New Data

OBIS is proud to announce that the Indian Ocean OBIS Regional has appended their dataset with with almost 7,000 species records, mostly covering species beyond Indian Seas. These records cover almost all marine phyla. More on this dataset can be found here. Congratulations to the IndOBIS team!

Two new OBIS Fish datasets from the University of Washington Fish collection and from Bureau of Rural Sciences National commercial fisheries via OBIS Australia
01-May-2006

The University of Washington Fish Collection http://uwfishcollection.org (UWFC) database includes the taxonomic information and locality data for the cataloged lots of preserved fishes held in the collection. The adult collection now totals over 296,000 specimens in over 40,700 lots, representing some 4,054 species in 1,331 genera, and 306 families. Approximately 1000 new lots are added every year. Roughly 75% of the collection is made up of marine fishes, primarily from the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean, extending from Baja California, across the Aleutian and Kuril island chains, to the Philippines. The collection also includes smaller numbers of lots from many other localities around the world. The early life history collection currently contains over 6.9 million specimens in over 76,600 lots and is growing at a rate of 3,000 to 5,000 lots a year. Fifty-four families, 178 genera, and 401 species are represented. Most were collected in the eastern North Pacific, primarily from the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Approximately 80% of the lots were collected between 1965 and 1998 by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), but significant material has also come from the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, the International Pacific Halibut Commission, and the Vancouver Public Aquarium. Habitats ranging from near-shore reef and intertidal communities to outer oceanic waters are represented. Over 100,000 of these marine records are currently being published through OBIS. Complete metadata can be found here.

In the Bureau of Rural Sciences National commercial fisheries datasets Australian national commercial fisheries presence data is summarised by half-degree square, year (2000-2002) and species name. Cells with less than 5 boats represented are excluded, as are commercial "taxa" which represent multiple or otherwise unidentified species. The dataset contains 60,445 records representing 390 separate species. Additional summary information including catch weights and gross value product per species per square per year is available via the National Atlas of Commercial Marine Fisheries and Coastal Communities which is accessible from the BRS home page, http://www.brs.gov.au.

Congratulations to the University of Washington and Australian OBIS teams.

As part of a national and global effort to understand and document patterns of invasion in marine coastal waters, North American Sessile Marine Invertebrate Survey is collecting invertebrates from embayments across the United States, Panama and Australia. Invertebrate collecting devices called settling plates are deployed at marinas, commercial and military docks in several embayments each year. Settling plates are constructed of both wood and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) so that both wood-boring species and hard surface foulers can be collected. Metadata can be found at both www.iobis.org and at GCMD.

Deepwater Program: Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope Habitat and Benthic Ecology contributed 8 data sets to OBIS. This is a research program initiated by the Minerals Management Service to gain better knowledge of the benthic communities of the deep Gulf of Mexico entitled "The Deepwater Program: Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope Habitat and Benthic Ecology". Increasing exploration and exploitation of fossil hydrocarbon resources in the deep-sea prompted the Minerals Management Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior to support an investigation of the structure and function of the assemblages of organisms that live in association with the sea floor in the deep-sea. The program, Deep Gulf of Mexico Benthos or DGoMB, is studying the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) continental slope from water depths of 300 meters on the upper continental slope out to greater than 3,000 meters water depth seaward of the base of the Sigsbee and Florida Escarpments. The study is focused on areas that are the most likely targets of future resource exploration and exploitation. However, to develop a Gulf-wide perspective of deep-sea communities, sampling in areas beyond those thought to be potential areas for exploration has been included in the study design. A major enhancement in the program is the extension of the transects onto the abyssal plain of the central Gulf of Mexico through collaborative studies with Mexican scientists. This additional work effort will allow assessment of benthic communities structure and function throughout the basin by sampling the deepest habitats in the region. The program is designed to gain a better ability to predict variations in the structure and function of animal assemblages in relation to water depth, geographic location, time and overlying water mass. Biological studies are integrated with measurements of physical and chemical hydrographic parameters, sediment geochemical properties and geological characteristics that are known to influence benthic community distributions and dynamics. Eight (8) hypotheses are being tested on the basis of measures of benthic community structure. It is hypothesized that community structure varies as a function of: 1) water depth, 2) geographic location (east vs. west), 3) association with canyons, 4) association with mid-slope basins, 5) sea surface primary productivity, 6) proximity to hydrocarbon seeps, 7) time (seasonal and inter-annual scales), and 8) association with the base of escarpments. Each of these hypotheses provided a dataset. Metadata on these can be found at both www.iobis.org and at GCMD.

