CEFAS81115dc9-b8e2-43ff-a7a0-e591a0a05ee1 English dataset Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk pointOfContact 2023-02-06T12:48:10 EPSG Geodetic Parameter Registry 2022-01-07 revision WGS 84 A comparison of benthic biodiversity in the North Sea, English Channel and Celtic Seas. Infauna grab sampling 1992-1994 2020-06-26 publication 2023-02-06 revision 2020-06-04 creation CEFAS20629 https://data.cefas.co.uk Samples of the benthic macrofauna were collected from MAFF research vessels at each of 25 intermediate and offshore stations around the English and Welsh coastlines between 1992 and 1994. This dataset details the infauna present at each sampling station. At each location, five sediment samples for macrofaunal analysis were collected using a 0.1m2 Day grab from the central point of a 500 m grid of 9 stations, the latter being sampled for contaminant analyses only. The five replicates were collected from within a 100 m range ring, using SEXTANT software and DGPS position-fixing. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk originator Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk custodian Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory (CEFAS) Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory Pakefield Road Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 0HT UK data.manager@cefas.co.uk distributor Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk owner notPlanned Benthos Sea bed GEMET, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication Biota composition Biota abundance, biomass and diversity SeaDataNet P03 parameter discovery vocabulary 2011-03-25 revision Fauna abundance per unit area of the bed SeaDataNet P02 parameter discovery vocabulary 2011-03-25 revision Species distribution GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication Benthic boundary Circalittoral Deep Circalittoral SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2010-05-18 revision Marine Environmental Data and Information Network MEDIN metadata record availability 2012-01-11 publication data.gov.uk MEDIN metadata record availability 2012-01-11 publication otherRestrictions noLimitations otherRestrictions Public data - no limitations to reuse English biota -5.50 3.00 49.50 55.00 1992-12-01 1994-03-31 Delimited Geographic Information System Unknown https://data.cefas.co.uk/view/20629 Cefas Data Portal download The Cefas Data Portal contains metadata records and data sets available to download and connect to in support of our commitment to open science. Data is available in the following formats: CSV, ESRI Shapefile. The data can also be accessed via the WFS and WMS protocols. dataset INSPIRE Data Specification on Species Distribution – Technical Guidelines 2013-12-10 publication false See the referenced specification Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 publication true See the referenced specification A visual description of the sediment type was recorded, plus location and times of sample collection, depth and sea state. A sub-sample for sediment particle size analysis was removed using a 2 cm diameter perspex corer inserted to a depth of about 5 cm. The contents of the grab were transferred to a hopper, and gently washed over a 1 mm mesh brass sieve. The retained material was preserved for analysis in 5% formaldehyde in seawater with added Rose Bengal. The macrofauna was identified to species level, as far as possible, with the use of a range of standard taxonomic keys. All animals were enumerated, with the exception of colonial organisms which were recorded on a presence/absence basis. Biomass of each taxon was determined as wet blotted weight, and then expressed as ash-free dry weight using conversion factors, mainly from Rumohr et al. (1987). For particle size analyses, sediment subsamples were first wet sieved at 500 microns. The >500 micron fraction was then dry-sieved at half-phi intervals, and the <500 fraction analysed using a Coulter LS130 laser sizer. Percentage organic carbon and nitrogen were determined sing a CHN analyser, following exposure of sediment samples to fumes of concentrated HCl in order to dissolve carbonates. Cefas quality control procedures followed for processing of macrofaunal and sediment samples. MEDIN 3.1.1