Eastern Canada Benthic Macro Fauna

Patrick Stewart

doi:10.15468/mzwmqt

Eastern Canada Benthic Macro Fauna

Citation

Stewart, P.L., H.A. Levy and B.T. Hargrave (2019). Eastern Canada Benthic Macro Fauna. Version 3.0 In OBIS Canada Digital Collections. Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada. Published by OBIS, Digital http://www.iobis.org/. Accessed on –INSERT DATE https://doi.org/10.15468/mzwmqt accessed via GBIF.org on 2021-04-16. accessed via GBIF.org on 2021-04-16. accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-14.

Description

Measurements of biomass and productivity of seabed macrobenthic and megabenthic organisms, from studies in eastern North America from New England to the Canadian Arctic dating from 1954 to 2000, have been assembled into a comprehensive, georeferenced, database. Information sources include primary publications, technical reports and unpublished data from scientific studies, commercial fisheries surveys, and monitoring and baseline studies carried out for offshore petroleum exploration. See Stewart et al 2001 for more details. This resource contains biomass information extracted from the database (Stewart et al, 2001) for the following taxonomic groups: crustacea, echinodermata, mollusca, polychaeta and 'other'. This dataset contains 'absence' records as the source dbase includes valid biomass values of zero. Each data record includes a reference to the source in the DwC.associatedReferences field. Version 1 of this resource was created during the Census of Marine Life. Version 3 of this resource contains revised DwC records including occurrenceStatus (presence/absence) for the original 5 taxonomic groups plus fish. Content in this version was extracted from database tables.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

Database of Benthic Macrofaunal Biomass and Productivity Measurements for the Eastern Canadian Continental Shelf, Slope and Adjacent Areas

Sampling

This was a literature search project. Measurements of biomass and productivity of seabed macrobenthic and megabenthic organisms, from studies in eastern North America from New England to the Canadian Arctic dating from 1954 to 2000, were assembled into a comprehensive, georeferenced, database. Information sources include primary publications, technical reports and unpublished data from scientific studies, commercial fisheries surveys, and monitoring and baseline studies carried out for offshore petroleum exploration. Supporting information and study synopses are also included.

Quality Control

Scientific names listed in the source database species list have been mapped to recognized standards - taxa have been mapped to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). The respective codes(AphiaIDs) have been included in this resource in the scientificNameID field as LSIDs.

Method steps

Information compiled as part of the Census of Marine Life literature search project was reformatted and added to a new stand alone Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Oracle database archived at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. This database is not publicly accessible.
This resource was created by OBIS Canada during the Census of Marine Life. Records were downloaded from the source database and and an OBIS view of the collection was created. Version 1 of this resource was created in 2007 during the Census of Marine Life.
In 2014 this resource was removed from the OBIS Canada DiGIR server and copied to the OBIS Canada IPT. In 2017 the GBIF version of the dataset that was previously provided by the OBIS DiGIR server at Rutgers University was migrated to the OBIS Canada IPT. In 2018 Version 2 of the resource, now hosted on the OBIS Canada IPT, was made public.
The DwC field dynamicproperties is null for this dataset - there are no associated measurements. (This field was removed from version 3 of this resource)
In 2019 Version 3 of this resource was created. The source database was re-queried and content reformatted. The first occurrence dataset created contained presence/absence records for the 6 taxonomic groups. Plans are underway to create an enhanced dataset that will include associated measurements contained in the source database/publication.

Additional info

marine, harvested by iOBIS

Taxonomic Coverages

Biomass measurements were summed for a number of selected groups (crustacea, echinodermata, mollusca, polychaeta and fish). Weight measurements recorded for taxa not in these groups were summed and labeled 'other'. In this resource the scientific name associated with 'other' is simply 'Animalia'.

crustacea
rank: subphylum
echinodermata
rank: phylum
mollusca
rank: phylum
polychaeta
rank: class
Animalia
rank: kingdom
Actinopterygii
rank: class

Geographic Coverages

Studies included the northeast North American continental shelf, slope and abyssal plain from the northern mid-Atlantic Bight off Southern New England to Baffin Bay off the mouth of Lancaster Sound, and included marginal seas including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay

