Many indicators have been developed to assess the state of benthic communities and identify seabed habitats most at risk from bottom trawling disturbance. However, the large variety of indicators and their development and application under specific geographic areas and management contexts has made it difficult to evaluate their wider utility. We compared the complementarity/uniqueness, sensitivity, and selectivity of 18 benthic indicators to pressure of bottom trawling. Seventeen common datasets with broad regional representation covering a range of pressure gradients from bottom trawling disturbance (n = 14), eutrophication (n = 1), marine pollution (n = 1), and oxygen depletion (n = 1) were used for the comparison. The outcomes of most indicators were correlated to a certain extent with response to bottom trawling disturbance, and two complementary groups of indicators were identified: diversity‐based and biological trait‐based indicators. Trait‐based indicators that quantify the changes in relative abundance of sensitive taxa were most effective in identifying benthic community change in response to bottom trawling disturbance. None of the indicators responded to the trawling pressure gradient in all datasets, and some showed a response that were opposed to the theoretical expectation for some gradients. Indicators that showed clear responses to bottom trawling disturbance also showed clear responses in at least one other pressure gradient, suggesting those indicators are not pressure specific. These results emphasize the importance of selecting several indicators, at least one from each group (diversity and trait‐based), to capture the broader signals of change in benthic communities due to bottom trawling activities. Our systematic approach offers the basis from which scientific advisors and/or managers can select suitable combinations of indicators to arrive at a sensitive and comprehensive benthic status assessment.

中文翻译：

---

底栖状态指标对底拖网捕鱼干扰的互补性和敏感性


已经制定了许多指标来评估底栖生物群落的状况，并确定最容易受到底拖网捕鱼干扰风险的海底栖息地。然而，指标种类繁多，而且它们在特定地理区域和管理背景下的开发和应用，使得评估其更广泛的效用变得困难。我们将 18 种底栖指标的互补性/独特性、敏感性和选择性与底拖网捕鱼的压力进行了比较。使用了 17 个具有广泛区域代表性的常见数据集，涵盖了底拖网扰动 （n = 14）、富营养化 （n = 1）、海洋污染 （n = 1） 和氧气消耗 （n = 1） 等一系列压力梯度进行比较。大多数指标的结果与对底拖网干扰的反应有一定程度的相关性，并确定了两组互补的指标：基于多样性的指标和基于生物特征的指标。量化敏感分类群相对丰度变化的基于性状的指标在识别底栖群落响应底拖网干扰的变化方面最为有效。在所有数据集中，没有一个指标对拖网捕捞压力梯度做出反应，有些指标显示出与某些梯度的理论预期相反的反应。对底拖网扰动有明显反应的指标在至少一个其他压力梯度中也显示出明显反应，这表明这些指标不是特定于压力的。这些结果强调了选择几个指标的重要性，每个组至少选择一个（基于多样性和特征），以捕捉底栖生物群落由于底拖网捕捞活动而发生的变化的更广泛信号。 我们的系统方法为科学顾问和/或管理人员提供了基础，可以从中选择合适的指标组合，以得出敏感和全面的底栖动物状况评估。