

38 (18 %)

155 (74 %)

Initial Red List categoryfor Biotopes

N(%)

CRENVUNTLC

HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

HELCOM Red List Assessment Criteria- current status

• Semi-quantitative criteria applied to best available data or expert inference to classify a biotope in a category

• The proposed IUCN criteria for assessing ecosystems were applied and combined with HELCOM criteria from previous red list assessments

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HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

HELCOM criteria based loosely on IUCN red list criteria

- current status

Article published 8.5.2013

Keith DA, Rodríguez JP, Rodríguez-Clark KM, Nicholson E, Aapala K, Alonso A, Asmussen M, Bachman S, Basset A, Barrow E.G., Benson J.S., Bishop M.J., Bonifacio R, Brooks T.M., Burgman M.A., Comer P, Comín F.A., Essl F, Faber-Langendoen D, Fairweather P.G., Holdaway R.J., Jennings M, Kingsford R.T., Lester R.E., Mac Nally R, McCathy M.A., Moat J, Oliviera-Miranda M.A., Pisnau P, Poulin B, Regan T.J., Riecken U, Spalding M.D., Zambrano-Martínez S (2013) Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems. PLoSONE8(5): e62111. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062111

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HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

• “Confidence of threat assessment” a statement for every red listed biotope, aid for management

Low (L)Moderate (M)High (H)• Level of confidence depends on how much data there

are for the biotope, whether there are also historical data, and on the degree of agreement among the experts

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Changes to Initial Threat Assessments

HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

Shell gravel on Level 3, VU → LC→ B-criterion not applicable as shell gravel patches occur in several places in the northern Baltic Sea• AA.E1C4 Baltic photic shell gravel dominated by kelp

LC → NT (NT – VU), confidence: L• AA.E1E1 Baltic photic shell gravel dominated by Mytilidae

LC (same for aphotic), confidence: L • AA.E1F1 Baltic photic shell gravel dominated by vase tunicate (Ciona

intestinalis):? → VU (NT – EN) criteria rarity B1, confidence: L

• AA.E4U Baltic photic shell gravel characterized by no macrocommunity LC, confidence: L

Aphotic shell gravel – Same threat and confidence categories apply

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Changes to Initial Threat Assessments- categories

HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

Changes to Initial Threat Assessment- confidence

Biotope complexes;• 1110 Sandbanks which are slightly covered by sea water

all the time, 1170 Reefs:conficende: L → MBoth are HD-habitats, quite a good amount of data in all countries should be available, variation in the threat category is similar to other complexes.

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HELCOM HABITAT 15/201314-15 May 2013

Changes to Initial Threat Assessment- confidence

Biotopes;• AA.K3L9/AB.K3L9 and AA.L3L9/AB.L3L9 Macoma

calcarea, Mya truncata biotope; conficence: L (most were L, one was M)varies between photic and aphotic, and the reason for this is not quite clear.

HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

Biotope Information Sheets- completion

• Currently 36 initially red listed biotopes and 10 biotope complexes

• June-July to collect information and compose the BIS, Secretariat tasked to do this work

• National experts will be asked to contribute with gathering information

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HELCOM HABITAT 15/2013

Biotope Information Sheets- completion

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Figure 1. Biotope AB.C1E4 Aphotic hard clay dominated by Astarte spp. (Photo Jan Warzocha)

• Habitat and Ecology - Distribution and status in the Baltic Sea region - Description of Major threats - Assessment justification - Recommendation for actions to conserve the biotope

• photographs of the biotopes, to be published on-line