Benthic Habitat Database

Description

The NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center has, through the years, accumulated an extensive data base of qualitative and quantitative (wet weight and number per square meter) data on the composition, distribution and abundance (including a variety of environmental measurements) of the macrobenthic invertebrate fauna of the U.S.east coast continental shelf, slope and upper rise ranging from the mouth of the Bay of Fundy to Key West, Florida. Benthic fauna data has been collected from 1881 to the present by the National Marine Fisheries Service Laboratories at Woods Hole, MA (early years Bureau of Fisheries) and Sandy Hook, NJ (formerly with the Bureau of Sport Fisheries). Little data exists from 1881 to around 1955. After intensive sampling, data became sparse again after 1986. The data includes the work by Wigley and Theroux on the macrofauna of the Northeastern United States. Other major studies include Ocean Pulse, the Northeast Monitoring Program, New York Bight, 12 Mile Dumpsite, Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay surveys. Parameters included in these surveys include depth, sediment type, gear type, number, weight, family, class, genus, species name, and abundance. A total of 21,000 sample sites are included in this data set with 4,000 meters being the maximum depth sampled. Bottom temperature from MBTs and XBTs were measured from the 1960s to the present.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
57 Compressed Zipped Folder: 25749_BenthicData https://storage.googleapis.com/nmfs_odp_nefsc/PARR/DMS/25749/25749_BenthicData.zip
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25749
0 The information provided on this page seeks to define how the GCMD Keywords are structured, used and accessed. It also provides information on how users can participate in the further development of the keywords. https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/find-data/idn/gcmd-keywords
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/nefsc/dmp/pdf/25749.pdf

Tags

  • data management systems (dms)
  • benthic grab
  • benthic habitat
  • benthic
  • nantucket shoals
  • benthos
  • doc/noaa/nmfs/nefsc
  • noaa
  • 1966 - 1992
  • northeast fisheries science center
  • bottom temperature
  • biology
  • gulf of maine
  • u.s. department of commerce
  • sediment type
  • marine
  • national marine fisheries service
  • 1953 - 1975
  • benthic mapping
  • macrobenthic invertebrate fauna
  • georges bank
  • u.s.east coast continental shelf
  • benthic taxonomy
  • bay of fundy

Topics

Categories