Abstract:

Abundance of live organisms (per 0.25 m2 quadrat) found in oyster reefs sampled in late spring (June), summer (June-September), and fall (September-November) 2017. Four embayments were sampled from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle, with sites that were previously oiled or non-oiled after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Within oiled and non-oiled sites, oyster quadrat samples were taken from intertidal (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.

Suggested Citation:

Kelly Boyle, Sean Powers. 2018. Taxonomic diversity among oyster reefs in June - November 2017 in previously documented and sampled oiled and non-oiled areas in Louisiana, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N76T0K68

Purpose:

The purpose of this dataset is to describe the condition of oyster reef communities in areas with documented exposure to oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, as well as control sites (no documented oil exposure). This field sampling will help determine the recovery trajectories in taxonomic and functional diversity of oyster reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico, arising from oiling and response activities (e.g., freshwater diversions, dispersants).

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 letter correspond to the embayment Embayment = the generic sampling embayment where the reef can be found; options (4) include: Mississippi Sound (MS), Barataria Bay (BB), Terrebonne Bay (TB), Florida (FL) 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 2017; 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. For Florida, high salinity is considered to be greater than or equal to 18 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 QuadratRep = the quadrat number at the site; a total of 3 quadrats were sampled at each oyster reef site; options (3) include: Q1, Q2, Q3 SampleID = the ID for the quadrat sample taken at the oyster reef; this ID has the format Site-QuadratRep; for example: MS01-Q1 is quadrat 1 from oyster reef number 01 in Mississippi Sound BagMass_kg = the mass of the oyster reef sample collected and placed in a small-mesh bag; bags were measured with a spring scale at the laboratory and the units are kg ProcessTime_CST = the time the oyster reef sample was removed from the collection bag and placed on the table to begin enumerating species and measuring oyster shell heights. This time is typically later in the day on the same day of collection, unless processing extended past midnight. Time is recorded in Central Standard Time (Column ProcessTime_CST for twelve records has no value because it was not recorded.) *The remaining columns are counts of taxa (species, families, etc). All individuals of taxa within a 0.25 m-squared quadrat were enumerated and no subsampling was done, with the exception of boring sponge, bryozoan, and oyster drill eggs. Presence/Absence of boring sponge and bryozoan were recorded for each quadrat. Number of distinct oyster drill egg clumps were counted for each quadrat. OysterSpat_Per0.25m2 = Oyster spat is defined as oysters with shell heights less than or equal to 25 mm. Number and density of spat-sized oysters in 0.25 m-squared quadrat OysterSeed_Per0.25m2 = Oyster seed is defined as oysters with shell heights greater than 25 mm and less than 75 mm. Number and density of seed-sized oysters in 0.25 m-squared quadrat OysterMarket_Per0.25m2 = Market oysters are those with shell heights great than or equal to 75 mm. Number and density of market-sized oysters in 0.25 m-squared quadrat OysterPiddock_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of oyster piddocks in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Ischadium_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Ischadium mussels in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Mytilopsis_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Mytilopsis mussels in 0.25 m-squared quadrat PaperMussel_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of paper mussels in 0.25 m-squared quadrat PandoraTrilineata_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Pandora Trilineata in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Geukensia_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Geukensia mussels in 0.25 m-squared quadrat MercenariaClam_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Mercenaria clams in 0.25 m-squared quadrat SurfClam_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of surf clams in 0.25 m-squared quadrat CrossBarredVenusClam_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of cross barred venus clams in 0.25 m-squared quadrat SemelidaeClam_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of semelid clams in 0.25 m-squared quadrat AbraAequalisClam_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Abra aequalis clams in 0.25 m-squared quadrat TellinClam_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Tellin clams (Tellinidae) in 0.25 m-squared quadrat ArkClam_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Ark clams (Arcidae) in 0.25 m-squared quadrat OysterDrill_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of oyster drills in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Crepidula_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of crepidula snails in 0.25 m-squared quadrat OliveNerite_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of olive nerite snails in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Littorina_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Littorina snails in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Plicate_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Plicate snails in 0.25 m-squared quadrat CommonEasternNassa_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of common eastern Nassa snails in 0.25 m-squared quadrat SnailOther_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of other snails in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Xanthidae_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of xanthid crabs in 0.25 m-squared quadrat BlueCrab_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of blue crabs in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Porcellanidae_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of porcellanid crabs in 0.25 m-squared quadrat HermitCrab_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of hermit crabs in 0.25 m-squared quadrat PenaeidShrimp_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of penaeid shrimps in 0.25 m-squared quadrat SnappingShrimp_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of snapping shrimp in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Amphipod_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of amphipods in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Isopod_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of isopods in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Barnacle_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of barnacles in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Blenniidae_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of blenniidae in 0.25 m-squared quadrat LongnoseKillifish_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of longnose killifish in 0.25 m-squared quadrat DarterGoby_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of darter gobies in 0.25 m-squared quadrat NakedGoby_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of naked gobies in 0.25 m-squared quadrat CodeGoby_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of code gobies in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Goby_NotID_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of unidentified gobies in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Skilletfish_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of skilletfish in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Polychaeta_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of polychaetes in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Serpulidae_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of Serpulidae in 0.25 m-squared quadrat WormOther_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of other worms in 0.25 m-squared quadrat BrittleStar_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of brittle stars in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Nudibranch?_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of nudibranchs in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Tunicate_Per0.25m2 = Number and density of tunicates in 0.25 m-squared quadrat Naushonia_per 0.25m2 = Number and density of Naushonia spp. YellowBoringSponge = Presence or absence of yellow boring sponge in 0.25 m-squared quadrat. Options (2) include: Present, Absent Bryozoan = Presence or absence of bryozoan in 0.25 m-squared quadrat. Options (2) include: Present, Absent Drill Egg Clumps per 0.25m2 = Number of clumps of oyster drill eggs in 0.25 m-squared quadrat

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 intertidal (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: