<?xml version="1.0"?>
<oai_dc:dc xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
  <dc:title xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">Select benthic invertebrate and sediment data from 1985 to 2023 for mapping benthic biodiversity to facilitate future sustainable development</dc:title>
  <dc:type xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">dataset</dc:type>
  <dc:identifier xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">https://portal.medin.org.uk/portal/start.php?tpc=009_CEFAS7cb3974a-f675-4831-ba11-76a83f4721d5</dc:identifier>
  <dc:description xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">This dataset underpins the study *Mapping benthic biodiversity to facilitate 
future sustainable development*, which used benthic macrofaunal records and 
sediment particle size analysis (PSA) to generate high-resolution maps of 
biodiversity across the continental shelf of the North-East Atlantic. The 
dataset comprises 22,793 standardised grab and core samples collected between 
1985 and 2023, with taxonomic names harmonised via the World Register of 
Marine Species (WoRMS). It includes species abundance data, diversity metrics 
(alpha-, beta- and gamma-diversity), and biodiversity cluster classifications 
derived through Random Forest modelling. The primary purpose of this dataset 
is to inform marine spatial planning and environmental licensing, especially 
in the context of offshore wind development and other seabed activities.</dc:description>
  <dc:date xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">20251014 20250901</dc:date>
</oai_dc:dc>