Sea surface temperature, salinity, stable isotopes ratios of micronekton species, and other historical catch data collected during multiple cruises in Gulf of Mexico from 2007-06-20 to 2015-08-21 (NCEI Accession 0242953)

This data package reports presence/absence and density data, and environmental data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen) collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico during R/V Blazing Seven cruises LF2015A and LF2015B from 2015-06-06 to 2015-07-25. It also includes stable isotope ratios of model meso- and bathypelagic micronekton species of the Gulf of Mexico collected during cruises DP01, DP02, LF2015A and LF2015B from 2015-05-01 to 2015-08-21, and catch number of true tuna (Thunnus spp.) larvae collected in the Gulf of Mexico before (2007-2009), during (2010), and after (2011-2013; 2015) the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWHOS). Larval fishes sampled from 48 stations were collected with three different gear types: 1) neuston net (2 m width x 1 m height frame) rigged with 1200 micron mesh; 2) paired 61-cm bongo nets with 333 and 500-micron mesh; 3) paired ring net with 1000 micron mesh. Other cruise data were collected at each site including latitude/longitude, date, time, environmental data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen) and Sargassum dry weight. Sea surface temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen were measured at the surface of each station using a Sonde 6920 Environmental Monitoring System (YSI Inc., Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States). Catch data are also being coupled with environmental data to identify high quality (highly suitable) habitat of each species or taxonomic group.