. 2025 Apr 10;12(1):604.

doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-04920-1.

Biodiversity Information of benthic Species at ARtificial structures - BISAR

Jennifer Dannheim¹, Paul Kloss^{2

3}, Jan Vanaverbeke⁴, Ninon Mavraki⁵, Mirta Zupan^{4

6}, Vanessa Spielmann⁷, Steven Degraer⁴, Silvana N R Birchenough^{8

9}, Urszula Janas¹⁰, Emma Sheehan¹¹, Katharina Teschke^{2

3}, Andrew B Gill⁸, Zoe Hutchison¹², Drew A Carey¹³, Michael Rasser¹⁴, Jolien Buyse^{6

15}, Babeth van der Weide⁵, Oliver Bittner⁵, Paul Causon¹⁶, Roland Krone¹⁷, Marco Faasse¹⁸, Alexa Wrede^{2

19}, Joop W P Coolen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany. jennifer.dannheim@awi.de.
² Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany.
³ Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 231, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
⁴ Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Marine Ecology and Management (MARECO), Vautierstraat 29, Brussels, B-1000, Belgium.
⁵ Wageningen Marine Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781, AG, Den Helder, The Netherlands.
⁶ Marine Biology Research Group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
⁷ University of Bremen, Bibliothekstraße 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany.
⁸ The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
⁹ Environmental Resources Management (ERM) Ltd, 8 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1RY, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ Department of Marine Ecology, Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdansk, Al. Marsz. J. Pilsudskiego 46, Gdynia, 81-378, Poland.
¹¹ School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering), University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.
¹² University of St Andrews, School of Biology, Scotland, United Kingdom.
¹³ INSPIRE Environmental, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840, US.
¹⁴ Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Sterling, VA, 22066, US.
¹⁵ Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ILVO Marine Research, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400, Ostend, Belgium.
¹⁶ NIRAS (Group) UK, Kings Ride Court, Kings Ride, Ascot, SL5 7JR, UK.
¹⁷ Reefauna, Schleusenstraße 3, 27568, Bremerhaven, Germany.
¹⁸ Eurofins Aquasense, Korringaweg 7, 4401 NT, Yerseke, The Netherlands.
¹⁹ Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Shelf Sea System Ecology, 27498, Helgoland, Germany.

PMID: 40210637
PMCID: PMC11985901
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-025-04920-1

Biodiversity Information of benthic Species at ARtificial structures - BISAR

Jennifer Dannheim et al. Sci Data. 2025.

. 2025 Apr 10;12(1):604.

doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-04920-1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany. jennifer.dannheim@awi.de.
² Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany.
³ Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 231, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
⁴ Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Marine Ecology and Management (MARECO), Vautierstraat 29, Brussels, B-1000, Belgium.
⁵ Wageningen Marine Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781, AG, Den Helder, The Netherlands.
⁶ Marine Biology Research Group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
⁷ University of Bremen, Bibliothekstraße 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany.
⁸ The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
⁹ Environmental Resources Management (ERM) Ltd, 8 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1RY, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ Department of Marine Ecology, Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdansk, Al. Marsz. J. Pilsudskiego 46, Gdynia, 81-378, Poland.
¹¹ School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering), University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.
¹² University of St Andrews, School of Biology, Scotland, United Kingdom.
¹³ INSPIRE Environmental, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840, US.
¹⁴ Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Sterling, VA, 22066, US.
¹⁵ Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, ILVO Marine Research, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400, Ostend, Belgium.
¹⁶ NIRAS (Group) UK, Kings Ride Court, Kings Ride, Ascot, SL5 7JR, UK.
¹⁷ Reefauna, Schleusenstraße 3, 27568, Bremerhaven, Germany.
¹⁸ Eurofins Aquasense, Korringaweg 7, 4401 NT, Yerseke, The Netherlands.
¹⁹ Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Shelf Sea System Ecology, 27498, Helgoland, Germany.

PMID: 40210637
PMCID: PMC11985901
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-025-04920-1

Abstract

Understanding the effects of artificial structures in marine landscapes is required for ecosystem-based management. Global demand for oil and gas and accelerated commitments to renewable energy development has led to the proliferation of marine artificial structures. Investigating the cumulative effects of these structures on marine ecosystems requires data on the benthic community over large geographical and long-time scales. It is imperative to share the data collected by many stakeholders in an integrated information system to benefit science, industry and policy. BISAR is the first data product containing harmonised and quality-checked international data on benthos from artificial structures in the North Sea. BISAR was compiled from environmental impact assessment studies and scientific projects (3864 samples, 890 taxa). Data derive from 34 artificial structures and surrounding soft sediments (years: 2003 to 2019). Structures include offshore wind turbines, oil and gas platforms and a research platform. Data from a geogenic reef, allow comparison of natural and artificial reef communities. We aim to host future BISAR data dynamically in the CRITTERBASE web portal.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Workflow of the data compilation, quality check, storage and publication of the BISAR data collection.

**Fig. 2**
Map of sampling locations of the BISAR data collection. Alpha ventus and Prinses Amalia areas are displayed with zoom areas due to the large number of samples.

**Fig. 3**
Number of samples taken per location and year.

**Fig. 4**
Substrate sampled per location and depth. To illustrate variations in the number of samples and variations in substrates at locations at the same depth, a small amount of random noise (jitter) was added to the positioning of the points in the x and y direction. To illustrate variations in the number of samples and variations in substrates at locations at the same depth, a small amount of random noise (jitter) was added to the positioning of the points in the x and y direction.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Offshore wind farms modify coastal food web dynamics by enhancing suspension feeder pathways.
De Borger E, van Oevelen D, Mavraki N, De Backer A, Braeckman U, Soetaert K, Vanaverbeke J. De Borger E, et al. Commun Earth Environ. 2025;6(1):330. doi: 10.1038/s43247-025-02253-w. Epub 2025 Apr 29. Commun Earth Environ. 2025. PMID: 40313562 Free PMC article.

References

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1. GWEC,Global wind report 2021. Global Wind Energy Council, Brussels, Belgium.79 pp. https://gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GWEC-Global-Wind-Report-2021... last visited: 21.11.2022 (2021).
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Biodiversity Information of benthic Species at ARtificial structures - BISAR

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Biodiversity Information of benthic Species at ARtificial structures - BISAR

Authors

Affiliations

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Conflict of interest statement

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