PROJECT TITLE arctic_biomass AUTHORS: co-PI's Kenneth Dunton, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, 361-749-6744, e-mail: dunton@utmsi.utexas.edu, web: http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu. Jacqueline Grebmeier, Research Associate Professor, University of Tennessee, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 670 Dabney/Buchler Knoxville, TN 37996, 423-974-2592, e-mail: jgreb@utkux.utk.edu, web: http://www.utk.edu David Maidment, Professor, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Engineering, JJ Pickle Research Campus Bldg #119, Austin, TX 78712, 512-471-4620 email: maidment@mail.utexas.edu, web: http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/maidment DATA SET OVERVIEW The submitted Access database (arctic_biomass.dbf) consists of compiled benthic biomass from the northern Bering, Chukchi, East Siberian and Beaufort seas for input into ArcView, a Geographical Information System (GIS). The study area is bounded by longitudes 160° E, 128° W, and latitudes 75° N, and 62° N. Mapping the available data sets has clearly revealed regions in the western Arctic that are data 'rich' and data 'poor'. Biomass data were analyzed and prediction maps created using a newly developed GIS geostatisical analyst extension (for jpg images of maps created in GIS see: arctic_biomass.ppt). Plotted benthic data revealed areas of high biomass (>250 g m-2) north of the Bering Strait in the Chukchi Sea and south of the Bering Strait in Gulf of Anadyr waters. In contrast, benthic biomass along the nearshore Alaskan Beaufort sea shelf is less than 30 g m-2 except in the western Beaufort and east of the Mackenzie River delta. Further information can be found on the following web page: http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/staff/dunton/sbi/mywebs/index.htm DATA SOURCES: PUBLICATIONS, REPORTS, & RAW DATA Broad, A.C. 1975-1980. Unpublished data available in: Intertidal Organisms and Habitats (File 030). National Oceanographic Data Center. Washington, DC. *Carey, A.G. 1971. Websec-71. Unpublished data. *Carey, A.G. 1976. OCSEAP. Unpublished data. Carey, A.G., M.A. Boudrias, J.C. Kern, R.E. Ruff. 1984. Selected ecological studies on continental shelf benthos and sea ice fauna in the southwestern Beaufort Sea. Final Report. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program. Fairbanks, AK, 23:1-164. Cooper, L.W., J.M Grebmeier, I.L. Larsen, V.G. Egorov, C. Theodorakis, H.P. Kelly, and J.R. Lovvorn. 2001. Seasonal variation in sedimentation of organic materials in the St. Lawrence Island polynya region, Bering Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., in press. Feder, H.M. 1986. OCSEAP. Unpublished data. Feder, H.M., R.H. Day, S.C. Jewett, K. McCumby, S. McGee, S.V. Schonberg. 1982. Infauna of the northeastern Bering and southeastern Chukchi Seas. Final Report. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program. Fairbanks, AK, 120 p. Feder, H.M., A.S. Naidu, S.C. Jewett, J.M Hameedi, W.R. Johnson, T.E.Whitledge. 1994. The northeastern Chukchi Sea: benthos-environmental interactions. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 111:171-190. Grebmeier, J.M. 1987. The ecology of benthic carbon cycling in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. Ph.D. dissertation, Inst. Mar. Sci., University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Grebmeier, J.M. 1992. Studies of pelagic-benthic coupling extended onto the Soviet continental shelf in the Bering and Chukchi Seas. Cont. Shelf Res. 13:653-668. Grebmeier, J.M. 1992. Benthic processes on the shallow continental shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas, pp. 234-251. In: P.A Nagel (ed) Results of the third Joint US-USSR Bering & Chukchi Seas Expedition (BERPAC), Summer 1988. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. Grebmeier, J.M. and L.W. Cooper. 1995. Influence of the St. Lawrence Island Polynya on the Bering Sea Benthos. J. Geophys. Res. 100:4439-4460. Grebmeier, J.M. and L.W. Cooper. 2001. Sediment biogeochemical tracers and carbon cycling in the Bering and Chukchi seas during 1988 and 1993. In: Results of the Fourth Joint US-Russia Bering & Chukchi Seas Expedition (BERPAC), Summer 1993. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. (in press) Grebmeier, J.M. and K.H. Dunton. 