The Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk (CNFASAR) is a contribution program that focuses on providing funding for recovery and threat mitigation activities in nine priority places and to address two marine threats to aquatic species at risk. The Priority Places and Marine Threats layer supports CNFASAR by delineating the location of the places and threats.The Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk (CNFASAR) supports applicants in the design and delivery of stewardship projects. These projects support the recovery and protection of aquatic species at risk. DFO has identified 2 priority marine threats and 9 priority places as the focus for projects funded by CNFASAR, these areas are included in this dataset.

The dataset has been used for the Great Lakes Conservation Blueprint Project for Aquatic Biodiversity. It can be used for: * research and aquatic species inventories * environmental impact and monitoring * watershed based resource planning and management * fisheries and other aquatic analysis Official GEO title: Aquatic Ecosystems Classification: Great Lakes Basin - Coast, Streams, Lakes and Wetlands

The Great Lakes Fish Biodiversity Science Database is a compilation of fish community and habitat data from DFO Science surveys, primarily related to freshwater fishes of conservation concern in the Great Lakes basin. Data include: sampling site location, date, fish species and counts, and associated habitat information. Project-specific details including purpose/objectives and study methodology are often reported in the DFO Canadian data report of fisheries and aquatic sciences series.

Aquatic invasive species pose economic and ecological threats to Canada's coastal waters. In response, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has established monitoring programs to detect and track the spread of aquatic invasive species, including European Green Crab, in Canadian waters. Fukui traps have been deployed annually at both new and long-term monitoring locations throughout coastal British Columbia.

AIS NL Biofouling Species Fisheries and Oceans Canada's (DFO) National Marine Biofouling Monitoring Program conducts annual field surveys to monitor the introduction, establishment, spread, species richness, and relative abundance of native and some non-native species in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Region since 2006. Standardized monitoring protocols employed by DFO's NL, Maritimes, Gulf, and Quebec regions include biofouling collector plates deployed from May to October at georeferenced intertidal and shallow subtidal sites, including public docks, and public and private marinas and nautical clubs. Initially, (2006-2017), the collectors consisted of three 10 cm by 10 cm PVC plates deployed in a vertical array and spaced approximately 40 cm apart, with the shallowest plate suspended at least 1 m below the surface to sample subtidal and shallow intertidal species (McKenzie et al 2016a). Three replicate arrays were deployed at least 5 m apart per site. Since 2018, collector networks have been modified to improve statistical replication, including up to 10 individual collectors deployed per site at 1 m depth and at least 5 m apart (as above) from May to October. Since 2006, seven invasive biofouling organisms have been detected in Newfoundland and Labrador harbours, marinas and coastal areas.Should be cited as follows: DFO Newfoundland and Labrador Region Aquatic Invasive Species Marine Biofouling Monitoring Program. Published March 2024. Coastal and Freshwater Ecology, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.Reference:TunicatesViolet tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus) 2007The violet tunicate was first detected in NL waters in 2007 in Belleoram, Fortune Bay on wharf structures and vessels (McKenzie et al. 2016b). This colonial tunicate forms irregular shaped colonies usually of a solid color (orange, purple, yellow or cream). It is currently found in relatively small colonies in four harbours in NL; Placentia Bay (1), Fortune Bay (1), Conception Bay (1) and the west coast of NL (2). The data provided here indicates the detections of this AIS in coastal NL.From 2018-2022, the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program provided additional support to enhance sampling efforts in Placentia Bay.

Site locations of aquatic invasive species occurrences throughout the province. The aquatic invasive species include species of amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, plants, alga and turtles. This spatial dataset was compiled from a number of data sources including The Invasive Plant Council of BC; the Beaty Biodiversity Museum; the Royal BC Museum; the Fisheries Information Summary System; E-Flora BC; Electronic Atlas of Plants of BC; and from private data compilations(spreadsheets) and personal consultation with BC Ministry of Environment staff and other local experts, peer-reviewed articles and other unpublished technical reports. Full Citations are included

A compendium of reports that provide information about aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants, soils, surface water, groundwater and their accompanying data files and maps

