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DFO Maritimes Biofouling Monitoring Program

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) National Biofouling Monitoring Program (BMP) has conducted annual field surveys to monitor the introduction, establishment, spread, species richness, and relative abundance of native and non-indigenous species (NIS) since 2006. Standardized monitoring protocols employed by DFO-Maritimes, -Gulf, and -Quebec Regions include biofouling collector plates deployed from May to October at intertidal and shallow subtidal, geo-referenced sites, including public and private docks, aquaculture lease sites, public and private marinas and yacht clubs.

Initially in the Maritimes Region (2006-2017) collectors consisted of 3, 10 cm by 10cm PVC plates deployed in a vertical array and spaced approximately 40-cm apart with the shallowest plate hung at least 1 m below the surface to sample shallow subtidal and intertidal species (Sephton et al. 2011, 2017). Two replicate arrays were deployed at least 5 m apart per site. Since 2018, collector arrays were modified to enhance statistical replication, including 10 individual collectors deployed per site at 1 m depth and at least 5 m apart (as above) from May to October. The percent cover of AIS on all collectors was determined by visual examination and scored as follows; (i) ‘0’ = absent, (ii) ‘1’ = ≤25 % cover, (iii) ‘2’ = 25 to ≤50 %, (iv) ‘3’ = 50–75% , and (v) ‘4’ = >75%. Average percent cover is provided for all NIS observed annually per site. Presence-absence indicates that an NIS was observed on at least one collector plate.

One additional rocky intertidal species (Asian shore crab; Hemigrapsus sanguineus) was assessed via beach surveys as permitted by time and resources following its initial siting in St Mary’s Bay (Nova Scotia) in April 2020. Rapid assessment surveys conducted in the Fall of 2020 and 2021 were employed to delineate H. sanguineus’ distribution and relative abundance. Areas deemed suitable and at high risk for spread were targeted, including exposed rocky intertidal habitat in southwest regions of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Each rapid assessment consisted of 30-minute beach surveys per site conducted by 2 or 3 people (modified from Stephenson et al. 2011). During each survey, crabs were collected under rocks and seaweed in preferred cobble/boulder habitat (Lohrer et al. 2000). Count data was standardized for each site as the number of crabs collected per 30-min search per person.

Cite as:

DFO-Maritimes Biofouling Monitoring Program. Published October 2018, Updated December 2023. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS

Citations:

Sephton D, B Vercaemer, JM Nicolas, J Keays (2011) Monitoring for invasive tunicates in Nova Scotia, Canada (2006-2009) Aquatic Invasions 6: 391-403.

Sephton D, B Vercaemer, A Silva, L Stiles, M Harris, K Godin (2017) Biofouling monitoring for aquatic invasive species (AIS) in DFO Maritimes Regions (Atlantic shore of Nova Scotia and southwest New Brunswick): May-November, 2012-2015. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 3158: 72 pp.

Stephenson EH, RS Steneck, RH Seeley (2009) Possible temperature limits to range expansion of non-native Asian shore crabs in Maine. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 375: 21–31. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2009.04.020

Simple

Date ( RI_366 )
2018-09-20
Date ( RI_367 )
2018-10-23
RI_415
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Coastal Ecosystem Science Division - Claudio DiBacco ( Research Scientist )
Bedford Institute of Oceanography, PO Box 1006 , Dartmouth , Nova Scotia , B3B 1A6 , Canada
Status
onGoing; enContinue RI_596
Maintenance and update frequency
asNeeded; auBesoin RI_540
Keywords ( RI_530 )
  • Aquatic Invasive Species
  • Marine Invertebrates
  • Ascidians
  • Tunicates
  • Fouling Organisms
  • Monitoring Network
  • Species Distribution
  • Species Abundance Data
  • Northwest Atlantic Ocean
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus Thésaurus des sujets de base du gouvernement du Canada ( RI_528 )
  • Invasive species
  • Oceans
  • Environment
Classification
unclassified; nonClassifié RI_484
Use limitation
Open Government Licence - Canada (http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)
Access constraints
license; licence RI_606
Use constraints
license; licence RI_606
Spatial representation type
vector; vecteur RI_635
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Topic category
  • Environment
  • Oceans
  • Biota
Begin date
2006
N
S
E
W
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Reference system identifier
http://www.epsg-registry.org / EPSG:4326 / 8.2.6
Distribution format
  • ESRI REST ( 2.8.8 )

  • FGDB/GDB ( 2.8.8 )

  • CSV ( N/A )

  • PDF ( N/A )

RI_412
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Data Acquisition Assembly and Distribution ( )
Bedford Institute of Oceanography, PO Box 1006 , Dartmouth , Nova Scotia , B2Y 4A2 , Canada
OnLine resource
Biofouling Monitoring for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in DFO Maritimes Region (Atlantic shore of Nova Scotia and southwest New Brunswick): May – November, 2012 - 2015. ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;PDF;eng,fra

OnLine resource
DFO Maritimes Biofouling Monitoring Program ( HTTPS )

Dataset;FGDB/GDB;eng

OnLine resource
DFO Maritimes Biofouling Monitoring Program ( HTTPS )

Dataset;CSV;eng

OnLine resource
Data Dictionary ( HTTPS )

Supporting Document;CSV;eng,fra

OnLine resource
DFO Maritimes Aquatic Invasive Species Monitoring Program ( ESRI REST: Map Server )

Web Service;ESRI REST;eng

OnLine resource
DFO Maritimes Aquatic Invasive Species Monitoring Program ( ESRI REST: Map Server )

Web Service;ESRI REST;fra

File identifier
8d87f574-0661-40a0-822f-e9eabc35780d XML
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Hierarchy level
dataset; jeuDonnées RI_622
Date stamp
2025-02-05T12:43:58.849Z
Metadata standard name
North American Profile of ISO 19115:2003 - Geographic information - Metadata
Metadata standard version
CAN/CGSB-171.100-2009
RI_409
  Government of Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Coastal Ecosystem Science Division - CESD Data Manager ( Data Manager )
St. Andrews Biological Station, 125 Marine Science Drive , St. Andrews , New Brunswick , E5B 0E4 , Canada
 
 

Overviews

overview
AIS2023.PNG

Spatial extent

N
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W
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Keywords


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