Data Parameters and Units:
The cruise documentation was provided for the R/V Point Sur (cruise PTS03). The cruise was led by chief scientists Dr. Alison Deary and Dr. Adam Greer.
Zooplankton Data tab: Cruise (PTS02), Sample, Date, Station (ECORR/MCORR/WCORR/PROCESS), Gear (BIONESS), Tow#, Sample ID, Latitude, Longitude, Net, Bin (m), Bin Category (Bottom/Mid/Surf/Oblique), Mesh (um) (335/202), Swept Volume (m^3), Displacement Volume (mL), Amphipod, Amphipod, Anthozoan larvae, Ascidian larvae, Barnacle cyprid, Barnacle nauplii, , Bivalve larvae, Brachiopoda (lingula larvae), Calanoid Copepod, Cephalopod, Chaetognath, Cladoceran, Copepod nauplii, Crab megalopa, Crab zoea, Ctenophores (larval), Cumacean, Cyclopoid Copepod, Doliolid, Echinoderm, Ectoprocta (Bryozoa larvae, Euphausiid, Gastropod larvae, Harpacticoid Copepod, Heteropod, Hyrdroid Polyp, Hydromedusae, Isopod, Juvenile crab, Lancelet, Larvacean, Lobster Larvae, Mysid Shrimp, Nematoda, Ostracod, Other decapod, Parasitic Copepod, Phoronida (actiontroch larvae), Polychaete, Polychaete larvae (trochophores), Pteropod, Pycnogonid, Salp, Siphonophore, Sipunculid, Stomatopod, Tanaid, Tornaria, Unidentified.
Ichtyhoplankton Data tab: Cruise (PTS02), Sample Date, Station (ECORR/MCORR/WCORR/PROCESS), Gear (BIONESS), Tow #, Sample ID, Latitude, Longitude, Net, Bin (m), Bin Category (Mid/Bottom/Surf), Mesh (um) (335/202), Swept Volume (m^3), Displacement Volume (mL), Total Fish, Total Eggs, Family, Standard Length (mm), Measured, Not Measured, Total
Methods:
Plankton displacement volume was determined following the methods outlined in the ICES Zooplankton Methodology Manual (2000, Eds. R. Harris, P. Wiebe, J. Lenz, H.-R. Skjoldal and M. Huntley).
Samples greater with displacement volumes > 60 mL were further split to generate "sample aliquots", of which one was selected for further processing.
The sample aliquot for sorting was poured into a 1000 mL graduated pitcher, and the volume was adjusted to a total of at least 200 mL but no more than 500 mL; this "count volume" was recorded.
The aliquot was then stirred and aerated for 1 minute to ensure homogeneity. After aerating, an aliquot using a Stempel Pipet was taken and the "zooplankton aliquot" volume was recorded.
The ideal aliquot should be enough to provide a count of at least 200 copepods and 200 of the other organisms combined, but small enough to prevent going over 500 for either. All organisms in the aliquot were counted ("taxon count").
The aliquot was then set aside for quality assurance/quality control by another taxonomist.
From every set of 10 sample aliquot counts processed by an individual, one counted aliquot was randomly selected and recounted by someone other than the original taxonomist.
Two requirements must be fulfilled to pass the QA/QC process:
1) Copepod abundances and total non-copepod abundances must be no more than 10% different or no less than 90% the same.
2) The top 90% of organisms ranked by abundance should be in the same order for the initial sorter and the QA/QC sorter. Exceptions include reversing ranks based on abundances that are within 5% of one another.
If the selected aliquot failed, another sample was randomly selected from the same batch and examined. If the second aliquot fails, the entire batch of 10 was re-counted.
The total number of each zooplankton taxon for each sample (the column values in the data set for each taxon) was then estimated using the following equation:
Total number in sample = Taxon count x (Count Volume / Zooplankton Aliquot) x Sample Aliquot
The density (number per cubic meter) of each taxon can then be derived by dividing the column values for each taxon by the swept volume.
Fish eggs were sorted from the samples and enumerated; fish larvae were sorted from the samples, identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level, and enumerated.
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