Lanice conchilega is a tube-building polychaete that functions as an ecosystem engineer, capable of forming biogenic aggregations that stabilise soft-bottom sediments and enhance benthic biodiversity. Its potential as a nature-inspired design (NID) organism for temperate coastal protection is becoming increasingly recognised, yet key knowledge gaps remain regarding its spatial distribution, which hinders the implementation of L. conchilega as an NID species.
The current study aimed to utilise ultra-high-resolution UAV imagery and develop a hierarchical deep learning pipeline to quantify L. conchilega abundance across the Bay of Heist intertidal area in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Using this pipeline, polychaete abundance was estimated at approximately 76,595 worms across a surveyed intertidal area, producing a GIS-registered abundance raster for spatial analysis. Larval sampling along the Belgian coast revealed that Bay of Heist consistently supported the highest spring larval concentrations, with a pronounced peak in May, at some sites also an autumn peak was observed. This seasonal pattern is, aligning with literature values.
Together, these results provide an integrated and spatially explicit evidence for guiding the implementation and monitoring of L. conchilega-based NID strategies.
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