Species community analysis of heated panels deployed in the Menai Strait between summers 2015 and 2016

Multiple arrays with heated panels (1 degree Celsius and 2 degrees Celsius above ambient temperature and non-heated) were deployed subtidally in the Menai Strait for a period of 13 months from the summer of 2015 to the summer of 2016. The effect of temperature on species composition of the assemblage, seasonal effects and on the growth rates of one of the main colonisers, the polychaete Spirobranchus triqueter was assessed. Underwater photographs of the panels were taken regularly over the course of 13 months. The images were merged into a single image using Photoshop CS5. The growth rate of the main coloniser Spirobranchus triqueter and species diversity and percentage of the panel community were measured using Fiji(ImageJ) and Rstudio. This project was funded by NERC: reference NE/J007501/1 "Effects of warming on recruitment and marine benthic community development in Antarctica".