The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Soil Texture by Ecodistrict” dataset contains tables that provide soil texture information within the ecodistrict framework polygon. It provides soil texture codes and their English and French language descriptions as well as the percentage of the polygon that the component occupies.Soil texture indicates the relative proportions of the various soil separates (sand, silt, clay) as described by classes of texture. Soil separates are mineral particles, 2.0 mm in diameter and include: gravel 0.2 -7.5 cm and cobbles 7.5-25.0 cm. There are 12 texture group classes definitions and one class definition for Not Applicable (which indicates, for example, water, ice or urban areas).

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Soil Texture by Ecoregion” dataset contains tables that provide soil texture information within the ecoregion framework polygon. It provides soil texture codes and their English and French language descriptions as well as the percentage of the polygon that the component occupies.Soil texture indicates the relative proportions of the various soil separates (sand, silt, clay) as described by classes of texture. Soil separates are mineral particles, 2.0 mm in diameter and include: gravel 0.2 -7.5 cm and cobbles 7.5-25.0 cm. There are 12 texture group classes definitions and one class definition for Not Applicable (which indicates, for example, water, ice or urban areas).

Polygons denoting concentrations of sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals and sponges on the east coast of Canada have been identified through spatial analysis of research vessel survey by-catch data following an approach used by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in the Regulatory Area (NRA) on Flemish Cap and southeast Grand Banks. Kernel density analysis was used to identify high concentrations and the area occupied by successive catch weight thresholds was used to identify aggregations. These analyses were performed for each of the five biogeographic zones of eastern Canada. The largest sea pen fields were found in the Laurentian Channel as it cuts through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while large gorgonian coral forests were found in the Eastern Arctic and on the northern Labrador continental slope. Large ball-shaped Geodia spp. sponges were located along the continental slopes north of the Grand Banks, while on the Scotian Shelf a unique population of the large barrel-shaped sponge Vazella pourtalesi was identified. The latitude and longitude marking the positions of all tows which form these and other dense aggregations are provided along with the positions of all tows which captured black coral, a non-aggregating taxon which is long-lived and vulnerable to fishing pressures.These polygons identify sea pen fields from the broader distribution of seapens in the region as sampled by Alfredo trawl gear in the Eastern Arctic biogeographic zone. A 0.25 kg minimum threshold for the sea pen catch was identified as the weight that separated the sea pen field habitat from the broader distribution of sea pens with these research vessel tow data and gear type.

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:TunicatesVase tunicate (Ciona intestinalis) 2012 The Vase tunicate, is a high impact solitary invader and was first detected by DFO in 2012 on the Burin Peninsula at Ship Cove and Little Bay, Placentia Bay. Various mitigation measures (McKenzie et al. 2016b) contained this invasive tunicate to a small area for six years within Placentia Bay. First detected in Fortune Bay as an established population in 2019, increasing reports of the Vase tunicate have been made along the south coast of Newfoundland. 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.

Historical finds of Gilpinia hercyniae

Effective conservation planning relies on understanding population connectivity which can be informed by genomic data. This is particularly important for sessile species like the horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus), a key habitat-forming species and conservation priority in Atlantic Canada), yet little genomic information is available to describe horse mussel connectivity patterns. We used more than 8000 restriction-site associated DNA sequencing-derived single nucleotide polymorphisms and a panel of 8 microsatellites to examine genomic connectivity among horse mussel populations in the Bay of Fundy, along the Scotian Shelf, and in the broader northwestern Atlantic extending to Newfoundland. Despite phenotypic differences between sampling locations, we found an overall lack of genetic diversity and population structure in horse mussels in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. All sampled locations had low heterozygosity, very low FST, elevated inbreeding coefficients, and deviated from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, highlighting generally low genetic diversity across all metrics. Principal components analysis, Admixture analysis, pairwise FST calculations, and analysis of outlier loci (potentially under selection) all showed no independent genomic clusters within the data, and an analysis of molecular variance showed that less than 1% of the variation within the SNP dataset was found between sampling locations. Our results suggest that connectivity is high among horse mussel populations in the Northwest Atlantic, and coupled with large effective population sizes, this has resulted in minimal genomic divergence across the region. These results can inform conservation design considerations in the Bay of Fundy and support further integration into the broader regional conservation network.Cite this data as: Van Wyngaarden, Mallory et al. (2024). Widespread genetic similarity between Northwest Atlantic populations of the horse mussel, Modiolus modiolus. Published: May 2025. Coastal Ecosystem Science Division, Maritimes Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS.

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Soil Texture by Ecoprovince” dataset contains tables that provide soil texture information within the ecoprovince framework polygon. It provides soil texture codes and their English and French language descriptions as well as the percentage of the polygon that the component occupies.Soil texture indicates the relative proportions of the various soil separates (sand, silt, clay) as described by classes of texture. Soil separates are mineral particles, 2.0 mm in diameter and include: gravel 0.2 -7.5 cm and cobbles 7.5-25.0 cm. There are 12 texture group classes definitions and one class definition for Not Applicable (which indicates, for example, water, ice or urban areas).

Historical finds of Fenusa pumila

Historical finds of Pristiphora erichsonii

This dataset documents the infauna occurrences collected from 2021 to 2023 during the Canadian Beaufort Sea Marine Ecosystem Assessment (CBS-MEA) conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). This scientific program focuses on the integration of oceanography, food web linkages, physical-biological couplings, and spatial and interannual variabilities.The program also aims to expand the baseline coverage of species diversity, abundances, and habitat associations in previously unstudied areas of the Beaufort Sea and Western Canadian Archipelago. The study took place mainly in the Canadian Beaufort Sea and the Amundsen Gulf. Sampling is done along transects at fixed stations in the study area. Catches are collected using a 50 x 50 cm box-corer. 2 or 3 box core is collected per station to obtain replicates. A total of 29 stations were sampled for infauna in 2021, 15 in 2022 and 25 in 2023 between 10-653 m depth. Half of the box corer (0.125 m2) is sampled for infauna taxonomy. The first 20 cm of sediment are collected and sieved through a 0.5 mm mesh sieve. The samples are preserved in seawater-formaldehyde solution (10 % v/v). In the lab, infauna is identified to the lowest taxon level possible.The data are presented in two files:The "Activité_endofaune_CBSMEA_infauna_event_en" file which contains information about missions, stations and deployments, which are presented under a hierarchical activity structure.The "Occurrence_endofaune_CBSMEA_infauna_en" file that contains the taxonomic occurrences.