Abstract:

Cruise report information and physical data for oyster reef sites sampled in the early fall (September/October) and spring (April/May) from 2015 to 2016. Four embayments were sampled from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle, with sites that were previously oiled or non-oiled after the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. Within oiled and non-oiled sites, oyster quadrat samples were taken from intertidal, nearshore (along the marsh edge) and subtidal areas, and also from mesohaline and high salinity sites. The top 10 cm of material was collected from the quadrats and returned to the lab for enumeration of species. This dataset complements at least two other datasets: 1.) Taxonomic diversity among oyster reefs from 2015-2016 in previously oiled and non-oiled areas in Louisiana, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle and 2.) Shell heights of oysters in 2015 - 2016 among previously oiled and non-oiled reefs in Louisiana, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle, and provides physical information on field conditions during scientific sampling.

Suggested Citation:

Meagan Schrandt, Sean Powers. 2017. Physical data for nearshore and subtidal oyster reef sites sampled in 2015 – 2016 in previously documented oiled and non-oiled areas in Louisiana, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N71J97SV

Purpose:

The purpose of this dataset is to provide physical information for each of the oyster reef sites sampled in Louisiana, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. These data also include information on weather conditions and any field crew notes for individual sampling sites.

Data Parameters and Units:

Parameters and Units: Year = the year of sampling Mo = the calendar month of sampling Day = the calendar day of sampling for any given month Time_CST = the time the oyster reef site was sampled; in Central Standard Time Site = the ID given to the sampled site; the first two letters correspond to the embayment Embayment = the generic sampling embayment where the reef can be found; options (4) include: Mississippi Sound, Barataria Bay, Terrebonne Bay, Florida Basin = location of the oyster reef within the generic sampling embayment: options (26) include: Airport Marsh; Alabama Port; Apalachicola Bay; Barataria Bay, east; Barataria Bay, north; Bay Junop, north; Bay Junop, south; Caillou Lake, north; Coffee Island; Dauphin Island; Dauphin Island Bay; DI Shoals, northwest; East Bay Panama City; East Bay Pensacola; Escambia Bay, Pensacola; Grand Isle; Grand Terre; Hackberry Bay; Heron Bay; Little Dauphin Island; North Bay Panama City; Pensacola Bay, west; Portersville Bay; Terrebonne Bay, north; Terrebonne Bay, west; West Bay Panama City State = the US state where the oyster reef site is located; options (3) include: Louisiana, Alabama, Florida Lat = latitude of oyster reef site (WGS1984) (decimal degrees) Long = longitude of oyster reef site (WGS1984) (decimal degrees) Near_Sub = the tidal regime for the site; options (2) include: nearshore (intertidal, along the marsh edge) and subtidal OilingCat = the oiling category assigned to the site; based on categories assigned by the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) maps for non-NRDA sites; categories (2) include: oiled, not oiled SalinityCat = the salinity group assigned to the oyster site, based on the measurement of salinity taken at the time of sampling in 2015; options (2) include meso and high. For Barataria and Terrebonne Bays, high salinity is considered greater than or equal to 19 ppt. For Mississippi Sound, high salinity is considered to be greater than or equal to 21 ppt. The difference in values is based on the differing salinity regimes in each embayment. WaterTemp_C = water temperature just above the reef at the time of sampling; units are degrees Centigrade Salinity_ppt = salinity just above the reef at the time of sampling; units are ppt (parts per thousand) DO_mgL = dissolved oxygen just above the reef at the time of sampling; reading was taken as close to the oyster reef as possible (surface for intertidal and just above the reef for subtidal reefs); units are mg per L Crew = personnel aboard the research vessel (22 ft lake skiff) at the time of sampling Weather = weather conditions in the area at the time of sampling Notes = any additional information the crew deemed useful at the time of sampling, including but not limited to: qualitative description of live oyster coverage, depth of subtidal sites, distinguishing location markers at the site

Methods:

Four embayments were sampled from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle, with sites that were previously oiled or non-oiled after the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. Within oiled and non-oiled sites, oyster quadrat samples were taken from nearshore (along the marsh edge) and subtidal areas, and also from mesohaline and high salinity sites. The top 10 cm of material was collected from the quadrats and returned to the lab for enumeration of species.

Individual Files: