THE EFFECTS OF COMPARATIVE BENTHIC TAXANOMIC INDICES AS ECOLOGICAL QUALITY INDICATORS WITHIN THE MARINA OF THE FOWEY ESTUARY, CORNWALL, UK

The EU water framework directive sets guidelines for ecological quality of its estuarine and coastal waters. These guidelines can be assessed using a series of taxonomic indicators to produce an ideal outcome. Problems arise when attempting to understand which indices to use and to what extent. This study looks and compares a number of taxonomic indices including Azti’s Marine Biotic Index, Shannon-Weinner diversity index, and the BENTIX index designed by Simboura & Zenetos, (2002). All indices can be defined with an EcoQ categorise set within the water framework directive. The samples and analysis for the study will come from the Fowey Estuary, Cornwall, UK, and will begin to create a benchmark for future studies. Inevitably comparing a number of indices to given boundaries creates a number of problems to be addressed. It becomes clear that a diverse ecosystem such as the Fowey is not the simplest ideal to simply catergorise and to fully understand the use of taxonomic variations a compilation of indices would be more beneficial than a single set of boundaries