Dataset: Mid-Atlantic Bight Continuous Plankton Recorder 2014-2017

Name: Near-surface abundance information for phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Mid-Atlantic bight determined from surveys made by the continuous plankton recorder from 2014 to 2017
Published: 2023-08-15
Keywords: plankton, zooplankton, phytoplankton, oceans

Cite This Dataset

DOI:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.905985.1

Spatial Extent: N:40.337 E:-67.252 S:35.458 W:-73.703

Temporal Extent: 2014-04-26 - 2017-06-03

Project:

Collaborative Research: Understanding the impact of warming on the structure and function of marine communities (WARMEM)

Principal Investigator:

Andrew J. Pershing (Gulf of Maine Research Institute, GMRI)

Scientist:

Adam Arnot Kemberling (Gulf of Maine Research Institute, GMRI)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

Shannon Rauch (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)

Version:

Version Date:

2023-08-15

Restricted:

Validated:

Yes

Current State:

Final no updates expected

Near-surface abundance information for phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Mid-Atlantic bight determined from surveys made by the continuous plankton recorder from 2014 to 2017

Abstract:

This dataset contains four years of data for the continuous plankton recorder survey program's mid-Atlantic bight transect. This dataset contains relative near-surface abundance information for phytoplankton and zooplankton across a transect crossing the continental shelf from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, USA to the Southeast ending at the shelf break. This survey is organized by the Marine Biological Association (formerly the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation). Sample processing for these four years was funded by the National Science Foundation under award number 1851866.

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Archival Copy

Version Date	Archive	Persistent Identifier	Date Assigned
2023-08-15	Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library (MBLWHOI DLA)	10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.905985.1	2023-08-15

Description

This dataset is a subset of data from one of the many transects sampled as part of the CPR survey network. If a longer more complete record is desired, it can be acquired through communication with the Marine Biological Association (formerly the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation) at https://www.cprsurvey.org/.

Methods & Sampling

The continuous plankton recorder (CPR) sampling device is a high-speed sampling device designed to be towed behind commercial vessels sampling surface waters (less than 50 meters in depth). The device has an opening aperture size of 5 by 10 centimeters (cm) through which water and plankton are sampled. The constant flow through the device through this aperture powers a winding mechanism that spools sampling mesh at a fixed rate relative to water flow. Zooplankton and phytoplankton that pass through the aperture are sandwiched between two layers of a silk filtering mesh (270 micrometers (μm)). Each sampling location is roughly equivalent to 10 nautical miles of distance traveled by the towing vessel. For more details on the sampling protocols please see Warner & Hays (1994).

This dataset is from CPR sampling performed by ships of opportunity (SOO). All sampling was performed with a continuous plankton recorder device using standard deployment protocols. Sampling was conducted along the continental shelf surface waters extending off the coast of New Jersey, USA in the Mid-Atlantic Bight.

Data Processing Description

The data provided here have been processed by the Marine Biological Association in accordance with CPR survey protocols and have not been further refined by any software or analysis in this form. The dataset is organized by 3 stages corresponding to the size of organisms sampled. These three stages are: 1) phytoplankton, 2) zooplankton "traverse", and 3) zooplankton "eye count". Each stage has a distinct sample processing protocol for how the taxa are counted and identified. These steps were all performed by the Marine Biological Association and generated the digital record of this dataset from the physical samples collected. For more information on these methods see Warner & Hays (1994), Rae (1952), or Colebrook (1960).

Data were reshaped for submission to BCO-DMO. All three stages of measurement were pivoted to a long-form organization that created a taxa_number column from all columns containing count information for a specific taxa. These counts are now present as row-entries, with one row for each taxa. Taxonomic names were joined in from the species key Excel sheet adding a new column.

BCO-DMO Processing

- Imported original file named "mid_atlantic_long_bco_dmo_complete.csv" into the BCO-DMO system.
- Marked 'NA' as a missing data value.
- Renamed the final data file "905985_v1_mid-atlantic_cpr_2014-2017.csv"

Data Files

File

905985_v1_mid-atlantic_cpr_2014-2017.csv

(Comma Separated Values (.csv), 14.75 MB)
MD5:020d562b5f53f766aeef69b19f804415

Primary data file for dataset ID 905985. This is the "tidy" reshaped format that is most usable. The original Excel file has been reshaped to a long format, and the original column names have been matched with the associated taxa that they represent using the species key.

Column descriptions and units are provided in the "Parameters" section of the metadata record.