The Species at Risk (SAR) Program is responsible for carrying out DFO’s mandate under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to protect, recover and conserve all listed aquatic SAR in Canada. As part of this mandate, this spatial database has been developed to identify areas in which aquatic species listed under SARA may be found.Distribution and range information are identified for species listed as Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern under SARA.Distribution (range) polygons and lines were assembled by regional SARA biologists using the best available information, including COSEWIC status reports, recovery potential assessments, academic literature, and expert opinion. These spatial data support the protection, recovery and conservation of species listed as Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern under SARA. Species distributions are also described and displayed in Recovery Strategies, Action Plans and/or Management Plans. Discrepancies may exist between the distribution data shown in a species’ SARA recovery document and the current spatial data. Please contact DFO for more information on any data discrepancies.

Marine Protected Areas require comprehensive monitoring to ensure objectives are achieved; however, monitoring natural ecosystems at scale is challenged by the biodiversity it aims to measure. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding holds promise to address this monitoring challenge. We conducted paired sampling at 54 sites for fish and invertebrate assemblages in the Northwest Atlantic using groundfish trawls and eDNA metabarcoding of benthic seawater using four genetic markers (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and CO1). Compared to trawling, eDNA detected similar patterns of species turnover, larger estimates of gamma diversity, and smaller estimates of alpha diversity. A total of 63.6% (42/66) of fish species captured by trawling were detected by eDNA, along with an additional 26 species. Of the 24 missed detections by eDNA, 12 were inevitable as they lacked reference sequences. Excluding taxa assigned to higher than species level and those without a species name, 23.6% (17/72) of invertebrate species captured by trawling were detected by CO1, which detected an additional 98 species. We demonstrate that eDNA is capable of detecting patterns of community assemblage and species turnover in an offshore environment, emphasizing its strong potential for a non-invasive, comprehensive, and scalable tool for biodiversity monitoring supporting marine conservation programmes.Cite this data as: Jeffery, N., Rubidge, E., Abbott, C., Westfall, K., Stanley, R. (2024): Data of: eDNA metabarcoding enriches traditional trawl survey data for monitoring biodiversity in the marine environment.Published: August 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/43a91ba7-8025-4330-88db-db14022d729d

To support the surveillance of key macroalgae and non-indigenous species in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, five quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were designed and tested at 111 sites in 2022-2023 targeting the following non-indigenous macroalgal species: Antithamnion sparsum, Bonnemaisonia hamifera, Codium fragile, Dasysiphonia japonica, Fucus serratus. All assays were developed in 2022 by the Center for Environmental Genomics Applications (CEGA, Newfoundland, Canada) except Antithamnion sparsum, for which an assay was developed in 2023 by the Aquatic Biotechnology Laboratory (ABL) at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. All amplification was performed by the ABL in 2022-2023. The assay developed for Fucus serratus was later determined to be non-specific, and amplifies both F. serratus and Fucus distichus.Cite this data as: Krumhansl K, Brooks C, Lowen B, DiBacco C, (2025). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) of Key Macroalgal Non-Indigenous Species in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Waters. Version 1.5. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Samplingevent dataset. https://ipt.iobis.org/obiscanada/resource?r=quantitative_qpcr_macroalgal_nonindigenous_species_novascotia_newbrunswick_2022_2023&v=1.5For additional information please see:LeBlanc F., Belliveau V., Watson E., Coomber C., Simard N., DiBacco C., Bernier R., Gagné N. 2020. Environment DNA (eDNA) detection of marine aquatic invasive species (AIS) in Eastern Canada using a targeted species-specific qPCR approach. Management of Biological Invasions 11(2):201-217Krumhansl K.A., Brooks C.M., Lowen B., O’Brien J., Wong M., DiBacco C. Loss, resilience and recovery of kelp forests in a region of rapid ocean warming. Annals of Botany 2024 Mar 8; 133(1):73-92Brooks C.M., Krumhansl K.A. 2023. First record of the Asian Antithamnion sparsum Tokida, 1932 (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) in Nova Scotia, Canada. BioInvasions Records 12(3):745-725.