This record contains a comprehensive synthesis of previously published highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) results, providing a quantitative spatial and temporal assessment of carbon partitioning within the Arctic marine ecosystem and validating estimates of sea-ice particulate organic carbon (iPOC) values as quantitative predictors of ice algal carbon in Arctic food webs.This publication was a collaborative effort with the following contributors: David Yurkowski (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Lisa Loseto (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Steve Ferguson (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Bruno Rosenberg (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), C.W. Koch (Natural History Museum, London, UK; University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Maryland, US); T.A. Brown (Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Scotland); R. Amiraux (Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Canada); C. Ruiz-Gonzalez (Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Scotland); M. Maccorquodale (Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Scotland); G. Yunda-Guarin (Québec-Océan and Takuvik, Biology Department, Laval University, Canada); D. Kohlbach (Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway); N.E. Hussey (Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada).

Pelagic Marine Ecounits are intended to describe the sea surface and water column. Two variables were selected to derive pelagic ecounits:1. Salinity and 2. Stratification. The British Columbia Marine Ecological Classification (BCMEC) is a hierarchical classification that delineates Provincial marine areas into Ecozones, Ecoprovinces, Ecoregions and Ecosections. The classification was developed from previous Federal and Provincial marine ecological classifications which were based on 1:2,000,000 scale information. The BCMEC has been developed for marine and coastal planning, resource management and a Provincial marine protected areas strategy. A new, smaller level of classification termed ecounits developed using 1:250,000 scale depth, current, exposure, subsurface relief and substrate was created to verify the larger ecosections, and to delineate their boundaries. CRIMS is a legacy dataset of BC coastal resource data that was acquired in a systematic and synoptic manner from 1979 and was intermittently updated throughout the years. Resource information was collected in nine study areas using a peer-reviewed provincial Resource Information Standards Committee consisting of DFO Fishery Officers, First Nations, and other subject matter experts. There are currently no plans to update this legacy data.

The objective of this project was to gather data to develop a model of the food web of the lower trophic levels of the nearshore area of the Beaufort Sea. Sampling took place from 2005 to 2008 using the CCGS Nahidik. The multidisciplinary character of the Nahidik program produced measurements of biology/ecology (primary production, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish), chemical and physical oceanography, contaminants, geology and hydro acoustics. The data were collected in July and August of each year. The Nahidik program provided data to provide a baseline for future studies as well as an information source for environmental assessment.

The objective of this project was to gather data to develop a model of the food web of the lower trophic levels of the nearshore area of the Beaufort Sea. Sampling took place from 2005 to 2008 using the CCGS Nahidik. The multidisciplinary character of the Nahidik program produced measurements of biology/ecology (primary production, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish), chemical and physical oceanography, contaminants, geology and hydro acoustics. The data were collected in July and August of each year. The Nahidik program provided data to provide a baseline for future studies as well as an information source for environmental assessment. This record contains the geographic coordinates and station names from 2005 to 2008.

The objective of this project was to gather data to develop a model of the food web of the lower trophic levels of the nearshore area of the Beaufort Sea. Sampling took place from 2005 to 2008 using the CCGS Nahidik. The multidisciplinary character of the Nahidik program produced measurements of biology/ecology (primary production, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, fish), chemical and physical oceanography, contaminants, geology and hydro acoustics. The data were collected in July and August of each year. The Nahidik program provided data to provide a baseline for future studies as well as an information source for environmental assessment.This record contains water chemistry data collected as part of this project including suspended nitrogen, dissolved nitrogen, suspended phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, suspended carbon, chlorophyll a, and suspended silicon.

In 2009, DFO defined 12 marine bioregions across the three oceans bordering Canada to support its marine planning efforts, such as the establishment of networks of marine protected areas. However, these bioregions cover vast areas and exhibit significant ecological heterogeneity, especially along the coasts. Yet, this heterogeneity in coastal ecosystems often needs to be considered at the local scale, particularly for management and conservation purposes.The objective of this exercise is to subdivide the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL) bioregion for the province of Quebec into coastal sub-bioregions to better reflect local and regional coastal characteristics. The coastal classification presented in this report is based on the integration of four existing classification systems for the EGSL, which were not specifically designed for classifying coastal ecosystems. Integrating these classification systems into a single approach allowed us to define 13 coastal sub-bioregions for the EGSL. Data presented here are the limit of the 13 ecoregions made from this work. A technical report is available for more details. See supporting documents:Gendreau, Y., Narancic, B. et Bourassa, M-N. 2025. Classification écologique du territoire côtier de l’estuaire et du golfe du Saint-Laurent au Québec. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 0000 :v + 22p.

