Concentrations of Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) larvae collected during Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) surveys off the coast of Alabama (2006-2008)
Metadata:
- Identification_Information:
- Citation:
- Citation_Information:
- Originator:
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab: Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) Program
- Publication_Date:
- 2011
- Title:
- Concentrations of Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) larvae collected during Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) surveys off the coast of Alabama (2006-2008)
- Description:
- Abstract:
- The Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) program began in 2004 as a way for scientists at Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) to provide baseline biological information on a proposed liquefied natural gas facility located 11 miles south of Dauphin Island. Over time, and with additional funding from the State of Alabama's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), Marine Resources Division (MRD), the study expanded to include the waters of Mobile Bay extending south approximately 23 miles from the original study site. The FOCAL data set provides a six year baseline of natural variability of the nearshore system. FOCAL's purpose is to capture and understand the highly variable nature of Alabama's nearshore environment as it relates to fisheries production. It is a system influenced and driven, in varying degrees, by freshwater from the Mobile-Tensaw River system, saline waters of the Loop Current, and mixing from weather events. Perturbation of the system also comes in many forms and at many spatial and temporal scales: tropical storms and hurricanes, oil and gas operations, maritime accidents, and climate variability. Separating the effects of perturbation on fisheries from the natural "noise" of the system is an arduous task. Without long-term, baseline fisheries-independent data, capturing and quantifying those effects becomes almost impossible. The FOCAL time series includes hydrographic data from a permanent offshore mooring (ADCP, vertical thermister and CTD array) and shipboard surveys (vertical CTD profiles), as well as monthly ichthyoplankton and zooplankton (depth-discrete) sample collections at FOCAL sites. The subset of data presented here reflect the concentrations of Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) collected during FOCAL surveys.
- Purpose:
- FOCAL's purpose is to capture and understand the highly variable nature of Alabama's nearshore environment as it relates to fisheries production. These data focus on Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus).
- Time_Period_of_Content:
- Time_Period_Information:
- Range_of_Dates/Times:
- Beginning_Date:
- 20061109
- Ending_Date:
- 20081217
- Currentness_Reference:
- ground condition
- Status:
- Progress:
- Complete
- Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:
- As needed
- Spatial_Domain:
- Bounding_Coordinates:
- West_Bounding_Coordinate:
- -88.2486
- East_Bounding_Coordinate:
- -88.0975
- North_Bounding_Coordinate:
- 30.1683
- South_Bounding_Coordinate:
- 29.7608
- Keywords:
- Theme:
- Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
- None
- Theme_Keyword:
- Atlantic croaker
- Theme_Keyword:
- Sciaenidae
- Theme_Keyword:
- Micropogonias undulatus
- Theme_Keyword:
- BIONESS
- Theme_Keyword:
- zooplankton
- Theme_Keyword:
- ichthyoplankton
- Theme_Keyword:
- larval fish
- Theme:
- Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
- ISO 19115 Topic Categories
- Theme_Keyword:
- environment
- Theme_Keyword:
- oceans
- Theme_Keyword:
- biota
- Place:
- Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:
- None
- Place_Keyword:
- Gulf of Mexico
- Place_Keyword:
- Alabama
- Place_Keyword:
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- Place_Keyword:
- DISL
- Access_Constraints:
- Permission to access these data must be given by Dr. Frank Hernandez of the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.
- Use_Constraints:
- Acknowledgment of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL), Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) program and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is required in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected by users of these data. Users should be aware that comparison with other data sets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in mapping conventions, data collection, and computer processes over time. The distributor shall not be liable for improper or incorrect use of these data, based on the description of appropriate/inappropriate uses described in the metadata document. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such.
- Point_of_Contact:
- Contact_Information:
- Contact_Person_Primary:
- Contact_Person:
- Frank Hernandez, Jr.
- Contact_Organization:
- University of Southern Mississippi: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
- Contact_Position:
- Principal Investigator
- Contact_Address:
- Address_Type:
- mailing and physical
- Address:
- 703 East Beach Drive
- City:
- Ocean Springs
- State_or_Province:
- MS
- Postal_Code:
- 39564
- Country:
- USA
- Contact_Voice_Telephone:
- (228) 818-8800
- Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
- frank.hernandez@usm.edu
- Contact_Instructions:
- Please email Dr. Frank Hernandez for further information.
