Dataset: TEN Biomass Morphometrics Spring 2018

Name: Seagrass morphometric data from biomass sampling conducted at several sites in the Western Atlantic during April-May 2018 and August-September 2018
Published: 2021-05-24
Keywords: oceans

Cite This Dataset

DOI:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.851924.1

Spatial Extent: N:29.701 E:-76.627 S:9.352 W:-97.035

Temporal Extent: 2018-04-16 - 2018-10-11

Project:

Collaborative Research: The tropicalization of Western Atlantic seagrass beds (Tropicalization Seagrass Beds)

Principal Investigator:

Justin Campbell (Smithsonian Marine Station, SMS)

Co-Principal Investigator:

Andrew Altieri (Smithsonian Institution, NMNH)

James Douglass (Smithsonian Institution, NMNH)

Kenneth Heck (Smithsonian Institution, NMNH)

Valerie J. Paul (Smithsonian Institution, NMNH)

Contact:

Olivia Rhoades (Smithsonian Institution, NMNH)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

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

Version:

Version Date:

2021-05-24

Restricted:

Validated:

Yes

Current State:

Final no updates expected

Seagrass morphometric data from biomass sampling conducted at several sites in the Western Atlantic during April-May 2018 and August-September 2018

Abstract:

This dataset includes seagrass morphometrics from biomass sampling collected immediately after experimental deployment (April - May 2018) and four months after deployment (August - September 2018). Western Atlantic sampling sites include the following locations: Bocas del Toro, Panama; Bonaire; Little Cayman, Cayman Islands; Carrie Bow, Belize; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; Andros, Bahamas; Eleuthera, Bahamas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Galveston, Texas; Naples, Florida; Crystal River, Florida; St. Joes, Florida; and Bermuda.

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Archival Copy

Version Date	Archive	Persistent Identifier	Date Assigned
2021-05-24	Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library (MBLWHOI DLA)	10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.851924.1	2021-05-24

Description

Seagrass biomass sampling was conducted in the Western Atlantic at the following locations: Bocas del Toro, Panama; Bonaire; Little Cayman, Cayman Islands; Carrie Bow, Belize; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; Andros, Bahamas; Eleuthera, Bahamas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Galveston, Texas; Naples, Florida; Crystal River, Florida; St. Joes, Florida; and Bermuda.

Methods & Sampling

Field collection procedures:
Haphazardly select 10 locations to sample with a PVC core. At each location, carefully place the PVC core (15cm diameter) on the sediment surface. It is extremely important to check both the inside and outside edges of the PVC ring to ensure that seagrass leaves are not trapped underneath. If there are leaves inside the ring that originate from shoots outside the PVC ring, carefully pull these leaves out. Conversely, if there are leaves outside the PVC ring that originate from shoots inside the ring, carefully pull these leaves inside. Only after this has been completed, insert the ring 10cm into the sediment while simultaneously twisting the core to sever belowground rhizomes. Carefully remove the core and place all captured aboveground and belowground vegetative biomass into a mesh bag. Gently shake the bag underwater to remove loosely attached sediment.

Lab processing procedures for morphometric data:
In the lab, take each mesh bag and carefully transfer its contents into a separate tub filled with freshwater. Gently agitate the seagrass material in the freshwater to further remove loosely attached sediment. Record the total number of Thalassia shoots, any evidence of grazing bite marks (number of grazing marks per shoot) and a visual estimate of epiphyte loading. Arrange all shoots on a smooth surface (e.g. glass plate) and record the length in mm of the longest leaf from each shoot.

Data Processing Description

BCO-DMO Processing:
version 1 (2021-05-24):
- converted date format to YYYY-MM-DD;
- replaced "NA" with "nd" to indicate "no data";
- added latitude, longitude, and site_name fields from the site coordinates data file;
- converted latitude and longitude to decimal degrees;
- removed commas from the notes and site_name columns.

Data Files

File
biomass_morphometrics.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 141.26 KB) MD5:fcc02640dd20fa3177ff5d14561a83d2 Primary data file for dataset ID 851924

More Information about this dataset

Funding Sources

Funding Source	Award Number
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences	OCE-1737247

Deployments

None available yet

Instruments

Push Corer

Supplied Name: PVC core

Supplied Description:

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Push Corer

Generic Description:

Capable of being performed in numerous environments, push coring is just as it sounds. Push coring is simply pushing the core barrel (often an aluminum or polycarbonate tube) into the sediment by hand. A push core is useful in that it causes very little disturbance to the more delicate upper layers of a sub-aqueous sediment.

Description obtained from: http://web.whoi.edu/coastal-group/about/how-we-work/field-methods/coring/

Parameters

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

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
site_code	site code	unitless	site
site_name	site name	unitless	site
latitude	site latitude	degrees North	lat
longitude	site longitude	degrees East	lon
recorder	person who recorded the data	unitless	person
season	season and year in which cores were collected	unitless	season
date_collected	date the cores were collected; format: YYYY-MM-DD Format: %Y-%m-%d	unitless	date
plot	plot/core number	unitless	sample
shoot_count	total number of shoots in core	unitless	count
shoot	individual thalassia shoot	unitless	sample
grazing_shoot	if grazing is visible on the individual thalassia shoot (0 = no; 1 = yes)	unitless	sample_descrip
grazer_shoot	types grazing marks found on the individual thalassia shoot: f = fish; u = urchin; c = crab; t = turtle; a = all; fu = fish and urchin; fc = fish and crab; ft = fish and turtle; uc = urchin and crab; ut = urchin and turtle; ct = crab and turtle.	unitless	sample_descrip
grazingct_shoot	number of grazing marks found on the individual thalassia shoot	unitless	count
longestleaf_shoot	length of the longest leaf on the individual thalassia shoot	millimeters (mm)	length
epiphyte_load	visual epiphyte load estimation on the individual thalassia shoot: 0 = Blades look clean; no epiphytes visible; 1 = Blades have a light or patchy coating of epiphytes; 2 = Moderately dense epiphytes are obvious on most blades; 3 = Almost all blades are densely covered in epiphytic growth; blade surfaces obsured.	unitless	sample_descrip
notes	notes about the row of data	unitless	comment

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Dataset: TEN Biomass Morphometrics Spring 2018