PURPOSE:In this study, we examined the structure and function of the Southampton Island marine food web across 149 species of benthic and pelagic invertebrates, fishes, marine mammals and seabirds collected from 2016 to 2019, to provide a baseline for future studies that aim to quantify temporal changes in food web structuring. More specifically,we used a multi-biomarker approach combining stable isotopes and HBIs to: (i) determine the vertical trophic structure of the marine food web, (ii) investigate the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species of the Arctic food web, and (iii) determine the role of ice algae and phytoplankton carbon source use across different trophic levels and compartments (pelagic and benthic). By shedding new light on the functioning of the Southampton Island food web and specifically how the contribution of ice algae and benthic habitat shapes its structure, these results will be relevant to adaptive management and conservation initiatives implemented in response to anthropogenic stressors and climate change. DESCRIPTION:Climate-driven alterations of the marine environment are most rapid in Arctic and subarctic regions, including Hudson Bay in northern Canada, where declining sea ice, warming surface waters and ocean acidification are occurring at alarming rates. These changes are altering primary production patterns that will ultimately cascade up through the food web. Here, we investigated (i) the vertical trophic structure of the Southampton Island marine ecosystem in northern Hudson Bay, (ii) the contribution of benthic and pelagic-derived prey to the higher trophic level species, and (iii) the relative contribution of ice algae and phytoplankton derived carbon in sustaining this ecosystem. For this purpose, we measured bulk stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios as well as highly branched isoprenoids in samples belonging to 149 taxa, including invertebrates, fishes, seabirds and marine mammals. We found that the benthic invertebrates occupied 4 trophic levels and that the overall trophic system went up to an average trophic position of 4.8. The average δ34S signature of pelagic organisms indicated that they exploit both benthic and pelagic food sources, suggesting there are many interconnections between these compartments in this coastal area. The relatively high sympagic carbon dependence of Arctic marine mammals (53.3 ± 22.2 %) through their consumption of benthic invertebrate prey, confirms the important role of the benthic subweb for sustaining higher trophic level consumers in the coastal pelagic environment. Therefore, a potential decrease in the productivity of ice algae could lead to a profound alteration of the benthic food web and a cascading effect on this Arctic ecosystem.Collaborators:Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - R´emi Amiraux, C.J. Mundy, Jens K. Ehn, Z.A. Kuzyk.Quebec-Ocean, Sentinel North and Takuvik, Biology Department, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, Canada - Marie Pierrejean.Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, UK - Thomas A. Brown.Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada - Kyle H. Elliott.Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - Steven H. Ferguson, Cory J.D. Matthews, Cortney A. Watt, David J. Yurkowski.School of the Environment, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada - Aaron T. Fisk.Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Grant Gilchrist.College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA - Katrin Iken.Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada - Audrey Limoges.Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada - Oliver P. Love, Wesley R. Ogloff.Department of Arctic Biology, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway - Janne E. Søreide.

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

In 2016-17, DFO Maritimes Region undertook a Marine Protected Area (MPA) network analysis for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion. The analysis considered available bioregional-scale ecological and human use data in an effort to identify a draft MPA network design that would protect biodiversity while minimizing any potential impacts on commercial fishing and other industries. The data layers used for the offshore component of the MPA network analysis are provided here. These layers are not presented in their original forms and were modified (e.g. clipped, reclassified, etc.) specifically for use in the MPA network analysis. They should not be used for any other purpose. Please see Serdynska et al. 2021 for details on how each layer was created.Serdynska, A.R., Pardy, G.S., and King, M.C. 2021. Offshore Ecological and Human Use Information considered in Marine Protected Area Network Design in the Scotian Shelf Bioregion. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3382: xi + 100 p. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2021/mpo-dfo/Fs97-6-3382-eng.pdfCite this data as: Serdynska, A.R., Pardy, G.S., and King, M.C. Data of: Offshore Ecological and Human Use Information considered in Marine Protected Area Network Design in the Scotian Shelf Bioregion. Published: January 2022. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/2d9cce9a-d634-4b49-879f-87c40c52acf2

We evaluated an autonomous environmental DNA sampler produced by Dartmouth Ocean Technologies Inc (Dartmouth, Canada) compared to time-at-sample filtration in the laboratory to determine the performance of moored samplers for monitoring in the marine world. We deployed three autonomous samplers from DOT in the Bedford Basin (Canada) over a nine-week period in summer/fall 2023. The samplers filtered seawater in situ at programmed interviews over this time period, and we collected contemporaneous samples with a standard vacuum pump during each sampling period. Both eDNA sample types captured similar fish diversity, including typical diversity for the Northwest Atlantic. The invertebrate community detected using the COI marker was different between each sample type, likely due to differences in filter pore size. We found biofouling on the moored samplers was minimal over the study period, even in a high-traffic area such as the Bedford Basin, likely due to the relatively short experimental period, and copper screening covering in the inlet and outlet valves of the instruments. Overall, our results show promise to deploy autonomous eDNA samplers in marine conservation areas to contribute to monitoring in the temperate ocean, but further testing over longer periods of time is needed to determine if DNA remains well-preserved in the autonomous samplers at ambient ocean temperatures.Cite this data as: Jeffery, N.W., Van Wyngaarden, M., and Stanley, R.R.E. Evaluating an Autonomous eDNA Sampler for Marine Environmental Monitoring: Short- and Long-Term Applications. Published: December 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Maritimes Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth NS.