IMIS - Marine Onderzoeksgroepen

Sandeels (Ammodytidae) are a key forage fish in marine ecosystems, but their patchy distribution and unique life style makes quantitative monitoring difficult.

This project integrates two promising methods; bottom-mounted echosounders and environmental DNA (eDNA), to establish a quantitative monitoring framework for sandeel populations. Key parts of the project are: Identifying sandeel-specific echo traces from echosounder data, investigating the suitability of water and sediment sampling for the quantification of sandeel presence, integrating both methods for the long-term monitoring in the BPNS, and mapping sandeel distribution (Habitat Suitability model), with a focus on the Princess Elisabeth Zone.