Abstract:

This dataset contains macroinvertebrate community structure data for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sampling in the Gulf of Mexico deep-sea benthos aboard the R/V Weatherbird from 2015-08-16 to 2017-12-05. Benthic macroinfauna invertebrate community structure samples were collected during the C-IMAGE (Center For The Integrated Modeling And Analysis Of The Gulf Ecosystem) consortium cruises to identify aftereffects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Samples collected during cruises in 2015, 2016, and 2017 aboard the R/V Weatherbird (WB): WB-1508, WB-1609, WB-1707, WB-1712. Sediment samples were collected with a MC800 multicorer, 9.5 cm inner-diameter core, to a depth of 10 cm, and preserved in formalin. Upon return to the lab, core sections were sieved over 300-μm sieves and hand sorted under a dissecting microscope. All organisms were identified to the family level when possible.

Suggested Citation:

Montagna, Paul A.. 2024. Macroinvertebrate community structure data for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sampling in the Gulf of Mexico deep-sea benthos aboard the R/V Weatherbird from 2015-08-16 to 2017-12-05. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/nf2xd45p

Purpose:

Purpose of the study was to identify aftereffects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on deep-sea benthic communities.

Data Parameters and Units:

Abundance (n/core), Abundance (n/m²), Richness (S/78.54 cm² also named N0/78.54 cm²), Margalef Richness (taxa/78.54 cm²), Menhinick Richness (taxa/78.54 cm²), Shannon Diversity index (H'/78.54 cm²), Simpson Diversity (H'/78.54 cm²), Hill's Number of Dominant Species (N1/78.54 cm²), Hill Diversity (N2/78.54 cm²), Pielou's Evenness index (J'/78.54 cm²), Sheldon Evenness (J'/78.54 cm²), Heip Evenness (J'/78.54 cm²), Hill Evenness (J'/78.54 cm²), Alatalo Evenness (J'/78.54 cm²), Vertical sediment depth interval (cm), Latitude (Decimal degrees), Longitude (Decimal degrees), Depth (m), Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L), Temperature (°C), Salinity (psu).

Methods:

A MC800 multicorer was used to collect sediment samples. 9.5 cm inner-diameter cores were taken up to a depth of 10 cm and preserved in formalin. Core sections were sieved over 300-μm sieves and hand sorted under a dissecting microscope after returning to the lab. All organisms were identified to the family level when possible. Further details are provided in Analysis using same methods as Montagna et al. 2013 Deep-Sea Benthic Footprint of the Deepwater Horizon Blowout (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070540), Montagna et al. 2016 Persistent impacts to the deep soft‐bottom benthos one year after the Deepwater Horizon event (https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.1791), and Reuscher et al. 2017 Temporal patterns of Deepwater Horizon impacts on the benthic infauna of the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179923).

Instruments:

MC800 multicorer

Provenance and Historical References:

Montagna PA, Baguley JG, Cooksey C, Hartwell I, Hyde LJ, Hyland JL, et al. (2013) Deep-Sea Benthic Footprint of the Deepwater Horizon Blowout. PLoS ONE 8(8): e70540. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070540 Montagna PA, Baguley JG, Cooksey C, Hyland JL. Persistent impacts to the deep soft-bottom benthos one year after the Deepwater Horizon event. Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2017 Mar;13(2):342-351. doi: 10.1002/ieam.1791. Epub 2016 Jun 10. PMID: 27144656. Reuscher MG, Baguley JG, Conrad-Forrest N, Cooksey C, Hyland JL, Lewis C, et al. (2017) Temporal patterns of Deepwater Horizon impacts on the benthic infauna of the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0179923. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179923

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