Abstract:

Benthic macroinfauna samples were collected in the subtidal zone from four sites in upper Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana, near areas where WormCams had been deployed. Cores were collected in June, September, and October 2014 and macroinfauna were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. The revised file in this dataset (R1.x139.144-0008_Subtidal_Infauna_2014_v2.xlsx) revisited and updated the taxonomy in the original file (R1.x139.144-0008_RabalaisSubtidalInfauna_Data_v1.xlsx) and removed the “unknowns” category. Macroinfauna collected in 2013 as part of the WormCam study can be found in GRIIDC R4.x264.000:0005, with associated hydrographic data collected in the same area available through GRIIDC R1.x139.144:0007 and R1.x139.144:0024, respectively. The same or nearby subtidal sites were sampled in 2015-2016 (GRIIDC R4.x264.216:0002) as the focus of a different study.

Suggested Citation:

Rabalais, Nancy. 2019. Benthic macroinfauna collected from the subtidal zone in Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana from 2014-06-30 to 2014-10-31. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7F18WN3

Purpose:

Subtidal infauna were collected near areas where WormCams had been deployed to provide possible groundtruth data for what might be seen in the images from the WormCams. The types of infauna are a key to the level of bioturbation and the depth of the redox potential discontinuity layer.

Data Parameters and Units:

File: R1.x139.144-0008_Subtidal_Infauna_2014_v2.xlsx Worksheet: Site Information Site: User-defined identifier assigned to field sites LAT (decimal degrees): Latitude of the field site, in decimal degrees LONG (decimal degrees): Longitude of the field site, in decimal degrees Worksheet: Subtidal Infauna Data Site: User-defined identifier assigned to field sites Date Collected: Date samples were collected in the field (MM/DD/YY) Replicate #: User-defined identifier for replicate samples (R1, R2, R3) Abundances of categories of organisms encountered in subtidal samples (units are individual counted). File: R1.x139.144-0008_RabalaisSubtidalInfauna_Data_v1.xlsx Worksheet: Site Information Site: User-defined identifier assigned to field sites LAT (decimal degrees): Latitude of the field site, in decimal degrees LONG (decimal degrees): Longitude of the field site, in decimal degrees Worksheet: Infauna Site: User-defined identifier assigned to field sites Date Collected: Date samples were collected in the field (MM/DD/YY) Replicate #: User-defined identifier for replicate samples (R1, R2, R3) Abundances of categories of organisms encountered in subtidal samples (units are individual counted).

Methods:

Cores were collected by hand from subtidal areas adjacent to the WormCams, using three, 3 inch (7.62 cm) diameter cores (45.6 cm2 area) to a depth of 10 cm. Samples were collected by wading out to a depth of approximately 1 meter and placing all three core tubes on the underwater sediment surface all at once, to diminish disturbance of overlying water on the other tubes during extraction. Cores were sieved in the field at 0.5 mm (500 µm), transferred into sample jars, and fixed/stained in 10% formalin-Rose Bengal solution in the field. Samples were processed in the lab by pouring off the formalin through a 0.5 mm sieve and rinsing gently & thoroughly with tap water to remove formalin residue, then transferring 1-2 teaspoons of material at a time into gridded counting trays and examined under a dissecting scope. Macroinfauna were identified to lowest possible taxonomic level.

Instruments:

Samples were counted on Wild Heerbrugg M5A stereo microscopes

Error Analysis:

This dataset was originally published on 2016-11-18 and was updated 2019-05-13. The updated information is provided in the dataset abstract. The dataset now includes both the original and the updated data files.

Individual Files: