Predicting the distribution of seabed biotopes in the southern Irish Sea

Habitat maps are becoming increasingly important for marine management in the United Kingdom, though fully ground-truthed acoustic datasets are only available for a limited number of areas. In order to address this information gap in the short term, the HABMAP (HABitat MAPping for conservation and management of the southern Irish Sea) project was set up to develop a predictive modelling tool that would enable the distribution of benthic biotopes to be mapped in areas of the southern Irish Sea where survey data is currently absent. The project collated physical and biological datasets in a Geographic Information System (GIS), and used these to develop a multi-parameter rule-based model to predict biological community type. Maps were produced for individual biotopes, and a confidence assessment method was developed to highlight areas where predicted distributions were likely to be more or less accurate. The maps were validated using survey data collected both as part of the HABMAP project and by other organisations.The maps arising from the project are intended to act as a guide for marine scientists, and have the potential to be used in a variety of activities including conservation management and marine spatial planning.