The North Sea Benthos Observatory included several endo- and epibenthic long-term series in the North Sea (see map), which provide a comprehensive and habitat-specific assessment of temporal variability of benthic communities in the North Sea against the background of changing climate and human activities such as fishery. The specific characteristics of the single time series are as following:

1. JADE epifauna sampled since 1972 every 2. and 3. quarter.
2. NORDERNEY infauna since 1978 in the 1., 2. and 3. quarter.
3. TRANSECT German Bight to Doggerbank (Infauna) since 1990 every May.
4. GSBTS, in- and epifauna in 6 specific areas (so called "Boxes") from the German Bight to the Northern North Sea since 1998 in July/August.
5. IBTS, in- and epifauna in the south-eastern North Sea (24 ICES rectangles) since 1998 in July/August.
6. DOGGERBANK infauna, several decades: 1920s, 1950s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s.
7. JADE BAY infauna, several decades: 1930s, 1970s, 2009.
8. GASEEZ, epifauna in the German Exclusive Economic Zone since 2007 in November/December.