REVISEE Chordata II dataset contains the records of demersal fish fauna inhabiting irregular bottoms and depressions on the outer shelf and slope of the South and Southeastern Brazilian coast between 220 15’S and 340 40’S collected during the REVIZEE program. Twenty one oceanographic cruises were carried out from May1996 to April 2002. Along the region, in five bottom types classified according the topography and hardness of their substrate, conic and rectangular traps and “pargueiras” (a small longline) captured some 293,200 fishes, including some 70 hagfishes. Click here for the dataset extent map.

Substantial new data has been added to the SinBiota dataset. SinBiota is the environmental information system for the program Biota/Fapesp, integrates data collected by researchers carrying out surveys within the State of São Paulo with a digital cartographic base, thus providing a mechanism for free and open dissemination of data and information about the State’s biodiversity. Here is the data extent map.
Metadata for both these datasets can be found here.
Congratulations to the Brazil OBIS team!

South Eastern Pacific OBIS publishes two new data sets 'Zooplancton of the Eastern South Pacific' and 'Macrobenthic species of the Eastern South Pacific' data from the Humbolt Current system
28-March-2006

South Eastern Pacific OBIS, based in Concepcion Chile, is publishing two new datasets. Zooplancton of the Eastern South Pacific is a data base of marine zooplankton from the coastal upwelling system of northern and central/south of Chile created as a result of more than 15 years of study. Samples collections are available from 18º S to 36º S. This zooplankton sustains a strong fishery economy in Chile, mostly based on small pelagic fishes, such as anchovies and sardines. Zooplankton species have been identified with help from well-known experts for copepod and euphausiid taxonomy. Metadata is available here.

The second dataset, Macrobenthic species of the Eastern South Pacific, is a collection of benthic data that comes from the MinOx cruise (Oxygen Minimum Zone cruise) at northern Chile in March 2000 and the Chilean-German expedition SONNE carried out in 2001 along the Chilean coast. These studies allowed an extensive examination of these communities and their habitats. The identified species were from specimens collected across the continental margin of Chile (20º-42ºS). The polychaetes were the numerically dominant group on all areas and depths, followed by the peracarid crustaceans and small molluscs. This collection includes some new species and many new records in the bathyal zone. Metadata for this dataset is available here.

Congratulations to the South Eastern Pacific OBIS team!

Over 100,000 new data records are available from EurOBIS covering a variety of taxa from seabirds and marine turtles to hyperbenthic invertebrates. Data collection methods range from shore observations of strandings to those made by scuba divers and data gleaned from historical collections. "Historical hyperbenthos data (1987-2001) from the North Sea and some adjacent areas" includes data from an ongoing collaboration between Ghent University (UGent), Biology Department, Marine Biology Section and Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) that aims to integrate historical hyperbenthic data. Metadata is held in Marbef.

The "Seasearch Marine Survey" dataset consists of habitat and species records made by volunteer scuba divers. The data from 1978-1987 comprises sub-littoral surveys carried out by members of the Marine Conservation Society. Metadata can be found here.

The "Seabird 2000" dataset is a full census of all of the breeding seabirds in Britain and Ireland. The data was gathered by over 1000 surveyors mainly between the years 1999 and 2003 from both coastal and inland colonies. Metadata can be found here.

The National Biodiversity Network Trust-"Marine Turtles", includes sightings and strandings of marine turtles around the coast of the UK and Eire. Congratulations to the EurOBIS team and their collaborators.

AfrOBIS and iOBIS are pleased to announce the publication of the The Natal Museum's Mollusca data set. This dataset, focusing on bivalves and gastropods, had its origins in the shell collection and library of Henry Burnup. Subsequently, the collection has been expanded many times over through field-work, donation, exchange and purchase. Its historical value was greatly increased by absorption of important shell collections housed the Transvaal Museum and Albany Museum, as well as the Rodney Wood collection from the Seychelles received from the Mutare Museum in Zimbabwe and the Kurt Grosch collection, from in northern Mozambique. The mollusk collection now ranks among the 15 largest in the world and is the largest both in Africa and on the Indian Ocean rim. The collection will be updated in the near future. Metadata on this collection can be found here.

