Abstract:

Sediment samples for pigment analysis were collected on 2019-06-18 from a twelve tank experimental mesocosm system located at Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) in Cocodrie, Louisiana to document conditions prior to oil exposure treatments.

Suggested Citation:

Rabalais, N.N.. 2020. Microphytobenthos from an experimental mesocosm system prior to oiling: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) data collected on 2019-06-18. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/8TE4KG5Z

Purpose:

To collect pre-oiling baseline data prior to upcoming experiments that will examine the impacts of controlled oil dosed exposures on marsh ecosystems.

Data Parameters and Units:

Worksheet “Sediment”: Date: Date samples were collected from the mesocosm tanks (MM/DD/YYYY); Mesocosm Tank #: User-defined identifier assigned to each mesocosm tank; Sample Dry Weight (g): Weight of the sample in grams after drying; Concentrations (microgram pigment per gram of dry sediment) of 28 pigments; Chl a: Total of Chlorophyll a and Divinyl Chl a; Total Chl a: Total of Chl a, Divinyl Chl a, and Chlorophyllideide a; ALL Chl a: Total of Chlorophyll a and Chlorophyll a Isomers; Total Myxo: Total of Myxoxanthophyll I, Myxoxanthophyll II, and Myxoxanthophyll III. “N/D” indicates “No Data”. Worksheet "Pigment Abbreviation Key": Full names of the pigment abbreviations contained on the data worksheet.

Methods:

Sediment samples were collected using modified 60ml plastic syringes (tip cut off). Prior to sampling, syringe plungers were removed and the syringe cores were placed on the marsh surface and pushed to a depth of approximately 2-3 cm. Plungers were placed back into the syringes to create vacuum pressure so that the sediment plug could be removed. Excess sediment was extruded from the core and approximately the top 1cm was placed into a plastic sample bag and placed in an ice chest. Samples were later transferred to a minus 80 freezer until shipment to contract lab (https://phytoninja.com) for pigment analysis.

Individual Files: