Summer, Winter Alpine, and Winter Forest-Dwelling habitat model for caribou in the Itcha, Ilgachuz, and Rainbow Mountains of West-Central BC. This habitat model was developed using telemetry from the Itcha-Ilgachuz, Rainbow, and Charlotte Alplands Herds. [Season] field should be used to split the data out into separate summer, winter alpine, and winter forest-dwelling habitat models. Model development is detailed in _Apps, C. D., T. A. Kinley, and J. A. Young. 2001. Multi-scale habitat modeling for woodland caribou in the Itcha, Ilgachuz, and Rainbow mountains of west-central British Columbia.Wildlife Section, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada_. See also: https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/caribou-habitat-model-for-the-western-cariboo-region-2017-. __Note: The 2017 habitat model covers a similar area, but does not supersede the 2001 habitat model.__

The purpose of the survey is to document and record habitat types and associated algae and marine invertebrate species in a variety of habitat types. Transect locations are randomly selected throughout the study area, which rotates between the north and south coasts of British Columbia on a biannual basis. Transects are laid perpendicular to the shoreline. A team of two divers swim the transect with data sheets to collect habitat, algae and marine invertebrate data as detailed below in the methods section. Data is keypunched in an MS Access database that can be queried for species observations and environmental information.This dataset includes three tables pulled from the original database containing observations by species, observations by quadrat, and additional header information for each observation. All three tables can be linked by the field HKey. Three lookup tables are included as well, one for algae, one for invertebrates, and one for substrates.

The Scotian Shelf population of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) is listed as Endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Partial critical habitat was identified for this population in the Recovery Strategy first published in 2010 (Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2016), and three critical habitat areas were designated along the eastern Scotian Shelf, encompassing the Gully, Shortland Canyon, and Haldimand Canyon (shapefile available online: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/db177a8c-5d7d-49eb-8290-31e6a45d786c). However, the Recovery Strategy recognized that additional areas may constitute critical habitat for the population and recommended further studies based on acoustic and visual monitoring to assess the importance of inter-canyon areas as foraging habitat and transit corridors for northern bottlenose whales.In a subsequent study of the distribution, movements, and habitat use of northern bottlenose whales on the eastern Scotian Shelf (Stanistreet et al. in press), several sources of data were assessed and additional important habitat was identified in the inter-canyon areas located between the Gully, Shortland Canyon, and Haldimand Canyon (DFO 2020). A summary of the data inputs, analyses, and limitations is provided below.Year-round passive acoustic monitoring conducted with bottom-mounted recorders at two inter-canyon sites from 2012-2014 revealed the presence and foraging activity of northern bottlenose whales in these areas throughout much of the year, with a seasonal peak in acoustic detections during the spring. Detections from acoustic recordings collected during vessel-based surveys provided additional evidence of species occurrence in inter-canyon areas during the summer months. Photo-identification data collected in the Gully, Shortland, and Haldimand canyons between 2001 and 2017 were used to model the residency and movement patterns of northern bottlenose whales within and between the canyons, and demonstrated that individuals regularly moved between the three canyons as well as to and from outside areas. Together, these results indicated a strong degree of connectivity between the Gully, Shortland, and Haldimand canyons, and provided evidence that the inter-canyon areas function as important foraging habitat and movement corridors for Scotian Shelf northern bottlenose whales. The inter-canyon habitat area polygon was delineated using the 500 m depth contour and straight lines connecting the southeast corners of the existing critical habitat areas, but these boundaries are based on limited spatial information on the presence of northern bottlenose whales in deeper waters. More data are needed to determine whether this area fully encompasses important inter-canyon habitat, particularly in regard to the deeper southeastern boundary. Similarly, the full extent of important habitat for Scotian Shelf northern bottlenose whales remains unknown, and potential critical habitat areas outside the canyons and inter-canyon areas on the eastern Scotian Shelf have not been fully assessed. See DFO (2020) for further information.References:DFO. 2020. Assessment of the Distribution, Movements, and Habitat Use of Northern Bottlenose Whales on the Scotian Shelf to Support the Identification of Important Habitat. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2020/008. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2020/2020_008-eng.html Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2016. Recovery Strategy for the Northern Bottlenose Whale, (Hyperoodan ampullatus), Scotian Shelf population, in Atlantic Canadian Waters [Final]. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa. vii + 70 pp. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/northern-bottlenose-whale-scotian-shelf.html Stanistreet, J.E., Feyrer, L.J., and Moors-Murphy, H.B. In press. Distribution, movements, and habitat use of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) on the Scotian Shelf. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. [https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/mpo-dfo/fs70-5/Fs70-5-2021-074-eng.pdf]Cite this data as: Stanistreet, J.E., Feyrer, L.J., and Moors-Murphy, H.B. Data of: Northern bottlenose whale important habitat in inter-canyon areas on the eastern Scotian Shelf. Published: June 2021. Ocean Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9fd7d004-970c-11eb-a2f3-1860247f53e3

Landscape Units (Subdivisions) were developed as a part of the 2002 Northern Caribou Strategy and are used for landscape level planning within Wildlife Habitat Area 5-086. For details please see: [Apps, C. D., T. A. Kinley, and J. A. Young. 2001. Multi-scale habitat modeling for woodland caribou in the Itcha, Ilgachuz, and Rainbow mountains of west-central British Columbia. Wildlife Section, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada.](http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cariboo/env_stewardship/wildlife/inventory/caribou/northcar/hmi/hsi06-01.pdf)

Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys osculus) are listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) as endangered. These fresh water fish, of the family Cyprinidae, are found in Canada only in the Kettle Valley of British Columbia. Proposed critical habitat was based on minimum viable population analysis and assumed densities of fish. From October 19th to the 22nd of 2015, night time pole seining surveys were conducted to enumerate Speckled Dace in proposed critical habitat on the West Kettle River; one of three rivers containing Speckled Dace. The estimated population abundance of Speckled Dace within the survey area was 8,978 (6,143-11,814), however only 1,014 of these are estimated to be adults.

The North Shore of the Lower Estuary (Upper North Shore, Quebec) is a productive coastal system where many commercial species of benthic invertebrates are fished in the infralittoral (10-20 m) and circalittoral (20-50 m) zone. However, little data exist on the biodiversity of non-commercial species and the environmental characteristics of the benthic habitat in this area. Two scientific surveys were conducted in 2018 and 2019 to address this knowledge gap by developing a framework of biodiversity and environmental (water column and seafloor) data taking that will be used to determine the baseline state of the benthic ecosystem in this region.Surveys were conducted in 2018 (August 11-14) and 2019 (July 30-August 5) in the Upper North Shore region (between the towns of Forestville and Godbout). Surveys followed a fixed sampling design of eight transects perpendicular to bathymetry with stations at 10 m depth intervals in a bathymetry range of 10-50 m for a total of approximately 40 stations per survey. Specimens were collected with a beam trawl with an opening of 2.8 m. The hauls were made at a target speed of 2 knots and a target duration of 7 minutes. Start and end positions were recorded to calculate the distance traveled on each tow using the geosphere library of R. The average tow distance was approximately 425 m. The area covered at each tow was the product of the trawl opening and the distance traveled. The three files provided (DarwinCore format) are complementary and are linked by the "eventID" key. The "event_information" file includes generic event information, including date and location. The "additional_information_event_and_occurrence" file includes sample size, sampling protocol and sampling effort, among others. The "taxon_occurrence" file includes the taxonomy of the species observed, identified to the species or lowest possible taxonomic level. For abundance and biomass estimates, contact Virginie Roy (virginie.roy@dfo-mpo.gc.ca). For quality controls, all taxonomic names were checked against the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to match recognized standards. The WoRMS match was placed in the "scientificNameID" field of the occurrence file. Special cases were noted in "identificationRemarks" and selected specimens were confirmed using field photos. Data quality checks were performed using the R obistools and worrms libraries. All sampling locations were spatially validated.This project was funded by DFO Coastal Environmental Baseline Program under Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan. This initiative aims to acquire environmental baseline data contributing to the characterization of important coastal areas and to support evidence-based assessments and management decisions for preserving marine ecosystems.