The IndOBIS Dataset 1 is the marine subset of IndFauna - which has been extracted, and then subjected to scrutiny by a group of editors that forms the core team of IndOBIS. IndOBIS Dataset 1 contains detailed taxon hierarchy, synonyms, common name, and occurrence data for about 15,000+ faunal species that are marine in origin, including many Scarabaeidae (Insecta) and Gobiidae (Pices). IndOBIS Dataset 1 is also accessible through IndOBIS CoL search interface at http://www.indobis.org.
More information on this data set can be found at: http://gcmd.nasa.gov/KeywordSearch/Metadata.do?Portal= GCMD&KeywordPath=&NumericId=19969&MetadataView= Full&MetadataType=0&lbnode=gcmd3

The Ar-OBIS Database contains records of 35 species of fishes and squid on the patagonian continental shelf collecting with Bottom trawls. More information on this dataset can be found at:
http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/KeywordSearch/Metadata.do?Portal=OBIS&KeywordPath =%5BDIF_Creation_Date%3E%3D%272005-10-01%27%5D+AND+ %5BDIF_Creation_Date%3C%272006-03-31%27%5D&OrigMetadataNode=GCMD&EntryId=OBIS.Patagonia_Fishes&MetadataView= Brief&MetadataType =0&lbnode=gcmd3

REVIZEE program data set contains records of pelagic and demersal fish collected off the southern Brazilian coast. Six oceanographic cruises were carried out from 1996 to 1999 between Cape of São Tomé and Chuí. Pelagic fish distribution was investigated with acoustic methods and fish were collected with a mid-water trawl at stations with high target strength, mainly within 100 and 500-m depth. Demersal fish were investigated to assess the fishing potential of catches vulnerable to hooks over both hard and soft bottoms on the outer shelf and upper slope – 80% of captures consisted of commercially valuable species.More information on this data base can be found at:http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=90
Congratulations to the Revizee and Brazilian OBIS teams.

New Plankton and Benthos Database from Paranaguá Bay,Brazil.
20-December-2005

We are pleased to announce the Paranaguá Bay, Plankton and Benthos Database. This data source includes information on zooplankton and zoobenthos distribution in different areas of the bay, ranging from oligohaline to euhaline sectors. Time-series observations are also available for zooplankton data, in a sampling program carried out from 1993 to 1996 at weekly intervals. More information on this data base can be found at:http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=86 .
Congratulations to the South American OBIS team.

The MNCR provides a comprehensive baseline of information on British costal marine habitats and their associated species, which would aid coastal zone and sea-use management and to contribute to the identification of areas of marine natural heritage importance. The focus of MNCR work was on benthic habitats (often referred to as "biotopes") in intertidal and inshore (typically within 3nm) subtidal areas. More information on this data set can be obtained at: http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=68

We are proud to announce that OBIS-SEAMAP with the addition of new datasets has passed the million record mark! OBIS-SEAMAP now contains 161 databases on large marine organisms comprising 1,058,506 records, spanning years 1935 to 2005, and containing 358 species profiles. More data in OBIS-SEAMAP can be accessed at http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=13 or directly at http://seamap.env.duke.edu/.

Congratulations to the OBIS-SEAMAP team!

North Pacific Groundfish Observer Program in conjunction with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center and the North Pacific Research Board provided OBIS with 422,150 records of fish, invertebrate, and marine mammal observations collected by fishery biologists while deployed on board commercial fishing vessels or at shore side processing plants participating in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries. A more detailed description of these data can be found at: www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=67

Congratulations to the Groundfish Observer Program team!

The Southwestern Pacific Regional OBIS Node located at the New Zealand National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) - via its Marine Biodata Information System recently provided over 377,900 records to IOBIS. Data so far available are primarily the results of a series of research trawl surveys carried out as part of New Zealand’s Ministry of Fisheries data collection to support fisheries management within the NZ EEZ, plus NIWA data from several decades of marine invertebrate research sampling in the NZ Exclusive Economic Zone. A description of this dataset can be found at: http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=63

Congratulations to the South Western Pacific OBIS team!

