CEFAS24-40 Contract for Marine benthic macroinvertebrate sample analysis

Beachy Head East Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is an inshore site that covers an area of 195 km2 and is located along the coast near Eastbourne in East Sussex, in the Eastern Channel region. Sediment samples were collected, using a 0.1m2 mini Hamon grab, during a survey aboard the CV Seren Las between 22nd and 29th November 2023. In total 25 samples were successfully collected, details of which can be found in table 1 below.

Requirement: Cefas require a supplier to carry out the processing of 25 sediment samples (5 stations with triplicate samples) to extract and identify all biota retained following sieving on a 1.0 mm capture mesh, as per the NMBAQC guidelines detailing extraction and identification protocols. In addition to this, there is a requirement to ensure these data are audited as per the NMBAQC Own Samples protocol prior to submission to Cefas (Hall, 2019). http://www.nmbaqcs.org/media/1764/os686970_summary-report.pdf.

Enumeration, identification and bio massing to the lowest possible taxonomic level should be carried out following the NMBAQC Processing Requirement Protocol and Taxonomic Discrimination Protocol. Biomass (wet weight in grams to at least 4 d.p.) is required for all enumerable taxa. Balances must be serviced annually, and a valid service certificate must be supplied as part of the tender response.

A single reference collection of all species/taxa identified should be returned to the Cefas laboratories in Lowestoft, in an appropriate preservation liquid (i.e. 100% IDA or 70% IMS, 20% water and 10% glycerol). The reference collection should contain as a minimum the species name, name of identifier/ supervisor, station code, cruise code, date of collection and name of species identification verifier. A list of all taxa in the reference collection is also requested; in electronic form, with these details included. Notable taxa should be highlighted here such as non-native species and new or unusual records. Non-native species should be added to the Non-native Species Information Portal (NNSIP) (hosted on the Non-native Species Secretariat website, http://www.nonnativespecies.org/index.cfm?sectionid=81).

The abundance and biomass data matrices should be completed with, at minimum, the detail in the exemplar provided and then sent via email following completion. All species names must be run through the WoRMS 'Match Taxa' tool so that all naming is current (http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=match).

Quality assurance: Three grab samples from this contract are to be subject to an independent QA process following the requirements of the NMBAQC 'own sample' scheme assessment criteria with the scheme coordinator (or their assigned AQC lab). As this is also a project level audit, the full data set will be quality assured; in addition to the samples selected to assess processing, additional taxa will be identified for review from the full data matrix.