2000. Benthic processes in the northern Bering/Chukchi Seas: Status and global change, in H.P. Huntington (ed), Impacts of Changes in Sea Ice and Other Environmental Parameters in the Arctic. Marine Mammal Commission Workshop, Girdwood, Alaska, 15-17 February 2000. 80-93. Grebmeier, J.M., C.P. McRoy and H.M Feder. 1988. Pelagic-benthic coupling on the shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi seas. I. Food supply source and benthic biomass. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 48:57-67. Grebmeier, J.M., H.M Feder and C.P. McRoy. 1989. Pelagic-benthic coupling on the shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. II. Benthic community structure. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 51:253-268. Grebmeier, J.M. and C.P. McRoy. 1989. Pelagic-benthic coupling on the shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. III. Benthic food supply and carbon cycling. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 53:79-91. Reed, A.J. 1998. Benthic macrofaunal invertebrates of the east Siberian and Chukchi seas: Benthic biomass, community structure and radionuclide contamination. M.S. Thesis, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 133 p. Stoker, S.W. 1978. Benthic invertebrate macrofauna of the eastern Bering/Chukchi seas. Ph.D. dissertation. Institute for Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Stoker, S.W. 1981. Benthic invertebrate macrofauna of the eastern Bering/Chukchi continental shelf. In: D.W. Hood and J.A. Calder (eds), The Eastern Bering Sea Shelf: Oceanography and Resources. Vol. 2 Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 1069-1091. Wacasey, J.W. 1974. Biological productivity of the southern Beaufort Sea: Zoobenthic Studies. Beaufort Sea Technical Report #12b. Department of the Environment, Victoria, B.C., 39 p. ____________________________________________ *Raw biomass data sets withheld at request of collector INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION Investigators used two types of quantitative grabs to collect the benthic samples. The samples were collected with the van Veen , Smith-McIntyre, and Eckman grabs. The actual grab area was extrapolated mathematically to a square meter to present biomass in units of m-2. DATA COLLECTION & PROCESSING Benthic data was collected by six investigators at different intervals over a thirty-year time span. Table 1. Summary of sampling methods for benthic biomass samples. Scientist: Sampling Reps/ Sampling Sieve Sampling Dates: Sta: Gear: mesh: Area: Broad 1975-1980 3 0.1 m2 Smith-McIntyre 0.5 Bering & Beaufort nearshore 0.02 m2 Eckman Carey 1975-1978 5 0.1 m2 Smith-McIntyre 0.42 Buaufort Shelf Feder 1979-1980 5 0.1 m2 van Veen 1 Bering,Chukchi 1986 Grebmeier 1984-1986 4 0.1 m2 van Veen 1 Bering,Chukchi,East Siberian Sea 1988,1990 1993-1995 Stoker 1970-1974 5 0.2 m2 van Veen 0.2 Bering,Chukchi, Wacasey 1971-1975 3-10 grab ? ? Far Eastern Beaufort All scientists preserved their samples in 10% buffered formalin. All groups blotted the animals dry and measured a wet-weight except Carey who in 1976 started to dry his animals on filters pulling the surface water off with a vacuum. All researchers stated in their methods that they left shells on the mollusks except Broad and Wacasey, who did not mention it. Broad used the Smith-McIntyre grab in water 2 m or deeper and the Eckman grab for depths less than 2 m. DATA FORMAT I. Benthic biomass database. The benthic biomass data are stored in a Microsoft Access database named arctic_biomass.dbf. The column headers are Station, Site, Source, Latitude °N, Longitude °W, Date, Depth m, Biomass g m-2). Table 2. List of tables in the database arctic_biomass.dbf and the person who collected the samples. Table Name: Scientist: BENTHOS Summary table of all data combined stoker Stoker broadnodc/broad station Broad feder Feder federOCS Feder hx139 Grebmeier ak47 Grebmeier hx189 Grebmeier hx59/ thesisjmg Grebmeier wacasey Wacasey II. Project PowerPoint presentation. A project description and maps illustrating output from the ArcInfo and ArcView Geographical Information System (GIS) programs are submitted in a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation called arctic_biomass.ppt. DATA REMARKS Microsoft Access, and PowerPoint are required to access the deposited data.