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Maritimes Region database for sightings records of cetaceans, other large pelagic animals and marine mammal survey information added over 11,000 records to OBIS. Metadata can be found at:http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=62

The Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) program, one of seven initial field projects of the Census of Marine Life (CoML) added over 4000 records to OBIS. This is a major program designed to develop and promote the application of new electronic tagging technology to study the marine life history of Pacific salmon. One of the two major areas of focus in the POST project involves the development of a permanent continental-scale marine telemetry system. POTENT (Pacific Ocean Tracking and Evaluation NeTwork) will sit on the seabed of the continental shelf and slope and be used to monitor fish movements along the shelf and into the open ocean. POTENT array data can then be applied toward the development of fishery management policies aimed at the sustainable harvest of Pacific salmon resources, and the technology can be applied to other species of marine fish as well. The metadata can be found at: http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=64
Congratulations to both teams!

Natural Geography In Shore Areas (NaGISA) recently contributed more than 1500 new records to OBIS from quantitative global nearshore census. More information on this data set can be found at http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=61. The South American Ron added over 500 records to their REVIZEE benthic data set and more than 800 records of Southern Pacific Zooplankton. These data can be found at: http://iobis.org/advancedPage?site=samerica&sbox=samerica. EurOBIS added over 1000 records of Artic soft-sediment macrobenthos data. More information on these data is available at: http://iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=60. Congratulations to all teams.

New data sources to OBIS from OBIS Australia and OBIS South America RON's.
20-October-2005

Both the OBIS Australia and South America RON's websites are up and providing the OBIS Portal with new data sources, via their DiGIR servers.

The OBIS South America site is initially providing more than 500 new records at http://obissa.cria.org.br. OBIS Australia is providing more than 106,000 new records at http://www.obis.org.au/. Congratulations to both the Australian and South American teams.

EurOBIS is providing the OBIS Portal with a new data source - a comparison of benthic biodiversity in the North Sea, English Channel and Celtic Seas - via their DiGIR server that adds more than 2,500 new records. More information about this data source can be found at: http://www.iobis.org/OBISWEB/ObisMeta.jsp?sourceID=51

Website: http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/marine/sertc/

Seven new data collections from EurOBIS

1. Benthic fauna in the Pechora Sea (EurOBIS)

Quantitative samples of benthic fauna were collected at 15 stations for analysis of species distribution and faunal composition.

Website: http://www.marbef.org/data/dataset.php?show=html&dasid=461

2.Biogeography Scheldt Estuary (EurOBIS)

1962-2003, 31747 distribution records, about 250 marine species.

Website: http://www.marbef.org/data/dataset.php?show=html&dasid=496

3. BioMar (EurOBIS)

Surveys of marine habitats and communities (biotopes) in Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Website:http://www.ecoserve.ie/biomar

4. MedOBIS (EurOBIS)

Marine species of the Mediterranean and Black seas.

Website:http://www.medobis.org

5. Meiobenthos of subtidal sandbanks on the Belgian Continental Shelf  (EurOBIS)

This dataset is a result of sampling meiobenthos and sediment from all sandbanks on the BCS during 1997 and 1998. Nematodes for 4 sandbanks were identified to species level and biomass was measured.

Website: http://www.marbef.org/data/dataset.php?show=html&dasid=496

6. Temporal cover of N3, a station in Kiel bay (EurOBIS)

N3 data export from Heye Rumohr (hrumohr@ifm-geomar.de).  Summary of data bank including info on temporal coverage and 4 years data from a central station in Kiel Bay.  Note: the biomass data are measured not computed.

Website:http://www.marbef.org/data/dataset.php?show=html&dasid=482

7. Macrobel: Long term trends in the macrobenthos of the Belgian Continental Shelf (EurOBIS)

The global objective of this project is to deliver a substantial contribution to the knowledge of the long term variability in the biodiversity of the macrobenthos and the relationship with anthropogenic activities on the Belgian Continental Shelf.

Website:http://www.vliz.be/vmdcdata/macrobel