Change in North Sea benthic communities: reconciling the role of broad-scale climate phenomena versus local anthropogenic impacts Through analysis of historic time series of the Belgian Part of the North Sea this project identifies whether the variability of benthic communities in the Belgian part of the North Sea is related to climatic oscillations and/or historic and ongoing anthropogenic activities. Such knowledge would provide a more solid understanding of the drivers of change in benthic communities in the North Sea, thereby assisting in the management of coastal ecosystems in the current era of anthropogenically-induced change.