Over the last century, coastal countries have implemented hard engineering structures to maintain beach levels and resist exposure to severe climate events (Williams et al., 2018). Typically, groynes and seawalls are combined with beach nourishment schemes,

Shovelhead worms are common polychaetes around the British Isles and have been recorded in numerous ecological surveys. Yet, understanding of their habitat conditions is poor, based heavily on visual observations of sediments from historical records.

Marine sublittoral sandbanks are essential offshore feeding grounds for larger crustaceans, fish and seabirds. In the southern North Sea, sandbanks are characterized by considerable natural sediment dynamics and are subject to chronic bottom trawling.