Benthic sampling survey data from Harrington Sound and Flatts Inlet, Bermuda in October of 2022

Website: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/964199
Data Type: Other Field Results
Version: 1
Version Date: 2025-06-09

Project
» Breaking ground with underwater sound - unraveling elusive predator-prey interactions in marine benthic communities using novel technological approaches (U/W Crunchtime)
ContributorsAffiliationRole
Ajemian, MatthewFlorida Atlantic University (FAU)Principal Investigator, Contact
Hampton, Cecilia MarieFlorida Atlantic University (FAU)Student
Soenen, KarenWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)BCO-DMO Data Manager

Abstract
To acquire a current understanding of the potential benthic prey community to durophagous predators we sampled the abundance and distribution of the benthos of Harrington Sound and Flatts Inlet, Bermuda. This was done using hand-based excavation surveys, which were conducted by divers on SCUBA at historic and new sampling locations in the region. Data were collected by the project team in October 2022.


Coverage

Location: Harrrington Sound, Bermuda: 32°19′45″N 64°43′24″W, depth 0-20 m
Spatial Extent: N:32.34413 E:-64.705 S:32.32306 W:-64.74081
Temporal Extent: 2022-11-10 - 2022-12-10

Methods & Sampling

Day trips aboard a small fieldwork boat in Harrington Sound, Bermuda, from the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo dock, during October, 2022.

We dived on multiple locations in Harrington Sound and Flatts inlet using teams of 2 or 3 divers. Following Ajemian et al. (2012), divers excavated  0.25 m^2 quadrats that were placed randomly at three locations along a 25 m long transect tape. Sediments were excavated by hand to a depth of approximately 15 cm, with all invertebrates placed into 8 mm mesh bags. 
 


Data Processing Description

 Samples were sorted, measured, and identified at the surface. 


BCO-DMO Processing Description

* Added seconds (:00) to fields Time_In_ADT and Time_Out_ADT in order for the fields to be standardized


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Related Publications

Ajemian, M. J., Powers, S. P., & Murdoch, T. J. T. (2012). Estimating the Potential Impacts of Large Mesopredators on Benthic Resources: Integrative Assessment of Spotted Eagle Ray Foraging Ecology in Bermuda. PLoS ONE, 7(7), e40227. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040227
Methods

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Parameters

ParameterDescriptionUnits
Site_Name

Name of nearest landmark

unitless
Date

Date of the sampling event in MM/DD/YYYY

unitless
Time_In_ADT

Sampling start time in Local Time (Atlantic Daylight Time)

unitless
Time_Out_ADT

Sampling end time in Local Time (Atlantic Daylight Time)

unitless
Latitude

latitude of the sampling site in decimal degrees

decimal degrees
Longitude

longitude of the sampling site in decimal degrees

decimal degrees
Excavation_ID

Identifying number of the excavation, which increases linearly from the start of the project

unitless
Dist_Along_Transect_m

Location along a 25-meter transect at which the excavation was completed

meters (m)
Species_Name

Species name, scientific

unitless
Common_Name

Species name, common

unitless
Length_mm

Shell length to the nearest millimeter

millimeter (mm)
Height_mm

Shell height to the nearest millimeter  

millimeter (mm)
Depth_mm

Shell depth to the nearest millimeter

millimeter (mm)
Aperture_mm

Shell aperture (only done for gastropods) to the nearest millimeter

millimeter (mm)
Siphon_Channel_Aperture_mm

Aperture of siphonal canal (only done for gastropods) to the nearest millimeter

millimeter (mm)
Depth_ft

Depth of the sampling site in feet as measured by dive computers

feet (ft)
ISO_DateTime_UT_In

Sampling start datetime in UTC timezone and in ISO format

unitless
ISO_DateTime_UTC_Out

Sampling end datetime in UTC timezone and in ISO format

unitless

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Project Information

Breaking ground with underwater sound - unraveling elusive predator-prey interactions in marine benthic communities using novel technological approaches (U/W Crunchtime)

Coverage: Florida, Bermuda


NSF Award Abstract:
Shellfish (mollusks, crustaceans, etc.) are facing unprecedented pressures under global climate change, which is threatening the variety of ecosystem services these animals provide to coastal communities. While much research has been dedicated to understanding how changing ocean conditions can influence shellfish development, far less has explored the potential impacts from increasing populations of large, shell-crushing predators (i.e., rays, turtles, etc.) that are experiencing poleward expansions of their ranges. This knowledge gap is likely due to the challenges of working with these mobile species, which require novel technology to track their dynamic distribution and thus foraging effects on shellfish communities. This project will build fundamental knowledge on marine habitats susceptible to predation from large mobile predators in order to ensure a sustainable future for shellfish species. Further, the work will provide guidance to costly shellfish restoration programs that are otherwise “flying blind” with respect to predation risk. The project will have local, regional, and global educational dimensions. Firstly, this project will strengthen FAU’s graduate programs by supporting a graduate student and providing a platform for the PI to develop a new graduate course, which will be offered and evaluated twice throughout the award period. Additionally, numerous undergraduate summer interns and middle-high school students will be recruited to interact with the PI via immersive, hands-on field excursions. Lastly, the fascination of the general public and students with these charismatic animals and the project’s tangible technological components will facilitate developing an interactive “Audio Waves” exhibit at a local outreach center, which will be evaluated several times during the project and slated for permanent display.

Our scientific understanding of the ecological role of large mobile durophages (i.e., shell-crushing predators) is limited due to challenges presented by the elusive nature of these species. These shortcomings hinder our scientific understanding of their role in benthic community dynamics. Filling such knowledge gaps requires novel approaches that can detect and classify predator-prey interactions in situ. Using multiple large predator models (rays, sea turtles, fish, and crabs), the project will: 1) capture and characterize predator feeding (shell-crushing) sounds and shell fragmentation patterns, 2) understand in situ detection constraints of the predation signal within the context of natural underwater noise using simulations, and 3) quantify the distribution of predator foraging impacts across two model seascapes in Bermuda and Florida via integration of habitat- and individual-based (animal tags) passive acoustics. Detection and classification (by both predator and prey) will be completed using novel application of machine-learning techniques, which will be used to automate predation event extraction from extensive data archives. Recording equipment will be strategically distributed across seascapes to permit a multi-scale understanding of durophagy and testing of theoretical models of predation (e.g., optimal/central place foraging). Long-term monitoring will also provide an opportunity to assess the role of environmental/oceanographic variables in driving these interactions. Consequently, this work will fill a large knowledge gap in the dynamics of marine food webs.



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Funding

Funding SourceAward
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)

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