Species distribution models (Maxent) predicting the distribution of two Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME): the reef-forming Scleractinian coral Desmophyllum pertusum and the aggregations forming Hexactinellid sponge Pheronema carpenteri. Both of these species are VME indicator taxa and form habitat that enhance deep-sea diversity (Ross and Howell, 2013). Maps of the likely distribution of the habitat formed by these two species will enable efficient Marine Spatial planning to facilitate their conservation. This work was performed at the University of Plymouth in 2021. A GIS layer is provided for each species.

DATRAS North Sea Bottom Trawl Survey

Location distribution per grid cell of 8 young harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), followed by Argos tags (between 2005 and 2008) along the English Channel coast following rehabilitation at the care center CHENE.

Occurrence rate by observation number for 100km of effort in each 40km mesh in the French mainland EZE in the winter of 2011/2012 and the summer of 2012. Description of the attribute table: survey : campaign Type: observation type Mesh: mesh size in kilometers _no_maille : mesh number The following fields correspond to the calculation of the occurrence rate for the observation number for 1000km of effort for each species or group of species : - [marsouin] common porpoise - [grdDauph] bottlenose dolphin - [lagenor] White-beaked dolphin - [pttDelph] : common dolphin and Striped dolphin - [globiceph] : Long-finned pilot whale + Risso's dolphin - [cakobab] : Sperm whale+ kogias + Beaked whales - [balenopt] : Fin whale + Minke whale + blue whale - [phoque] seal (grey + harbour)

This metadata corresponds to the EUNIS Littoral biogenic habitat types (salt marshes), distribution based on vegetation plot data dataset. Littoral biogenic habitats (commonly known as salt marshes) are formed by animals such as worms and mussels or plants. The verified saltmarsh habitat samples used are derived from the Braun-Blanquet database (http://www.sci.muni.cz/botany/vegsci/braun_blanquet.php?lang=en) which is a centralised database of vegetation plots and comprises copies of national and regional databases using a unified taxonomic reference database. The geographic extent of the distribution data are all European countries except Armenia and Azerbaijan. The dataset is provided both in Geodatabase and Geopackage formats.

The observation of catches at sea, whether landed or discarded by professional fishing vessels, provides a better understanding of the interactions between fishing activity, resources and marine ecosystems. This system, called ObsMer, is applied in metropolitan France, excluding Corsica.

Distribution of benthic invertebrate species in Atlantic based on cumulative and interpolated relative abundance density data from fisheries surveys EVHOE (2008-2013), LANGOLF (2011-2013), NURSE (2000-2013), ORHAGO (2011-2015)

The geographical distribution of the main Sabellaria Hermelles alveolata beds (Linné, 1767) from the coast of the Pertuis Charentais was compiled from 2010 to 2012. The inventory focuses on the tidal beds (+ 6-0 m marine coast) and compiles two cartographic sources from the project CARTHAM Natura 2000 at sea of the Agency of Marine Protected Areas: 1) Hermelles inventories made on 2011 by the Association IODDE on the west of Oleron Island and 2) mapping inventory of intertidal marine habitats by LIENSs (in cooperation with CREOCEAN, Ré Nature Environnement, GEO-Transfert et la LPO Moëze-Oléron). Methodologies used by IODDE on Oléron combine ground truths with reports with Geographic Information System (GIS). The methodologies used by LIENSs to estimate the extension of the intertidal habitats throughout the Pertuis Charentais combine aerial image analysis, remote sensing, field validations by differential GPS and thematic analysis using GIS (Cajeri et al., 2012). It is during these ground truths that the presence of tackles or small Hermelles reefs was noted. The IODDE results have allowed an almost exhaustive inventory of Hermelles reefs west of Oleron. Those of LIENSs have clarified the distribution of Hermelles on most of the Pertuis Charentais foreshores.