CEFASb35fae1f-7398-4394-ab34-6be28efb0492 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 2023-02-01T01:56:20 EPSG Geodetic Parameter Registry 2022-01-07 revision WGS 84 Environmental correlates of large-scale spatial variation in the Delta13C of marine animals 2014-02-27 publication 2023-02-01 revision 2013-11-21 creation CEFAS2989 https://data.cefas.co.uk Carbon stable isotopes can be used to trace the sources of energy supporting food chains and to estimate the contribution of different sources to a consumer's diet. However, the δ13C signature of a consumer is not sufficient to infer source without an appropriate isotopic baseline, because there is no way to determine if differences in consumer δ13C reflect source changes or baseline variation. Describing isotopic baselines is a considerable challenge when applying stable isotope techniques at large spatial scales and/or to interconnected food chains in open marine environments. One approach is to use filter-feeding consumers to integrate the high frequency and small-scale variation in the isotopic signature of phytoplankton and provide a surrogate baseline, but it can be difficult to sample a single consumer species at large spatial scales owing to rarity and/or discontinuous distribution. Here, we use the isotopic signature of a widely distributed filter-feeder the queen scallop (*Aequipecten opercularis*) in the north-eastern Atlantic to develop a model linking base δ13C to environmental variables. Data includes catch data, isotope analysis data, environmental data and associated positional data. 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 Shellfish GEMET, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication Isotopes Fish Fisheries SeaDataNet P03 parameter discovery vocabulary 2011-03-25 revision Shellfish abundance and biomass in water bodies SeaDataNet P02 parameter discovery vocabulary 2011-03-25 revision Habitats and biotopes GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication Benthic boundary 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 environment -7.00 9.00 49.50 61.50 2001-07-26 2001-09-29 Delimited Geographic Information System Unknown https://data.cefas.co.uk/view/2989 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 Habitats and Biotopes – 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 Scallops, dab (*Limanda limanda*) and whiting (*Merlangus merlangius*) were caught with a Grande Ouverture Verticale (GOV) demersal trawl and 2m or 4m beam trawls. Stations in the North Sea, Celtic Sea and English Channel were fished using the standard protocols for fisheries surveys. The GOV and 4m beam trawls were fitted wih a cod-end of 20mm stretched mesh and the 2m beam trawl was fitted with a cod-end of 4mm stretched mesh. At each site, up to 7 scallops were selected at random from all individuals with a shell height of 50-60mm. They were weighed to 0.1g and immediatedly frozen to -30°C. Up to 3 dab and 3 whiting were also retained: dab were selected between 190 and 210mm and whiting between 240 and 260mm. Each fish was weighed to the nearest g and measured to the nearest mm. MEDIN 3.1.1