- Data_Set_Credit:
- DISL: FOCAL Lab
- Native_Data_Set_Environment:
- ESRI shapefile
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- Data_Quality_Information:
- Logical_Consistency_Report:
- not applicable
- Completeness_Report:
- Data was gathered from 20061109 to 20081217 with no major lapses between collections.
- Lineage:
- Process_Step:
- Process_Description:
- Atlantic croaker larvae were collected as part of a long-term biological survey (2004-present) off the coast of Alabama. The data described here include only samples collected from November 2006 through December 2008 using a multi-net plankton sampler (BIONESS; Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Net Environmental Sampling System). The BIONESS (mouth opening of 0.25 m2) was fitted with 202 µm and 333 µm mesh nets. Tows were made within discrete depth bins as well as throughout the whole water column (oblique) at three cross-shelf stations south of Mobile Bay (water depths of 10m, 20m and 35 m). A CTD integrated into the BIONESS provided depth, temperature and salinity profiles for each tow. Flowmeters recorded the volume filtered. Ichthyoplankton were sorted, counted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level by taxonomists at the Sea Fisheries Institute Plankton Sorting and Identification Center in Szczecin, Poland and at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. The total number of Atlantic croaker collected in each net was standardized by the volume of water filtered. The data presented here are thus larval concentrations (number of larvae per 10m3).
- Process_Date:
- Unknown
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- Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
- Detailed_Description:
- Entity_Type:
- Entity_Type_Label:
- Atlantic Croaker Summary
- Entity_Type_Definition:
- Microsoft Excel table cataloging Atlantic Croaker data from 20061109 to 20081217.
- Entity_Type_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL Lab
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- Date
- Attribute_Definition:
- Calendar date of sampling event
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 20061109
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 20081217
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- Taxon
- Attribute_Definition:
- Sample species
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Unrepresentable_Domain:
- Micropogonias undulatus
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- Latitude
- Attribute_Definition:
- Latitude of sampling event
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 29.7608
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 30.1683
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- Longitude
- Attribute_Definition:
- Longitude of sampling event
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- -88.0975
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- -88.2486
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- Atlantic croaker density
- Attribute_Definition:
- (number of croaker in sample X aliquot)/ (total swept volume)
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Unrepresentable_Domain:
- Number cannot be negative
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- Distribution_Information:
- Distributor:
- Contact_Information:
- Contact_Person_Primary:
- Contact_Person:
- Frank Hernandez, Jr.
- Contact_Organization:
- University of Southern Mississippi: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
- Contact_Position:
- Principal Investigator
- Contact_Address:
- Address_Type:
- mailing and physical
- Address:
- 703 East Beach Drive
- City:
- Ocean Springs
- State_or_Province:
- MS
- Postal_Code:
- 39564
- Country:
- USA
- Contact_Voice_Telephone:
- (228) 818-8800
- Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
- frank.hernandez@usm.edu
- Contact_Instructions:
- Please email Dr. Frank Hernandez for further information.
- Distribution_Liability:
- The Dauphin Island Sea Lab's FOCAL Lab makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. The DISL: FOCAL Lab cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.
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- Metadata_Reference_Information:
- Metadata_Date:
- 201106
- Metadata_Contact:
- Contact_Information:
- Contact_Organization_Primary:
- Contact_Organization:
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- Contact_Position:
- Data Management Specialist
- Contact_Address:
- Address_Type:
- mailing and physical
- Address:
- 101 Bienville Blvd.
- City:
- Dauphin Island
- State_or_Province:
- Al
- Postal_Code:
- 36528
- Country:
- USA
- Contact_Voice_Telephone:
- 251-861-2141
- Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
- metadata@disl.org
- Hours_of_Service:
- 8-5:00 CST
- Contact_Instructions:
- Please email the metadata specialist for further information.
- Metadata_Standard_Name:
- FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
- Metadata_Standard_Version:
- FGDC-STD-001-1998
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