Bibliographic Citations

Stewart, P.L., H.A. Levy and B.T. Hargrave. 2001. Database of Benthic Macrofaunal Biomass and Productivity Measurements for the Eastern Canadian Continental Shelf, Slope and Adjacent Area. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2336: vi + 31p. + Al-6. www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/257755.pdf‎ -
Envirosphere Consultants Limited. 1993. MS. Evaluation of Sea Bottom Biological Communities in Saint John Harbour and Black Point Ocean Dumpsite. Report to Environment Canada, Atlantic Region. -
Envirosphere Consultants Limited. 1995. MS. Report on Taxonomic and Ecological Analysis of Seabed Organisms from the vicinity of the Hibernia Production Site. Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. St. John's, Newfoundland. -
Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2000a. Raw data from Northeast Grand Bank, obtained from trawling impacts and studies in 1993-1995. Kevin MacIsaac, personal communication. -
Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2000b. Raw data from Northeast Grand Bank, obtained from trawling impacts and studies in 1993-1995. Kevin MacIsaac, personal communication. -
Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2000c. Raw data from Scotian Shelf, obtained from trawling impacts and PERD Monitoring Studies in 1996-97. Kevin MacIssac, personal communication. -
Hutcheson, M.S., and P.L. Stewart. 1994. A possible relict population of Mesodesma deauratum (Turton): Bivalvia (Mesodesmatidae) from the Southeast Shoal, Grank Banks of Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 51 -
Hutcheson, M.S., P.L. Stewart and J.M. Spry. 1981. The Biology of Benthic Communities of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland (including Hibernia area). Vol. 7. Grand Banks Oceanographic Studies. Report for Mobil Oil Canada Ltd., St. John's, -
Peer, D., D.J. Wildish, A.J. Wilson, J. Hines, and M. Dadswell. 1980. Sublittoral macro-infauna of the lower Bay of Fundy. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 981:74p. -
Peer, D., personal communciation. 2000a. Raw data from Northumberland Strait (Richibucto), obtained on Pandalus II cruises in 1963 & 1964. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000b. Raw data from Gulf of St. Lawrence (Gaspe Passage), obtained on Harengus GRF-52, in 1963. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000d. Raw data from Gulf of St. Lawrence (Magdalen Shallows), obtained on CHS Baffin, in 1962. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000e. Raw data from Northumberland Strait, obtained on Sackville 79, in 1964. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000f. Raw data from Halifax Inlet and Bedford Basin, obtained on the Navicula, in 1989. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000g. Raw data from Gulf of St. Lawrence (Cabot Strait), Newfoundland inshore waters and Strait of Belle Isle. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000h. Raw data from Northumberland Strait (Cape Tormentine), obtained in 1966. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000j. Raw data from Magdalen Shallows, Gulf of St. Lawrence, obtained on CNAV Sackville Cruise 1967, in 1965. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000k. Original data from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Sackville 1967 cruise. -
Peer, D., personal communication. 2000l. C.S.S Dawson cruise report, 91-016, and raw data. -
Prena, J., P. Schwinghamer, T.W. Rowell, D.C. Gordon Jr., K.D. Gilkinson, W.P. Vass and D.L. McKeown. 1999. Experimental otter trawling on a sandy bottom ecosystem of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland: analysis of trawl bycatch and effects -
Steimle, F.W. 1986. Production by the Benthic Fauna. Pages 310-314, In, R.H. Backus and D.W. Bourne (eds.), Georges Bank. MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. -
Stewart, P.L. 1983. Measurements of benthic macroinvertebrate standing crop from the Canadian continental shelf and slope of southern Davis Strait and Ungava Bay. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 40: 652-657. Wigley, R.L. 1962. Benthic fauna of Georges Bank. Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, 26: 310-317. -
Wildish, D., personal communication. 2000. Raw data from Scotia Shelf (Browns Bank), obtained during June 6-17, 1983 as well as between 1983-85. -
Wildish, D.J., D.L. Peer, A.J. Wilson, J. Hines, L. Linkletter and M.J. Dadswell. 1983. Sublittoral Macro-Infauna of the Upper Bay of Fundy. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1194. -

Contacts

Patrick Stewart
originator
position: President
Envirosphere Consultants Ltd
Unit 5-120 Morison Drive, P.O. Box 2906
Windsor
B0N 2T0
Nova Scotia
CA
email: enviroco@ns.sympatico.ca
homepage: http://www.envirosphere.ca

Patrick Stewart
metadata author
position: President
Envirosphere Consultants Ltd
Unit 5-120 Morison Drive, P.O. Box 2906
Windsor
B0N 2T0
Nova Scotia
CA
email: enviroco@ns.sympatico.ca
homepage: http://www.envirosphere.ca

OBIS Canada
publisher
position: data management team
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Dartmouth
B2Y 4A2
Nova Scotia
CA
email: obiscanada2017@gmail.com

Robert M Branton
content provider
position: former OBIS Canada node manager
OBIS Canada
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Dartmouth
B2Y 4A2
Nova Scotia
CA

Patrick Stewart
administrative point of contact
position: President
Envirosphere Consultants Ltd
Unit 5-120 Morison Drive, P.O. Box 2906
Windsor
B0N 2T0
Nova Scotia
CA
email: enviroco@ns.sympatico.ca
homepage: http://www.envirosphere.ca

Canadensys
administrative point of contact
position: Biodiversity Informatics team
Universite de Montreal Biodiversity Centre
4101 rue Sherbrooke est
Montreal
H1X2B2
Quebec
CA
email: canadensys.network@gmail.com
homepage: https://www.canadensys.net