This resource documents a dataset of epifauna occurrences collected in 2021 during The Knowledge and Ecosystem-Based Approach in Baffin Bay (KEBABB) program developed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in collaboration with university partners. The overall objective of KEBABB is to characterize the variability and trends in physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic conditions and food webs supporting fisheries in the connected ecosystems of western Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound. In 2021, DFO expanded the KEBABB program to Barrow Strait (KEBABS-Knowledge and Ecosystem-Based Approach in Barrow Strait), a key productive area of the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area. The study took place in the Eastern Canadian Arctic (mainly in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and Barrow Strait). Sampling is done along transects at fixed stations in the study area. Catches are collected with a 1.5 m Agassiz trawl (5 mm mesh net) for 3 minutes bottom-contact time at a target speed of 1.5 knots and with a 3 m benthic beam trawl (6.4 mm mesh net) for 15 minutes bottom-contact time at a target speed of 3 knots. A total of 16 stations were sampled for epifauna in 2021 between 85-850 m depth. Epibenthic invertebrates are identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and photographed. All unknown specimens are frozen. In the lab, the identifications are validated or refined with the photos and the frozen specimens.The data are presented in Darwin Core and are separated in two files:The “Activité_épifaune_KEBABB_epifauna_event_en” file which contains information about missions, stations and deployments, which are presented under a hierarchical activity structure.The “Occurrence_épifaune_KEBABB_epifauna_en” file that contains the taxonomic occurrences.Further details on sampling can be found in the following report: Pućko, M., Charette, J., Tremblay P., Brulotte S., St-Denis B., Ciastek S., Hedges, K., Kuzyk, Z., Roy V., and Michel, C. 2022. An ecosystem-based approach in the eastern Arctic: KEBABB/S (Knowledge and Ecosystem-Based Approach in Baffin Bay/Barrow Strait) 2021 expedition report. Can. Manuscr. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3250: viii + 58 p. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/mpo-dfo/Fs97-4-3250-eng.pdfUSE LIMITATION:To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

This dataset documents the epifauna occurrences collected from 2021 to 2024 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 with a 3 m benthic beam trawl for 10 minutes bottom-contact time at a target speed of 2 knots and with a modified Atlantic Western IIA otter trawl for 20 minutes bottom-contact time at a target speed of 2.9 knots. A total of 32 stations were sampled for epifauna in 2021, 22 in 2022, 23 in 2023 and 22 in 2024, between 22-655 m depth. Epibenthic invertebrates were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible and photographed. All unknown specimens are frozen. In the lab, the identifications are validated or refined with the photos and the frozen specimens.The data are presented in Darwin Core and are separated in two files:The "Activité_épifaune_CBSMEA_epifauna_event_en" file which contains information about missions, stations and deployments, which are presented under a hierarchical activity structure.The "Occurrence_épifaune_CBSMEA_epifauna_en" file that contains the taxonomic occurrences.

Effective fisheries and habitat management processes require knowledge of the distribution of areas of high ecological or biological significance. On the Scotian Shelf and Slope, a number of benthic ecologically or biologically significant areas consisting of habitat-forming species such as sponges and deep-water corals have been identified. However, knowledge of their spatial distribution is largely based on targeted surveys that are limited in their spatial extent. We used a species distribution modelling approach called random forest (RF) to predict the probability of occurrence and biomass of sponges, sea pens, and large and small gorgonian corals across the entire spatial extent of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Maritimes Region. We also modelled the rare sponge Vazella pourtalesi, which forms the largest known aggregation of its kind on the Scotian Shelf. We utilized a number of data sources including DFO multispecies trawl catch data and in situ benthic imagery observations. Most models had excellent predictive capacity with cross-validated Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.760 to 0.977. Areas of suitable habitat were identified for each taxon and were contrasted against their known distribution and when applicable, the location of closure areas designated for their protection. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were developed to predict the biomass distribution of each taxonomic group and serve as a comparison to the RF models. The RF and GAM models provided comparable results, although GAMs provided superior predictions of biomass along the continental slope for some taxonomic groups. In the absence of data observations, the results of this study could be used to identify the potential distribution of sensitive benthic taxa for use in fisheries and habitat management applications. These results could also be used to refine significant concentrations of these taxa as identified through the kernel density analyses.Cite this data as: Beazley, Lindsay; Kenchington, Ellen; Murillo-Perez, Javier; Lirette, Camille; Guijarro-Sabaniel, Javier; McMillan, Andrew; Knudby, Anders (2019). Species Distribution Modelling of Corals and Sponges in the Maritimes Region for Use in the Identification of Significant Benthic Areas. Published July 2023. Ocean Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/356e92f3-5bf3-4810-98b1-3e10cd7742aa

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.