bmdc.be:dataset:2980 English UTF-8 Dataset Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB), Direction opérationnelle Milieux naturels (DO Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen (KBIN), Operationele Directie Natuurlijk Milieu (OD Natuur), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Königliches Belgisches Institut für Naturwissenschaften (KBIN), Operationelle Direktion Natürliche Umwelt (OD Natur), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Rue Vautier 29 Vautierstraat 29 Brussel Brussels Brussel Bruxelles Brüssel 1000 Belgium Belgium Belgique België Belgien bmdc@naturalsciences.be https://www.bmdc.be http Point of contact 2026-04-29T15:31:43.792Z Geographic information -- Metadata ISO 19115:2003/19139 http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/4258 EPSG [UNDER EMBARGO] 25 years of observations on non-indigenous Caprella species on navigation buoys. 2025-07-16T10:08:49Z Creation 2025-07-16T11:31:46Z Revision 2026-04-29T15:31:43.792Z Publication Digital Object Identifier 2016-05-19 https://doi.org/10.24417/bmdc.be:dataset:2980 Belgian Marine Data Centre bmdc.be:dataset:2980 The global expansion of marine infrastructure, or ‘ocean sprawl’—creates extensive new artificial habitat for hard substrate-associated species. Structures such as offshore energy installations, aquaculture systems, and navigation buoys support biofouling communities of native, introduced, and range-expanding species. Caprellid amphipods are typical members of these communities and can reach high densities. Using a unique 25-year dataset (1998–2023) from the Belgian part of the North Sea, we documented occurrence patterns of four Caprella species: the native C. linearis, the introduced C. mutica and the range-expanding C. equilibra and C. penantis. This long-term dataset reveals dynamic shifts in species dominance, co-occurrence, and spatial range, highlighting how introduced and range-expanding species successively establish and interact in biofouling communities in an increasingly warmer, busier, and more cosmopolitan ocean. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB) Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen (KBIN) Königliches Belgisches Institut für Naturwissenschaften (KBIN) Natur) Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Rue Vautier 29 Vautierstraat 29 Brussel Brussels Brussel Bruxelles Brüssel 1000 Belgium Belgium Belgique België Belgien info@naturalsciences.be https://www.naturalsciences.be http Publisher Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB), Direction opérationnelle Milieux naturels (DO Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen (KBIN), Operationele Directie Natuurlijk Milieu (OD Natuur), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Königliches Belgisches Institut für Naturwissenschaften (KBIN), Operationelle Direktion Natürliche Umwelt (OD Natur), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC) Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Rue Vautier 29 Vautierstraat 29 Brussel Brussels Brussel Bruxelles Brüssel 1000 Belgium Belgium Belgique België Belgien bmdc@naturalsciences.be https://www.bmdc.be http Custodian Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB) Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen (KBIN) Königliches Belgisches Institut für Naturwissenschaften (KBIN) Natur) Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Vautierstraat 29 Rue Vautier 29 Vautierstraat 29 Brussel Brussels Brussel Bruxelles Brüssel 1000 Belgium Belgium Belgique België Belgien info@naturalsciences.be https://www.naturalsciences.be http Owner fouling fauna Theme marine ecology animal ecology Theme GEMET - Concepts, version 4.2.3 2021-12-06 Publication 4.2.3 Belgian part of the North Sea Place Marine Regions 2018-02-21 Publication 10 biological monitoring Biomonitoring biological monitoring surveillance biologique bio-monitoring marine monitoring Meeresüberwachung marine monitoring surveillance du milieu marin controle van de zee environmental monitoring Umweltüberwachung environmental monitoring surveillance de l'environnement milieubewaking Theme GEMET - Concepts, version 4.2.1 2021-06-01 Publication 4.2.1 Caprella penantis Leach Caprella equilibra Say Caprella mutica Schurin Caprella linearis Theme Worms Other restrictions https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Other restrictions No limitations on public access. No limitations on public access. Geen beperkingen op openbare toegang. Pas de restrictions concernant l'accès public. Öffentliche Zugang nicht beschränkt. No conditions apply to use. No conditions apply to use. Geen voorwaarden in verband met gebruik. Aucune condition ne s'applique à l'utilisation. Es gelten keine Bedingungen zum Nutzung. Unclassified Text table English biota true 2.238333 3.370403 51.089314 51.876114 1998-01-27 2023-12-18 https://doi.org/10.24417/bmdc.be:dataset:2980 DOI Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Dataset Between 1998 and 2023, 320 navigation buoys were sampled across the Belgian part of the North Sea. Each buoy underwent visual inspection onshore to assess biofouling coverage and locate suitable sampling areas. Fouling communities, including mussels, were then scraped and preserved in 6% formaldehyde buffered with seawater. In the laboratory, Caprella species were identified to species level using standard keys. Metadata (buoy ID, geographic coordinates, sampling date, and species presence/absence) were recorded and compiled into standardised Excel files. Quality control included checks for completeness, consistency, and removal of duplicates. Spatial accuracy was verified, and species distributions were visualised using ArcGIS.