Supplemental Files

File

BCO_DMO_Reshape_MAB.R

(R Script, 4.22 KB)
MD5:1087f1cb439ab4f2c159b61976f748d3

R script that performs the start-to-finish reshaping steps to go from the original excel file to a more readily-usable long-format.

Mid-Atlantic CPR 2014-2017 - Original File Format
filename: MB_CPRdata.xlsx

(Microsoft Excel, 161.00 KB)
MD5:9238fe56f48bfface6fdbde860679bfc

Supplemental file for dataset ID 905985. This is the 4-sheet organization  the data originally were delivered in. This format best represents how the data are generated, but is not immediately usable. There is a sheet for each of the measurement scales and a fourth sheet that is a key for matching columns to taxa.

More Information about this dataset

Funding Sources

Funding Source	Award Number
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences	OCE-1851866

Deployments

None available yet

Instruments

Continous Plankton Recorder

Supplied Name: CPR

Supplied Description:

The primary sampling equipment is the continuous plankton recorder (CPR) device. Details on manufacturer name and model numbers may be obtained from the Marine Biological Association (formerly the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation) at https://www.cprsurvey.org/.

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Continous Plankton Recorder

Acronym: CPR

Generic Description:

The CPR is a plankton sampling instrument designed to be towed from merchant ships or ships of opportunity on their normal sailings. The CPR is towed at a depth of approximately 10 metres. Water passes through the CPR and plankton are filtered onto a slow-moving band of silk (270 micrometre mesh size) and covered by a second silk. The silks and plankton are then spooled into a storage tank containing formalin. On return to the laboratory, the silk is removed from the mechanism and divided into samples representing 10 nautical miles (19 km) of tow.

CPR samples are analyzed in two ways. Firstly, the Phytoplankton Color Index (PCI) is determined for each sample. The colour of the silk is evaluated against a standard colour chart and given a 'green-ness' value based on the visual discoloration of the CPR silk produced by green chlorophyll pigments; the PCI is a semiquantitative estimate of phytoplankton biomass. In this way the PCI takes into account the chloroplasts of broken cells and small phytoplankton which cannot be counted during the microscopic analysis stage. After determination of the PCI, microscopic analysis is undertaken for each sample, and individual phytoplankton and zooplanktontaxa are identified and counted.

Reid, P.C.; Colebrook, J.M.; Matthews, J.B.L.; Aiken, J.; et al. (2003). "The Continuous Plankton Recorder: concepts and history, from plankton indicator to undulating recorders".Progress in Oceanography 58(2-4): 117-175. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2003.08.002.

Warner, A.J., and Hays, G.C.,; Hays, G (1994). "Sampling by the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey". Progress in Oceanography 34(2–3): 237–256. doi:10.1016/0079-6611(94)90011-6.

Parameters

Date and time formats are described in python strftime() syntax.

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
sample_id	Transect identification number. A 7-8 digit alpha-numeric code detailing three components of the survey program. The cruise number (first three digits), the sampling area (next two text characters), followed by a dash and a number indicating the station number within that sampling cruise (1-2 digits).	unitless	sample
latitude	Latitude coordinate for the mid-point of the 10 mile transect for the sample; positive values = North	decimal degrees	lat
longitude	Longitude coordinate for the mid-point of the 10 mile transect for the sample; negative values = West	decimal degrees	lon
midpoint_UTC	Datetime for the middle point of the transect for the sample in ISO 8601 format (time zone UTC) Format: %Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ	unitless	ISO_DateTime_UTC
year	4-digit year for the sample	unitless	year
month	Month (numbered 1-12) for the sample	unitless	month
PCI	Phytoplankton Color Index (PCI). An ordinal scale indication of the relative density of phytoplankton measured by the level of physical discoloration to the silk mesh. "NA" represents missing data (not applicable or not recorded).	unitless	density
taxa_num	Taxonomic identification number. Used internally to match wide-format column names to taxa_name using a species key.	unitless	taxon
count	Abundance of the taxon at the station. Numbers reflect abundance per 10 nautical miles sampled by the CPR device. All taxa are counted whenever present. Absence of a taxon in a sample is indicated by a count of 0. "NA" means a numeric count value was not recorded during initial data collection, which suggests the taxon was not present. However, because a "0" was not explicitly recorded in these instances, "NA" is used in this dataset to denote a lack of a count value.	abundance per sample	count
taxa_name	Taxonomic name of the sample.	unitless	taxon
measurement_stage	Magnification scale used to subsample and count relative abundance for the count field. These correspond to the sample processing scales of the CPR survey program.	unitless	sampling_method

Database

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Dataset: Mid-Atlantic Bight Continuous Plankton Recorder 2014-2017