The assessment of the status of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds at the bay-scale in turbid, shallow estuaries is problematic. The bay-scale assessment (i.e., tens of km) of eelgrass beds usually involves remote sensing methods such as aerial photography or satellite imagery. These methods can fail if the water column is turbid, as is the case for many shallow estuaries on Canada’s eastern seaboard. A novel towfish package was developed for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds irrespective of water column turbidity. The towfish consisted of an underwater video camera with scaling lasers, sidescan sonar and a transponder-based positioning system. The towfish was deployed along predetermined transects in three northern New Brunswick estuaries. Maps were created of eelgrass cover and health (epiphyte load) and ancillary bottom features such as benthic algal growth, bacterial mats (Beggiatoa) and oysters. All three estuaries had accumulations of material reminiscent of the oomycete Leptomitus, although it was not positively identified in our study. Tabusintac held the most extensive eelgrass beds of the best health. Cocagne had the lowest scores for eelgrass health, while Bouctouche was slightly better. The towfish method proved to be cost effective and useful for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds to sub-meter precision in real time. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Bay Scale Assessment of Eelgrass Using Sidescan and Video - Cocagne 2008. Published: November 2019. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/431c815e-65f0-477b-9389-060fa41ec955

Between 2001 and 2004 a descriptive and comparative investigation of the benthic macro-infauna in 17 pockmarks and 10 reference locations outside pockmarks in Passamaquoddy Bay-Bay of Fundy- was made. This dataset contains the locations of the grab samples for each pockmark in the study area, the taxon abundance identified in each sample and the georeferenced video transect from 2004 using a towcam- an underwater, bottom referencing vehicle on which floodlights, analogue video- and digital still-camera were mounted. For more information of the data: Wildish DJ, Akagi HM, McKeown DL, Pohle GW (2008) Pockmarks influence benthic communities in Passamaquoddy Bay, Bay of Fundy, Canada. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 357:51-66. https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v357/p51-66/

Sea level rise increases coastal flooding in many areas of Canada. The Canadian Extreme Water Level Adaptation tool has been developed to accommodate sea level rise. The infrastructure needs to be built higher in order to reduce the risk of flooding. The vertical allowance is the recommended height that the infrastructure to be raised in future years relative to year 2010. The vertical allowance depends on (1) statistics of historical storm surge and tides, and (2) the best estimate and associated uncertainty of future sea level rise. The vertical allowance preserves the frequency of flooding events at some future time under uncertain sea level rise. Vertical allowances are provided for scenarios based on the fifth assessment report (AR5) of IPCC for the period of 2020-2100 and the sixth assessment report (AR6) of IPCC for the period of 2020-2150. Cite this data as: Zhai, L., Greenan, B., Perrie, W. Data of: Vertical allowance gridded dataset for Canada. Published: February 2024. Ocean Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/5c164079-9785-42fa-8fa5-d886ccbae3b3

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Land Cover by Ecoprovince” dataset provides land cover information within the ecoprovince framework polygon. It provides landcover codes and their English and French language description as well as information about the percentage of the polygon that the component occupies.

This layer details Important Areas (IAs) relevant to key fish species in the West Coast Vancouver Island (WCVI) ecoregion. This data was mapped to inform the selection of marine Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSA). Experts have indicated that these areas are relevant based upon their high ranking in one or more of three criteria (Uniqueness, Aggregation, and Fitness Consequences). The distribution of IAs within ecoregions is used in the designation of EBSAs. Canada’s Oceans Act provides the legislative framework for an integrated ecosystem approach to management in Canadian oceans, particularly in areas considered ecologically or biologically significant. DFO has developed general guidance for the identification of ecologically or biologically significant areas. The criteria for defining such areas include uniqueness, aggregation, fitness consequences, resilience, and naturalness. This science advisory process identifies proposed EBSAs in Canadian Pacific marine waters, specifically in the Strait of Georgia (SOG), along the west coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI, southern shelf ecoregion), and in the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA, northern shelf ecoregion). Initial assessment of IAs in PNCIMA was carried out in September 2004 to March 2005 with spatial data collection coordinated by Cathryn Clarke. Subsequent efforts in WCVI and SOG were conducted in 2009, and may have used different scientific advisors, temporal extents, data, and assessment methods. WCVI and SOG IA assessment in some cases revisits data collected for PNCIMA, but should be treated as a separate effort. Other datasets in this series detail IAs for birds, cetaceans, coral and sponges, geographic features, invertebrates, and other vertebrates. Though data collection is considered complete, the emergence of significant new data may merit revisiting of IAs on a case by case basis.

This dataset contains the abundance (per m²) and the biomass (mg dry per m²) of macrofauna (≥ 500µm) in eelgrass and adjacent bare soft sediments, collected at sites in the Atlantic of Nova Scotia from 2009 to 2013. Cite this data as: Wong M.C. Data of Benthic invertebrates in seagrass and bare soft sediments in Atlantic Nova Scotia Published May 2020. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/05d5f46a-7f19-11ea-8a4e-1860247f53e3 Publications: Wong, M. C., & Dowd, M. (2021). Functional trait complementarity and dominance both determine benthic secondary production in temperate seagrass beds. Ecosphere. 12(11), e03794. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3794 Wong, M. C. (2018). Secondary Production of Macrobenthic Communities in Seagrass (Zostera marina, Eelgrass) Beds and Bare Soft Sediments Across Differing Environmental Conditions in Atlantic Canada. Estuaries and Coasts, 41, 536–548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-017-0286-2

The ecological classification of Quebec territory consists of mapping and describing ecological units in a system with nine levels of perception between the continental and landscape scales. It presents the diversity of terrestrial ecosystems in all of Quebec taking into account both the characteristics of the vegetation (physiognomy, structure and composition) and the physical environment (relief, geology, geomorphology, hydrography). The nine levels that compose it are: the vegetation zone and sub-zone at the continental scale (1,000,000 km2), the bioclimatic domain and sub-domain at the national level (100,000 km2), the ecological region and subregion at the regional scale (10,000 km2) and the regional landscape unit, the ecological district and the vegetation stage at the landscape scale (10,000 km2) and the regional landscape unit, the ecological district and the vegetation stage at the landscape scale (100 to 1,000 km2).**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Surficial Geology by Ecoprovince” dataset contains tables that provide surficial geology information with the ecoprovince framework polygons. It provides codes that characterize surficial geology (unconsolidated geologic materials) and their English and French-language descriptions as well as information about the area and percentage of the polygon that the material occupies.

Map of the proportion of individuals (15 years and over) without an educational certificate, diploma or degree in Official Language Minority Communities. Refers to the individual's educational attainment or highest certificate, diploma or degree obtained by the person. The data used is based on the 2016 Census of Canada, 25% sample, the universe is the population 15 years and over.

The Prince Edward Island Detailed Soil Survey is a dataset series describing the spatial distribution of soils and associated landscapes in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. Soil landscape information compiled and published over the previous several decades provided the basis for the development of this relational database. The graphic soil landscape polygons are intended to be represented at a scale of 1:75,000. The associated soil landscape information and soil characteristics are described in a standard format in the Component (CMP), Soil Name File (SNF) and Soil Layer File (SLF) tables.