DFO Zoobenthos data from upper Frobisher Bay, 1967 to 1973

Study Extent

The 1.2 km2 area of the study was located between Cairn and Mair Islands, approximately 8 km south of the settlement of Frobisher Bay. The bottom is irregular and slopes from each of the islands towards a trench which bisects the area along its long axis.

Sampling

A Petterson grab sampler was used to collect samples during the open water season and from the surface of the ice in winter. Grab samples were washed on a stainless steel screen with a mesh size of either 0.5 mm or 1 mm. Screened samples were preserved in formalin and sorted, identified, counted and weighed back in the laboratory (the Arctic Biological Station). Data includes both density and biomass (dry weight) and is reported as counts or grams per square metre. A small otter trawl was used in 1968 to do five bottom trawls. The trawl width was about 2.5 m and the mesh size of the cod end was 0.5 cm. Presence only information is reported for these samples. A dredge was used to collect samples in depths from 40 to 68m in 1969, 1970 and 1973. The dredge consisted of an iron frame with a 2m length net attached. The width of the dredge was 36 inches and the mesh size of the net at the cod end was 0.5 cm. Species presence is reported for these samples.

Quality Control

Scientific names associated with the dataset have been mapped to recognized standards - marine taxa have been mapped to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) using either the Taxon Match tool or the matrix table. The WoRMS code, the AphiaID has been included in this resource in the scientificNameID field as LSIDs. Genus identified as type A or type B have been summed in the OBIS dataset. Following a literature review in 2021, records for the southern ascidian species of Ciona intestinalis were changed for the arctic species of Ciona gelatinosa.

Method steps

1. This resource was created by OBIS Canada from the original data published data report. DwC fields were populated after consultation with the local data management team.

Marine Zoobenthic organisms collected using a grab, trawl or dredge. Some data on biomass of benthic algae and fish are included. Species identification was not attempted for some taxa such as nematodes, nemerteans, hydroids and bryozoans. Sponges, bryozoans and other colonial forms were regarded as one individual or flagged as simply present. Updated in 2021 was the identification of the southern ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, for the arctic species, Ciona gelatinosa.

1. Annelida
   rank: phylum
2. Arthropoda
   rank: phylum
3. Branchiopoda
   rank: phylum
4. Bryozoa
   rank: phylum
5. Cephalorhyncha
   rank: phylum
6. Ascidiacea
   rank: class
7. Cnidaria
   rank: phylum
8. Echinodermata
   rank: phylum
9. Mollusca
   rank: phylum
10. Nematoda
    rank: phylum
11. Porifera
    rank: phylum
12. Sipuncula
    rank: phylum
13. Actinopterygii
    rank: class

Between Cairn and Mair Islands, Upper Frobisher Bay in southern Baffin Island, Canadian arctic.