Dataset: Green Crab Density

Name: Green crab (Carcinus maenas) density at rocky intertidal sites determined at 8 sites in the Gulf of Maine from April 2019 to December 2021
Published: 2023-10-12
Keywords: green crab, inducible defense, oceans

Cite This Dataset

DOI:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.911365.1

Spatial Extent: N:44.8192 E:-66.9661 S:42.4215 W:-70.9076

Temporal Extent: 2019-04 - 2021-12

Project:

Local adaptation and the evolution of plasticity under predator invasion and warming seas: consequences for individuals, populations and communities (evolution of plasticity)

Principal Investigator:

Geoffrey C. Trussell (Northeastern University)

Student:

James J. Corbett (Northeastern University)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

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

Version:

Version Date:

2023-10-12

Restricted:

Validated:

Yes

Current State:

Final no updates expected

Green crab (Carcinus maenas) density at rocky intertidal sites determined at 8 sites in the Gulf of Maine from April 2019 to December 2021

Abstract:

This dataset describes green crab (Carcinus maenas) density at rocky intertidal sites in the northern (4 sites) and southern (4 sites) Gulf of Maine.

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Archival Copy

Version Date	Archive	Persistent Identifier	Date Assigned
2023-10-12	Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library (MBLWHOI DLA)	10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.911365.1	2023-10-13

Methods & Sampling

We conducted crab surveys in 2019, 2020, and 2021 at eight sites in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) that are sheltered from direct wave action to characterize local and regional variation in green crab (Carcinus maenas) abundance. Four sites were located in the northern Gulf (Quoddy Region) and the other four were located in the southern Gulf (Nahant, MA to Cape Ann, MA). Surveys involved walking through the site and searching through the algal canopy, underneath boulders, and within cracks and crevices in the substratum. Each survey was conducted by 1 person and lasted 1 hour each. Surveys began and concluded within 2 hours of low tide, and were conducted approximately every two months at all 8 sites from April through November/early December in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The total number of crabs captured by hand in one hour of searching was recorded.

Data Processing Description

Data were first recorded manually on paper and then transferred to digital spreadsheets. Fidelity between paper and digital versions of the data were proofed by both Corbett and Trussell.

BCO-DMO Processing

- Imported original file named "Data from Local and Regional Geographic Variation in Inducible Defenses.GreenCrabDensity.2019.2020.2021.xlsx" into the BCO-DMO system.
- Renamed fields/columns to comply with BCO-DMO naming conventions.
- Removed degrees symbols from LATITUDE and LONGITUDE columns.
- Made LONGITUDE values negative because they're in the Western hemisphere.
- Saved the final file as "911365_v1_green_crab_density.csv".

Data Files

File
911365_v1_green_crab_density.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 4.79 KB) MD5:f72a5c989958007aaf4750a433020b8b Primary data file for dataset ID 911365, version 1.

More Information about this dataset

Funding Sources

Funding Source	Award Number
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences	OCE-2017626

Deployments

None available yet

Instruments

None available yet

Parameters

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

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
YEAR	Year when survey was conducted. Format: %Y	unitless	year
MONTH	Month when survey was conducted.	unitless	month
REGION	Region where the site is located (either 'NORTH' or 'SOUTH'). NORTH = Northern Gulf of Maine. SOUTH = Southern Gulf of Maine.	unitless	region
SITE_NAME	Name of the site.	unitless	site
LATITUDE	Latitude of the site. Positive values indicate North direction.	decimal degrees	lat
LONGITUDE	Longitude of the site. Negative values indicate West direction.	decimal degrees	lon
Green_Crab_Density	Number of crabs found per person per hour	number of crabs	count

Database

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Dataset: Green Crab Density